My Middle of the Week

I stayed up late again to see this flower open....it isn't ready yet!

It is like waiting for a pregnant pet to give birth..... 

This morning I dug through the stash to find some fabrics to make this wall hanging.  I am dreadfully short on pretty greys!  I will be making a few alterations on the pattern so it will be a Sandhill Crane and not a Heron.  Sure, I can do anything;  I am a quilter! 

When the sun came out today after looking like it was going to rain all morning but didn't,  I laid the contents of the bag of fleece out on the sidewalk.

I have three different animal fleeces here.

The white is very coarse-maybe an older animal.

The dark grey is also very coarse but a few sections have some nice fiber.

The brown is the most promising;  it is some very promising fiber.

I will be carding up some and giving it a test spin.

For now, it is back in the bag waiting for me!

(the cats thoroughly enjoyed the inspection-sniffing and rolling and trying to steal some locks!  I had quite a time corralling them so I could do my own inspection!) 

I cast on Entrelac baby blanket number two for this year;  I am knitting this in acrylic yarn called Prism on number 7 needles.  I cast on 100 stitches and then work 10 entrelac squares across the row with side triangles at each side.  I learned how to knit backwards on this pattern so I don't have to turn the work!  A plus when the blanket grows in size!

I have a baby shower to attend in one month-can I get this done on time?!  The race is on! 

I caught Stormie inspecting this project-or maybe she is centering it for my picture!

She is normally very shy and runs when she sees a camera!  I tried to wait for her to look up to me because she is cross-eyed and is so sweet!  I got the other end instead....cats.

Tour de Fleece 2015 Preparation

I am getting my fiber lined up for this year's spinning marathon to echo the scheduling of the Tour de France.  I am totally disinterested in sports but I do like the 'sport' of textile and this is a fun competition!

I have been collecting my rovings and I pulled out this fleece I bought last year and got it ready for washing. 

It goes into the tub of hot, sudsy water....twice. 

After two rinses, I have a very creamy soft pile of Florida Gulf Native fiber! 

After I spin it out in the washer, I lay it out on the old sliding glass door screen to dry!  The cats only knocked the screen down twice-not bad!

While I was waiting for the fleece to soak or rinse or dry, I dyed some more superwash roving. 

It is in shades of grey to black.  The 'race' begins on Saturday.  

Fleece Fever

 don't yo ulove it when you find something you have been searching for .....in this case, a fleece from a Gulf Coast Native Sheep.  This breed was brought to Florida by the Spanish in the 1500's and it flourished despite the heat, humidity and insects.  A hardy breed!  (I ordered it from Shirley, at Westwinds Farm on Etsy, a farm in Michigan)

 The box arrived quickly and inside was this fleece in a nylon laundry bag.   I like the extra touch!

 I will enjoy every step of this process-the skirting has already been done so there is no waste on my part!  (and no waste in the fleece-literally!)

 The fleece is from a lamb, Rudy, from his first cutting so the fiber will be soft and next-to-the-skin wearable.

 I can't wait to get my hands on this fiber for carding and spinning.   (I will be dyeing it after spinning-maybe.)

 Well, as soon as I can get it away from Sketch, who is just as thrilled about its arrival as I am!

I didn't show her the bag opens up to this!  (About 3 1/2-4" locks)  And it smells wonderful!