Monday, July 19, 2010

Finally got the Cotswold locks dyed and spun up.  They were blended with some dyed nylon fibers, then spun thick / thin, and the single was plyed with some rayon yarn.  It turned out very pretty.  The pic is before and after carding.  I did use the picker to get those little locks nice and separated.  Still have an entire bag of it to go.

Also finished the green wool singles and plyed them with some hand dyed silk hankies I bought a couple years ago at the NWRSA when it was held here in town.  I had spun the hankies already and the colors just matched so well.   Never throw anything away, even if you think you won't be using it, not that I would have thrown the silk yarn out.  The weather has been beautiful and warm.  Went to a church BBQ last night, it was so fun with the live music from our own praise band.  All the summer foods including ice cream.  The kittens have been so sick but are doing much better.  My daughter takes such good care of them but its certainly is a full time job. 

Friday, July 2, 2010

What a busy time for us here on the farm.  This week we got firewood delivered for next winter.  We had the wood dumped in a big pile and still need to stack it close to the house so we're not hiking through the snow to get an armload.  We get it cut and split to size by the guys that we buy it from so there's not a lot more for us to do except stack.  Also got our second load of hay delivered this morning.  We still need around 15 bales for the alpacas this winter, then start working on the goat's hay.  They don't eat the same kind with the goats doing better with some rougher types of grasses.

I finally got the merino / pygora yarn finished up this week.  Here's a pic of the finished skein.  I'm not sure how much yarn there actually is, I will have to measure it later.  Today I'm putting the gray Cotswold locks in the dye pot.  I love the color and texture of that wool and think a very light blue with a little lilac might be pretty.  Lots of the gray will be left undyed to give it the variegated look I love so much.  More rain today, so no yard mowing for a while.