Return from the shadows
So I seem to have recovered enough from this past school year to actually be interested in posting on LJ again. I have been lurking in the shadows, but really, what I wanted to write about I couldn't and what I could write about was simply a lot of whining.
That's what I have a cat for (well, and for mouse control, although she is retired from that job now).*
June was spent doing a lot of spinning and messing about with fiber. I went up to the Central New York Fiber Festival early in the month where I made up for the pathetic quantity of fiber purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool. Besides some very pretty spinning fiber, L. and I split a Tunis (sheep) fleece. It is gorgeously soft, a lovely gray/brown, and now clean. It is going to be fun carding it up and spinning it. I suspect it will form a very cushy yarn since the fiber has a lot of crimp in it.
I also played with dyes, making a color wheel of sorts from the dyes that I had on hand. The exercise was well worth it since it pointed out that I need a true blue and a true red dye. One of my blues is toward the green side and the other produces a very pale blue. My reds fall to the purple and orange sides so they at least cover each other if I don't really want a true red. I think I may have a packet of red kicking around, but I really need to organize my dye cabinet.
Lastly, G. and I were playing with the carder, some dyed fiber G. dug out of her stash and some sparkle/firestar fibers we had collected. The samples we carded up are gorgeous. We also tried out some recycled sari silk, but G. has those samples and I haven't seen them yet.
Oh, and I bought a new sliding hook flyer for my spinning wheel, which is almost 30 years old.
O.O My how time flies!
And really what I thought I was going to write about was picking blueberries this morning and getting fresh peaches from the orchard. All I can say is fresh blueberries and peaches...mmmmm.
That's what I have a cat for (well, and for mouse control, although she is retired from that job now).*
June was spent doing a lot of spinning and messing about with fiber. I went up to the Central New York Fiber Festival early in the month where I made up for the pathetic quantity of fiber purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool. Besides some very pretty spinning fiber, L. and I split a Tunis (sheep) fleece. It is gorgeously soft, a lovely gray/brown, and now clean. It is going to be fun carding it up and spinning it. I suspect it will form a very cushy yarn since the fiber has a lot of crimp in it.
I also played with dyes, making a color wheel of sorts from the dyes that I had on hand. The exercise was well worth it since it pointed out that I need a true blue and a true red dye. One of my blues is toward the green side and the other produces a very pale blue. My reds fall to the purple and orange sides so they at least cover each other if I don't really want a true red. I think I may have a packet of red kicking around, but I really need to organize my dye cabinet.
Lastly, G. and I were playing with the carder, some dyed fiber G. dug out of her stash and some sparkle/firestar fibers we had collected. The samples we carded up are gorgeous. We also tried out some recycled sari silk, but G. has those samples and I haven't seen them yet.
Oh, and I bought a new sliding hook flyer for my spinning wheel, which is almost 30 years old.
O.O My how time flies!
And really what I thought I was going to write about was picking blueberries this morning and getting fresh peaches from the orchard. All I can say is fresh blueberries and peaches...mmmmm.