Avocado Anyone?!

This is a Florida avocado;  it has a smooth, thin skin and is much larger than the 

California avocado most people buy.  

We love to eat these in slices in salads, of course, 

but also as is in a snack! 

What else looks very much like the color of the avocado fruit?  My wool!

When I carded it up-by random handfuls;  I didn't feel like separating it or sorting it not even a little!

I grabbed handfuls and teased them open (dyeing condenses the fibers)

 and ran them through the carder. 

 I was pleased the color didn't look like brown mud which I was afraid it would.

And spinning it up-which is lovely doing the supported long draw in a woolen preparation this time instead of the short forward worsted spinning I did for the Masham wool for the last pound of wool!

This will be a much lighter and bouncier skein of yarn! 

 So far, so good!

From the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory--

nothing like a good spin!

Oh, and for some outdoor entertainment-pulling my husband out of a ditch!
He decided to do a bit of mowing with the tractor-one handed, says he!
And look where it got him!

He hooks up the chain and I roll down the truck window and listen to his commands!

I had him out of trouble in no time.

I have been pulling him out of 'tricky' situations for more than 46 years!

Did I mention he has been going stir crazy after this fourth surgery?!

A Fail...

 This is known as a break--it is when you carefully dye your wool with colors in this case, 

blue, a primary color and then a secondary color-orange made of yellow and red;  

these are the colors you blend to get a sage green. 

 The pot of wool was a beautiful sage green, so I turned off the heat 

and let the pan of wool and water cool. 

 When I took the lid off several hours later-I had a shock!  

The colors had some greens but the orange had separated into red and orange--

not what I wanted at all!!!!!

I have hand carded a few handfuls and you can clearly see a gold, dark green and a red.

Now if I were to card these on the drum carder to make a batt, 

I will have a batt of mud colored wool.

I can only try to keep the areas of wool separate 

and then hope to over-dye after I have spun it into yarn.

Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you don't!

I will be carding and seeing what I can spin later today!

Just Today

 ...I'm working on the 12 Days of Christmas -a quilt along in July.

 ....I will be making some sweater pieces on the knitting machine.

...I will be drying this newly dyed wool so I can card it this afternoon.

Bill is feeling better and was finally able to sleep

without the pain waking him up.

I am rested again as well;

what a difference a good night's sleep makes for your whole being!

Yarn and Fleece

 

 The first little shrug is completed;  it is a size 12 months.

I will start another one is size 2 years today for big sister!

It is a thin yarn but has a halo so it is going to be very soft to wear!

I fluffed up the washed fleece outside so I could pick out and shake out some vegetable material.

Today I will put it in the pot and dye it a light sage before I card it and spin it.

It takes a big of time but enjoyable every step on its way to becoming yarn!

This is one pound of Gulf Native Fiber.  

I have several skeins already spun from years past in natural

and two in light rose which I had dyed from Prickly Pear Cactus fruit 

so I think the sage will make a good complement for some colorwork knitting ahead!

Take a Soak

 I have spun all of the Masham wool into yarn so I needed to work with some raw fleece

so I have something to spin for the Tour de Fleece;

this one is some more Gulf Coast Native fiber.

I plunged it into a tub of hot, sudsy water and let it soak for a few others. 

 Twice I emptied the dirty water before it was clean enough;

then two tubs of hot water to rinse it!

I set it outside to dry-just in time for rain to fall!

I placed it under the fan in my  studio and it was dry and fluffy in no time!

Oh, and I have another clean and dry skein of wool-another 413 yards !

Bill did well in the surgery but is in considerable pain now.

We are hoping that this will be the closing 4 weeks for this subject!

Spun Out!

 I took the whole production outside so I could ply the last little bit of the Gulf Native wool and finish it up!

 I even wound it off the bobbin right away.

 A slight over spin but that usually relaxes after the washing!

 What an accomplishment!

463 yards of fingering weight yarn in this squishy, soft yarn.

Against all odds because I was getting zoomed by bikes, scooters and tyke trucks!

It plumped up after washing just right.

I am thinking I will dye it so that I can use it in a garment with the

cactus dyed rose yarn.

One other skein of this fiber I will dye a sage green and that will give me a full pound of this yarn.

Some Fair Isle knitting is in my future!