Yarn - to mill or not?

I've been debating having some of my wool spun at the mill - I was able to handspin almost all my Black Welsh this year (minus one sold fleece), and four additional purchased fleeces - yet my 'stash' is still 4 boxes large! Considering all my wool I have hands on from start to finish, this is obviously going to be a huge leap of faith - or maybe just an exercise in 'can Andrea not micromanage'.

I've been 'collecting' samples from as many mills as I can get my hands on - and one of which is Zeilinger's. My friends at Rockbridge had their yarn blended with their Romney and it's a gorgeous menswear type color - I'm going to have a vest knitted up for my dh in this and some of my Black Welsh handspun.

I do have a bunch of this here on consignment -if you are interested in trying - it is a crisp worsted - 6 oz hanks, 220yards - $24.99 - Email me to order some and I can get you the correct shipping on it.

Hats!

So apparently, I'm not the last person on the face of the earth that doesn't know how to knit :-) My mom has been taking some of the Black Welsh and other yarns that I spin and knitting them into hats for market. And people love 'em! We will have them in the Local Harvest Store (along with Black Welsh Sheep pet toys!), and I'm offering a few styles for purchase, right here from the blog -

This is 'a rare breed's' child apple design - available in red or green, with or without worm! Hat is 100% Wool - Stem and Worms are created with wool right from the farm that I have spun. Sizes are:

• Infant (0-18 month)
• Toddler (18-3 yr)
• Child (3-7)

$25 each, shipping is only $2.50.

COLOR AND SIZE

RED - Infant (0-18m) RED - Toddler (18m-3y) RED - Child (3y-7y) GREEN - Infant (0-18m) GREEN - Toddler (18m-3y) GREEN - Child (3y-7y)

Worm?

Yes No

There is something incredibly satisfying about working with fleece from your own sheep. After shearing and washing, then carding, you get a good idea of what the fleece 'wants' and a lot of times the personality of the sheep plays in my mood when I spin.


Here is Sterling, in lace weight - actually over 18 Wraps Per Inch (hard to tell from this pic but that is pretty tiny!) This is 2-ply spun on one of my drop spindles - a Swan by Grafton Fibers. It turned out so well I am wrapping it up tomorrow to send out to the Fall Fiber Festival for the skein competitions.

Anyone have a good pattern for just over 100 yards of lace weight yarn??? This one will be hard to part with!

Andrea

More BLUE!

Isn't she BLUE-TIFUL???? We have two BFL ewes now - I have learned this wonderful pattern is called 'English Blue' - teardrops, and then they have a silver saddle which in the goat world I'd call a 'belt'!

More on these girls as time permits!

Andrea

A Rooster Stolen

Well, not really a rooster, but a portrait of one -

Here is the link to Kat's Blog entry about her painting -

http://artzkat.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/its-been-a-while/



Andrea

Farmer's Market is FUN!

Yah, you heard me right - dragging an ez-up tent and cinder blocks around can be fun!

Well, thankfully, I have my dad (pictured here) doing the dragging for the most part ;-) But I'm meeting a bunch of folks up at the Berkeley Springs Farmer's Market (I'm there on Thursdays 2-5) - selling eggs, lamb and yarn - and my mom's really cool stuff made WITH my yarn!

You can check out the information on the market - http://www.berkeleyspringsfarmersmarket.com

Or just come and visit me ;-) and shop a bit! I'll be the one wearing the shirt with the infamous rooster! (More about a STOLEN rooster art piece next blog entry)

Spinning madness

When I started with sheep, I decided I wanted a wool breed (Black Welsh Mountain) - but I don't knit, crochet, hook, you name it - fiber arts were a deep unknown.

Last October, I walked into a fiber shop in Berkeley Springs - The Fiber Collage, and met Linda Lawhorne - and started taking spinning lessons. Now I'm hooked, err, spun? wrapped? warped? (no that would be weaving...)

I spin primarily on a drop spindle, portable, takes up very little space and always handy. I prefer to spin naturally colored wools, and am working my way through the breeds to try just a bit of everything! I have even gone as far as processing my own wool at home (from sheep, to washing, to carding, to spindle) into yarn that I will be selling at Farmer's Market later this month.

I entered two hanks of yarn in the skein competitions at Maryland Sheep and Wool - and both ribboned!

These are both primarily Black Welsh Mountain lamb fleeces that I hand carded with other purchased (but hand dyed by artisan) fleeces - I'll be recreating the first placed ribbon blend for some sale yarn!

At the farm we are now experiencing record high heat, so I've turned up the A/C and have been spending a lot of time spinning. Will have pictures to post soon, and links to the fiber shops I'm finding around here!


Andrea