As soon as I sat up in bed this morning I was accosted by a kitten who was realllllllly hungry as she didn’t get her mini can last night. (she gets canned food 2x a day right now)
Then I had to explain to Tessa that even if it was snowy out, I didn’t bring my work computer home last night so I didn’t get to work from home today. That went over like a lead balloon.
Running late I took the dog out, to have her look at me like I was on crack. She HATE’s the snow with a purple passion. She was going back to Dog Daycare today after being out sick last week but I decided I didn’t want to be trying to keep the dog from climbing up onto my lap while driving down an ice laden hill. Back to the crate with a rawhide bone and a bowl of food after a good slurp at the waterer… hopefully Gaelon will get to let her out at lunch time otherwise she’s gonna be really whiney when I come home.
Finished the last of the first batch of yarn to be dyed last night, it's still sitting in the crock pot waiting to be spun out and set on the drying rack. I came home to my sock yarn order being in so those will get skeined and dyed this weekend. Everything that’s hanging to be twist set is going to have to come inside as there’s no way it will dry out on the porch. I think I’ll wait to do the rest that’s waiting to be set until Friday when I can hang it out at my MIL’s next to her new furnace. That basement is dry - so the yarn should set up nicely.
There are several other Coopworth skeins that need to be twist set and when I get home tonight I’ll set them aside to go to my MIL's on Friday too. I bought a Coconut Conditioning Baby Shampoo to set the twist with, as I want to put a little moisture back into some of the yarn that Tessa completely stripped with her Dawn bath. She so loves to help so I don’t make a big deal, but man that could have been a disaster. Plus the shampoo leaves the yarn smelling better than good old blue bottle Dawn…
I was asked over on OpenDiary for a sneak peak. So here's 13 skeins on my porch last night... There's a ton more on my drying rack and hanging in my bathroom, and in baskets... I'm no way going to have the stock for the show that Cinderella had for hers in Wyoming last weekend, but I think that I will have a decent amount when all is said and done.
The biggest skein is all the way to the right. That is about 500 or more yards of plied Coopworth/hand Painted Merino in a Grey and Lilac shade and it's really pretty. I'll have closeups later if I remember to and if it doesn't sell at the craft show.
I have two more skeins of plied Coopworth/Merino and they just turned out beautiful.
I'm going through my carded wool and batts before I get into any of the undyed stash yet. I find I really like working with the roving being dyed first instead of spin first then dye. It just gives a more consistant color.
Pricing is going to be interesting - I am likely taking a loss when you consider all the equipment I bought this year, but for Tax purposes that's fine. It does me well to be in the red on the yarn business for now. Besides - it's Therapy right?
Plus for the show we're going to have the lavendar pillows of multiple types - oh and the mini learn to spin kits... those will likely either succeed or sit drawing dust. Either way, Beaky is coming to the show as asked by the organizers.
I finished a pound bump of Llama / Corriedale last night. It's this lovely Fawn color and is really warm. I have to skein it up but I'm in a quandry as to whether to leave it as singles or to ply it. I'll probably leave it as singles. Tonight I'll take it off the jumbo flyer and move it to a series of smaller bobbins, which will allow me to check the level of twist in it, plus break it down easier into 4 ounce incriments.
My Jumbo Flyer is on the wheel now, but I’m going to switch back to the smaller flyer. Then finish the Merino that I started on the HitchHiker, and skein that up too. It’s going to need to be plied as there are much thinner patches than I really like.
All told however I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve learned, and won’t feel uncomfortable selling my work at the show…
I also need to start on some of the roving that I'd dyed previously - I have this delicious red that needs spinning, and then I want to get into this mohair batt that I call "Vinyard" It's this lucious, lustrous light green with purples in it, and I can see it becoming a sweater or throw for someone who's got dark hair and fair skin. There are also a couple of singles on the bobbins of my HitchHiker... One Merino and one BFL...
While I'm doing that I also need to dye up some more roving soon. I have a lot of wool in my sunroom waiting to be spun up, so I don't think I'll be buying any more for a while. I still haven't gotten some of the raw stuff to the mill yet, and won't this weekend either, but I can at least get to the stuff I have ready to spin. It will make it to the mill some time mid December at this rate, and I'm ok with that I think.
With the weather being so gross I may just stay home and not go to Knit Night tonight, I have a bump of Alpaca, and a bump of Bison that I'm dieing to spin up, but haven't yet. Maybe that's what I'll do tonight when I'm not dying fiber. I've gotten so I can do a large amount in a very small amount of time, I've finally gotten over my obsession with how much I can stuff onto a bobbin, and have really started turning out some pretty yarn.
ok - off to find some hot tea. The problem with a cold is it kicks my arse when it comes to asthma. I'm going to have to turn to my inhaler(s) and I'm not happy with that. I at least have my bosses sympathy and support, as well as strange suggested home remedys for how to stop coughing at night when you sleep.
Even better news is that I have clearance to leave early, which I'll probably head out and work from home this afternoon to avoid the idiots on the road during rush hour.
Oooooo - I have new boots at my MIL's, I'll grab those on my way home so tomrrow I can wear my new boots to work. mmmmmmmmmm shearling and warm. and with getting to go home early? I can get some more spinning done! YAY!
