Magic

I scored a free fleece of unknown breed or age on Friday at Spinners. Nice long staples, if a little grubby. It's been YEARS since I've prepped a fleece for spinning from scratch! I'd also forgotten how long it takes.

Very satisfying, though. Taking it through the processes, from washing, drying, and running it through my drum carder (multiple times for a really nice result). I'm really pleased with how my squishy batts are coming out - sooooo different from what I started with! They should be a dream to spin.

Sigh ...

I'm going through another one of those phases where everything I touch turns to crap. I've knitted and ripped, knitted and ripped, and knitted and ripped. I've spent the last week knitting up some really yummy handspun, and I've really enjoyed knitting with it. I should knit with my handspun more often! However I haven't been entirely happy with the gauge, and as I've been knitting, I've been thinking about frogging it so I could use a larger needle.

I'm knitting a (quite large) top down triangular shawl with a patterned edge. I've just screwed up the lace pattern, and don't think I want to bother fixing it.

Blah.

A new year, a new home, a new hobby.

I've been resisting this one for a while. I really like knitting. I enjoy spinning because it lets me play with yummy fibres, and results in yarn I can knit with. Weaving? Not so much.

And then someone gave me a loom. A rigid heddle loom to be precise. I sidled round it all last year warily, and then took the plunge. My first attempt at a scarf wasn't toooo bad. Learning from my mistakes, I tried again.

Take ONE ball of sock yarn

Warp directly onto loom

Around a warping peg

Weave fwom wight to weft

Close up

Voila!

I have now gone out and bought more heddles for my loom, so I can weave any thickness of yarn my little heart desires. I'm hooked!

PS - Please pardon my absence for the last few months, both myself AND a beloved family member moved houses. I don't want to hear the words "cardboard boxes" or "packing" for a loooong loooong time! It was totally worth it though - I am so much happier in my new home.