With Wool In Hand - Ep 2 of the My Wool Mitten Podcast

So...have you heard?  Yes, we now have a podcast!  

You can find it on You Tube as My Wool Mitten and episode 2 is now up.  I decided it was easier for me to post show notes with links to patterns, producers and things mentioned on the episode here at the blog.  Of course, if you have any questions about anything you see there please feel free to contact me!

Tensho Sweater by Beatrice at Thread and Ladle .  I also want to knit her Ash Point Pullover!

I'm going to be doing a sweater test knit for Elly from Leaf Yarns and I'm so excited for that!  Elly dyes the most beautiful yarns, be sure to check them out as well as her podcast

Caroline at Honer och Eir - inspiring yarns, fibers and podcast on Patreon

Ali at Little Drops of Wonderful podcast and Ravelry group

Memory Keepers Hat turned cowl pattern by Lina-Knits (there is also a Memory Keepers Shawl, and Lina is hosting a KAL for the patterns in her Ravelry group and on her podcast). I made my cowl with our farm yarn "Wise Woman" along with yarn from Tiffany and Ethan at The Woolen Homestead 

MPG (multipurpose garment) cowl pattern by Emily at Fibre Town and her podcast, that you really must watch if you aren't already!  I will be giving away not one but TWO copies of this pattern - one from me, and one generously donated by Emily (thank you!) - for the next episode

Micron Testing for Wool (in case you're interested) here and here 

Louet S-17 spinning wheel (but any of the Louet wheels are good)

I think I remembered them all!  Thank you for watching the podcast and if you haven't already, please consider hitting the subscribe button there on You Tube and then the little bell that will notify you when I new episode is available x o

Roving in the Wind

Good morning Friends!  I just wanted to take a minute to draw your attention to our "farm products" blog, in case you didn't know about it.  It's listed in the side bar of this blog over on the right, or you can click on this link to go to it My Wool Mitten.  It's just a separate place where we can list items produced here on the farm that are available for purchase, when we have them.

Right now, the only thing we have to offer is some lovely white roving from a Corriedale ewe "Hannah", raised here on the farm and processed at Zeilingers Mill in Frankenmuth, so a completely Michigan product!  It's a lovely spin, so check it out if you're interested.  You can also email me at serenityfarmswool at yahoo dot com if you have any questions.

If you happen to be visiting here after watching The Woolen Homestead podcast, welcome and thank you Tiffany and Ethan for the shout out.  If you haven't already, check them out - they're so much fun and so talented!  They dye some amazing yarn colors

Playing With Fiber

Since my last post with raw wool for sale, I've been getting questions and emails about what to do with fleece if you don't have all the expensive fiber tools (combs, carders, pickers, etc.) 

Pictured are some washed Corriedale locks, lower right, inexpensive dog combs and finished combed fiber, top, ready to spin!

Good questions!  And one I understand because I didn't always have the equipment I have now.  You know, there are tons of great videos, websites, articles, downloads available out and about by people that know a lot more than I do - do a search for them when you can and you'll learn a lot about processing or prepping fiber for spinning without all the equipment.  My post here isn't really a "how-to" I'm just sharing a few photos sitting on my couch in my living room with a basket full of washed fibers and some really inexpensive tools that can get you started on your fiber prep journey!

First you need nice fiber (see my last post if you're looking for great Corriedale fleece!)  Next, you need to wash that fiber (unless you're planning to spin in the grease)  See my series of posts on Washing Wool, The Way I Do starting here.  So now, you should have some nice clean wool ideally still in the lock formation.  At that point, you could just tease open each end of the lock, fluff it up a bit and spin from the lock.  Or you could flick card (using a flicker or an inexpensive dog brush - the kind with rather stiff wire teeth).  Here's a short, simple video showing the process.

As I've mentioned many times, I really like combing wool for spinning.  Wool combs are expensive, even the small ones.  So why not start with a pair of dog combs from the pet store, farm store or even discount stores!  Not perfect but it works....here are a few pictures of some that I picked up for .99 each in the clearance bin at the farm store:

Load one comb with a thin layer of fiber, not to thickly

In the picture above, I've combed the fiber from one comb to the other two times.  The little pile of fuzz both next to and on the comb is "waste" -short stuff, chaff, throw away.  Next to it is fiber ready to spin

Three little birds nests of combed "sliver"  A delight to spin!

I measured these particular dog combs and the tines are 3.5 and 4 inches wide.  Teeth are 1 inch high and the wooden handles are 3.5 inches long.  They're very comfortable to use.

And what if you don't have a spinning wheel yet?  Here's something I just discovered, thanks to my new fiber friend Jill ~ a support spindle!!!  See it nestled in the basket of fiber, below?

I can't tell you how fun this is for me!  I've never mastered the drop spindle and at this point, don't care to keep trying ;)  I've got three spinning wheels but I'm really enjoying learning the support spindle and have even made some "rustic" yarn on it already!  My point being, spindles (drop or support) are a good way to spin before you're ready to invest in a wheel.

Looking For Corriedale Wool

And I have some to share!  I feel so fortunate to have people interested in finding and trying Corriedale and Corriedale cross fleeces, as a small farmer/shepherd your continued support is what keeps us going.  I'm going to share some photos and descriptions of fleece we have available right now.  If you see something you like, please send me an email at serenityfarmswool at yahoo dot com or PM me on Ravelry to check availability and to figure a total cost for you.  It might be helpful if you have a second choice as well, because these tend to sell quickly.  I'll list them as sold as soon as I can, so you won't be disappointed.  We happily take Paypal, personal check or money order and cash if you're close by.  We're happy to sell fleece by the pound, you don't have to buy an entire fleece (most of these listed are partial fleeces)  All of these fleeces are $15 per pound, plus shipping.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me about a particular sheep or fleece.  As always, remember that all computer monitors are different and may not accurately represent the color of the fleece.  I'll try to give the best descriptions that I can.  All of these first fleeces listed are lamb fleeces, and while those are often the nicest fleece a sheep will have in its lifetime, they can also be dirtier or have dry or gummy tips.  I don't begin coating my lambs till after they're weaned so they've already lived half the year without a coat and they tend to get into a lot of stuff ;)  That said, I'm very happy with the cleanliness of this years fleeces.  

Here we go ~

KELLY - white Corriedale ewe ~ S O L D ~

Very pretty, traditional Corriedale crimp, dirty tips but very little vm as you can see in the photo.  5" staple length.  About 2 pounds available

KITE - white Corriedale ewe  ~ S O L D ~

This is probably the prettiest white fleece, very fine and lacy.  4.5 inch staple length, dirty tips but not vm.  About 2 pounds available.

KARL - white Corriedale ram lamb ~ S O L D ~

Bright white, nice crimp, dirty tips but very little vm.  4" staple, about 3 pounds available.

KLONDIKE - white, Corriedale/Bond cross ram lamb ~ S O L D ~

Really nice crimp with a 4" staple length.  A little finer than Karl's fleece, but also a bit dirtier along the staple.  About 3 pounds available.

KENNEDY natural color Corriedale ewe ~ S O L D ~

I've got two pictures here of Kennedy's fleece because I just couldn't get a good color representation.  Its probably somewhere in between the two, and I'd call it a divine steel blue grey color.  She's got lovely crimp, good 5" staple length and I've got three pounds still for sale of her original twelve pound fleece!

KIMBLERLY natural color Corriedale/Bond ewe ~ S O L D ~

This little ewe has the most elegant fleece!  Its nearly black, 4" staple length and good crimp.  Some fading on the tips as you can see from the picture.  Now three pounds available.

KASTLE natural color Corriedale ram lamb ~ S O L D ~

This is my favorite fleece of the year and the picture just doesn't do it justice.  This is an awesome fleece!  Another steel blue grey, a bit finer crimp than the other and a little more variety in color, making it more complex.  This is a very active ram lamb and though he was coated, you'll find more vm in this fleece than the others.  I'm keeping half of this fleece for myself!

And now the moorits, the Corriedale/Bond crosses!

KODIAK moorit (red) Corriedale/Bond cross ram lamb ~ S O L D ~

Paler, rusty red fleece with faded tips and a shorter staple length, length varies from 3 to 4 inches throughout.  This is a very clean fleece and I have 2 pounds left to sell.

KILLIAN moorit (red) Corriedale/Bond cross ram lamb ~ S O L D ~

This is a rich, dark red, chestnut fleece, dark all the way to the tips!  Fine crimp and 3.5 to 4 inch staple length.  Not quite as vm free as Kodiak's fleece but still nice.   

And that's it for the lamb fleeces this year - I hope you'll see something you like!  I've still got adult ewes to skirt and list, but that may not happen till lambing is done.  If you miss out on a fleece you like this year, be sure to contact me about 2015 shearing.  Thanks for looking!

I just love fresh fleeces, don't you?

Next Step, Yarn Sampling!

Alright, if we're ever going to get these socks knitted I better get back to work, right?  I still have a fleece preparation blog post I want to get done in July!

If you remember from our last sock spinning post, we had two one ounce samples of our Corriedale-Alpaca roving.  I spun the first and did a Navajo 3-ply (sometimes called chain-plying), you see that pictured to the left here.  A nice, round, plump and still squishy yarn!  I'm not sure if it shows in the photo but the sheen of this fiber is amazing!  I threw in the light grey Corriedale-Angora yarn just to see the contrast.

The next one ounce sample I did as a 2-ply.  Although I really liked the looks of it, when I began knitting the sample I could quickly feel the difference and my preference was the 3-ply.  Even my husband could see and feel the difference in the two swatches of fabric.  I was finishing up my 2-ply swatch so I could show it to you side by side with the 3-ply, when it occurred to me to try going down a needle size on the 2-ply yarn before I made my final decision, and I'm glad I did!  I was most happy with the 2-ply yarn and size 1 needles.

 Please excuse the sloppy samples in the picture above - I really should have dampened them down (wet blocked) to get them to lay better and they would show the stitch detail and size difference more (the edges are curling, so I'm not sure how clear this will be)  For both samples, I cast on 21 stitches.  Measuring just across the center stockinette portion of the samples I came up with 7 to 71/2 stitches to the inch on the size 1 needles.  I wish I could tell you how many yards I spun in each sample and I DID have that information written down...but now cannot find it!  Ugh...

So anyway, now comes the decision making process.  I like the firmness of the 3-ply yarn.  Experience and common sense tells me that the 3-ply is going to wear better for socks than the 2-ply, its sturdier.  Its softer and "cushier" on the feet.  It will also be very warm, and it will felt quite easily, just from wear.  If I knit the 2-ply on the size 1 needles, I'll still have a good firm fabric though not quite as dense and heavy.  They will probably fit nicer inside of shoes and for me, with my knitting tension, I'll have a bit more stretch to the leg of the sock.  There is probably a more technical way of describing this and there are sock knitting experts out there who have written books and articles to explain this all better than I am - LOL - I'm just sharing with you my rambling thought process, to show you how this spinning-knitting shepherdess comes to making sock yarn and socks!  I'd also like you to see that what it all comes down to is personal preference, personal knitting and spinning styles and most of all what makes you happy especially if you are making these socks for yourself.  Another thing to consider - the 2-ply will take less time to spin, and require less roving to the the same number of yards.

Now another possibility, something I've done numerous times in the past, is to spin both a 3-ply and a 2-ply yarn.  Knit the sock foot with the 3-ply and the leg with the 2-ply.  As spinners, we're able to adjust our spinning and get a 3-ply and a 2-ply that are approximately the same "size" aren't we?

So, what would you chose at this point?  While we decide, I'll leave you with a picture of Yarn On A Plate - I had to take a few minutes to spin up some wildly colored rolags I received as a gift.  So pretty and when I finished the little sample, I twisted it together with more of the Corriedale-Alpaca - see them below, and I'll meet you back here next time!

 

From A Sheep To A Sock, Next Part

(First I want to reply to the comments left for the last post and say thank you for leaving them!  To my friend Susan, on a day like I've had today I think I could easily be persuaded to trade in the farm!  And Emily, so nice to hear from you and yes, I would be happy to share how I prepare a fleece from start to finish at home for sock spinning - maybe that could be a "July Series"?  Jody, your spinning is so lovely I think you could surely teach me a thing or two!!! How fine did you spin Elizabeth's 3-ply?  As much as I love a long wavy fleece (like Francie's) for socks, a tightly crimped fleece makes a wonderful sock yarn, too, just different ;)  And Joanne you would love this roving - its much darker than the photo shows but it has so much shine (don't you think Susan?)  And the pillow is one of a vintage set I got at the Maple Valley Farm Shop a month or so ago!)

The next step for me in spinning for sock yarn is to find a comfy spot to do my sample spin.  If you're lucky enough to have a back porch that looks out across the garden, farm and sheep pasture for inspiration that's truly a joy!  A helpful farm cat companion is another plus.  So I finish the supper dishes, pour a cup of coffee and settle down on the porch.

I have three spinning wheels, but I still go back so often to my old standby Louet S17.  My Mom, who is gone now, painted the sheep on it for me and I love it.  I can spin from lace to bulky with little effort.  In this case, you might notice the grey wool already on the bobbin.  That's because I find it helpful for spinning a finer single on the Louet if the bobbin is partially full.  I'm only going to be spinning a one ounce sample so have plenty of room here.  Remember the pictures of the two samples from the last post, one ounce each?  I'll spin one to make a 2-ply sample and one to do a 3-ply.  My default spin seems to be a light sportweight.

In this photo, I've pulled a little of the single back from the bobbin and let it twist back on itself to give me an idea of how my 2-ply will look.  Notice the helpful companion cat is not impressed, nor has she moved much from the last shot!  I might mention here that for this small amount, I'll spin the full ounce onto the bobbin, let it sit at least overnight then I'll wind it off into a center pull ball and ply it from that.  I like the results I get from plying from a center pull ball.  I'm not sure if its mechanically correct or not, but that works for me (in small amounts)  Larger amounts tangle to much, so I would use two bobbins and ply together onto a third.

Tomorrow I'll show you pictures of the finished 2-ply yarn and the sample swatch I knit.  And if I can find the notes I was so careful to make I'll be able to tell you how many yards I got from each sample - ugh - where did those notes go?!?

 

How To Go From A Sheep To A Sock...

A "How-To" post of sorts ;)

I love to make socks, I know I've shared that here before (though recently mittens have been my main focus).  To my way of thinking, there's no sock like a real wool sock and so it  starts for me with a sheep and a fleece.  In this case a lovely little black ewe named Isobel who has a very long staple length and a slightly more open crimp to her fleece than most of our Corriedales, long but very silky - just the kind I like for making hard wearing sock yarn!  She comes from the old Verlee line of Corriedale sheep in our flock and I love their wool.  Both Isobel and her sister (who's called "Sister", hehe) had such long fleeces that we sheared them at seven months old.

A head shot of Isobel above and another from this spring

So I have this lamb fleece, black - well, really more of a dark black cherry-cola color - that I'm planning to keep for myself and make my favorite blend for spinning sock yarn of 70% Corriedale wool and 30% alpaca.  I teach a class on spinning for sock yarn and I love showing and sharing how well this blend works for socks, but of course in the end its a matter of personal preference for both the spinner and the sock-wearer!  When I need alpaca fiber, I always go for the best and that comes from the farm of my friend and neighbor Maple at North Star Alpacas.  But this time, a call from a long-distance fiber friend changed the intent for Isobel's fleece!

My friend Susan emailed asking if I had a black or very dark fleece.  She knew it was a long shot because it wasn't shearing time, but it just so happened that we'd shorn those two ewe lambs and I had Isobel's fleece along with another kept back for myself from spring shearing (that was Hilda's fleece, but that's another fiber story - LOL!)  Susan had some alpaca from a farm local to her and she wanted to create a blend for spinning socks.  So even though these were fleeces I'd intended to keep, there's always more for me growing down in the barn and off the samples went to New England for sampling.

Fast forward a short time, a few emails and finally a phone call with a proposal - would I be interested in going together with my (Isobel's) wool and Susan's alpaca and sharing the resulting roving?  Sure I would!!!  So that is how our Friendship Roving came to be and a plan was hatched to do a long-distance spin-a-long and knit-a-long for a new pair of socks.  The alpaca came to Michigan and joined the Corriedale wool for a trip to Zeilingers Mill to be washed and processed.  (A note here ~ quite often when making socks I wash and comb the fleece myself, that really makes a nice fiber to spin.  But for larger quantities like we were doing here, I took advantage of the spring special at Z's and let them do it all!)

I meant for this to be just one long post about sheep to socks, but as usual I'm getting a bit long-winded and also I've been just to busy to sit by the computer for very long, so I'm going to break this up a bit for you...above you see two one-ounce balls of the roving ready for me to do a test-spin and sample for my socks.  I know it looks brown but that's just my camera, its really very dark ;)  In my next post, I'll share a bit more of my method/process for sock spinning.  I hope you'll come back for more!

Yes, a hat ;)

Thanks everyone, for the get well wishes!  That cheered me up and I hope I'm on the uphill side of it and will continue to mend.  You guys are the best!

Several of our clever readers correctly guessed that the strange item in my last post was a hat...Very good!!!  Remember back in February I mentioned that I was going to try to knit 12 Hats in 2012?  Well, even though I haven't been good about keeping them posted I have been good about getting them knitted.  Those previous photos were of the inside and outside of my version of the Elizabeth's Cap from the Winter 2011 issue of Spin Off magazine.  (NOTE, all of the links to patterns I'm sharing here are at Ravelry).  I liked the idea of it because you spin some singles yarn of various colors and then carry the singles together to make the cap.  I'm always sampling handfuls of fleece from our sheep, washing and combing it and then spinning it up so this was a perfect project.  I leave the singles right on the bobbin and knit from there, does anyone else do that?  Anyway, here is another picture of the cap:

That's dark grey; medium grey; silver and ivory Corriedale fleece from our flock in the hat.  And guess what?  It actually fits me and it doesn't look to bad!  I would definately recommend this hat, especially to hand spinners.

Another hat I did in February is the East Falls Hat from Knitscene Spring 2012.  I did some "stash-busting" for this one and used millspun alpaca/merino from my friend Maple at North Star Alpacas (the moorit color) along with Corriedale (the ivory color) .  Again, a cute design with a nice fit and interesting construction.  It used a different method of making "jogless stripes" that I quite liked.

A few more artsy shots of the hat ~


In progress



Topside, blocking


I think I've got enough of the yarn left to whip up a pair of matching mittens.  The hat pattern calls for a couple of decorative buttons on the side of the band and I have something in mind if I can find them.  Otherwise I'll leave it as is.

My first hat in March was a pattern I'd planned to make since I saw it in the Interweave Knits Winter 2010 Weekend Special Edition.  It's called the Bryony Cap and it's one of those chunky,  cable-y, fluffy hats that shout warmth and winter!  I also knew I wanted to make it with a wool-angora bunny blend, using - what else? - Serenity Farms Corriedale along with some silvery grey English Angora yarn I'd spun a while ago.  I LOVE this hat!!!  It was a fast knit, its warm and big but not sloppy and if it wasn't for the fact that it has been close to 90 degrees these past few March days, I don't think I would ever take it off! 

This isn't the best picture for showing details.  It actually has a long ribbed brim that you roll up for double thickness over the ears and then nice, big undulating cables.  I can't wait to show it to my friend Renee this weekend (she raises Angora bunnies, so I know she'll appreciate it!)  By the way, the rooster isn't really so tiny - LOL - he's just down below me in the yard quite a ways.

So now you know more than you probably care to about my growing collection of hats and hat patterns.  I have a second hat for March on the needles, called the Shamrock Tam that I started on St. Patricks Day but I'm using navy blue yarn and it doesn't really show up in pictures very well.  I'll share that one when its done.  Then I think I'll do another crochet hat.  My friend Kathy recommended one that looks like fun.

How about you?  Are you knitting in this weird hot weather?

P.S.  A set of triplets born, two boys and a girl, all natural colored.  Five more ewes to go, if I'm counting right.

Spinning For Sock Yarn

3-ply or 2-ply, which do you prefer for socks?

I will be leading a workshop on spinning a nice sock yarn at my local yarn shop and coffee house this Saturday, February 25th.  Instruction time will be from 10 am till noon, but we can have lunch and stay to spin and play with fibers all afternoon!

Fee for the workshop is only $12 and includes handouts and some fiber samples.  You will need to bring a spinning wheel in good working order with at least two empty bobbins (three or four is even better so bring them if you have them!) plus whatever tools you use when spinning (orafice hook, spinning oil, etc.).  You should already know how to spin, this workshop is intended to expand that basic knowledge.  If you have a lazy kate and niddy noddy, please bring those as well.  I'll have a couple of extras me, but it will just be more convenient for you if you have your own.  If you have some fiber (raw or processed) that you might want to spin for socks, bring it along for discussion (that may take place in the afternoon).

Sip 'n Knit, the yarn shop, is located in downtown Ithaca Michigan.  If you are interested in taking the workshop, could you please call or email them to reserve your spot so I can plan for materials ;)  Click on the link to see their contact information and address.  Would love to see you there!

Hat Quest 2012

I am of the opinion that there are two types of people in the world - those who can successfully wear hats (any style of hat) and look fabulous (or at least cute) and those who just look like a dork trying to wear a hat.

I fall into that last category.  I mean I look really awful in a hat.  Beanie, beret, baseball cap, garden hat - you name it, I look bad in it - as bad as that fence post above modeling the Elizabeth Zimmermann Maltese Fisherman Hat (a brilliant pattern, by the way)!  To top that off, I have hair that conforms itself to weird, ridiculous shapes the moment I put anything on my head, making it look like I totally forgot to use a comb when I got out of bed.  Do I care?  No, not particularly.  Hats are to serve a purpose in cold or windy weather when I'm working outdoors.  However, not only do I look terrible in a hat I guess I have some odd shaped head that makes it very difficult to find or make a hat that fits me properly and comfortably.  Sadly, the hat that fits me best is usually a purchased acrylic hat.  ACK!!!!

I am a lover of wool.  I raise wool, I spin wool, I knit and crochet with wool.  I'm determined to find a hat pattern that works for me, made from my own hands!

Along comes the knitters friend, Ravelry, and tons of groups formed to knit/crochet or spin twelve of something for the year 2012.  I figured there must be someone planning to work on twelve hats, and sure enough there is.  So I joined the 12 Hats in 2012 group for pattern suggestions and to be quietly working along with over 300 other Ravelry members on hats this year!  I am determined to find a hat that I like, is interesting to me to make yet easy and that fits me well!  Determined, I say again...and I figure that along the way if I make a hat that doesn't work for me, I can donate it to the outreach charity at my local yarn shop.

Phannie was one of the two hat patterns chosen by the group to do in January.  It's crochet, and when I was reading over the pattern I literally had a skein of yarn and the right size crochet hook sitting next to me at my desk!  I decided to give it a try (here is a photo of the "in progress" hat):

I know the basics of crochet, but not a lot.  There were some things in this pattern I had never done before that I wanted to try, like increasing and decreasing in crochet and also the "post stitch".  Can I just say that I am in love with how this looks?!?  I guess I did it right, I followed directions in a crochet book I have and whether its right or wrong I really like how it looks.  You can see the detail pretty well in the photo above. You start at the top with this hat and finish at the brim.  It didn't take long at all to finish.  And though I did the body of the hat in purchased yarn, the brim is handspun Corriedale and Shetland.

It fits great!  It looks - on me - terrible.  Sigh.....

I would definately make this pattern again, in fact I am going to make this hat again in handspun.  I enjoyed the crochet and learning something different.  It only took me three days to finish it, working a little bit at a time.  The pattern is free from the Berroco website (a great place to visit, by the way!)

So now you have endured reading a very long post about hats and my head, LOL!  The posts about hats over the course of the year won't be quite so long, but I will share my journey with you.  I would love to hear about your favorite hat pattern if you have one!

I've already cast on for February, this time I started on the East Falls Hat from Knitscene Spring 2012 magazine.  This wasn't one of the patterns chosen by the Ravelry group, but I had just picked up the magazine because I liked the looks of this hat.  I'm thinking that this type of design, where  you knit the band first and then pick up stitches to do the body of the hat, might work well for me.  I want a snug fitting "band" around my ears, but the body of the hat to be more roomy.  This one is showing great promise and I'm almost finished with it, so will have something to show you soon.

On a side note...it was completely daylight here in mid-Michigan by 7:40 am!  And, today is my baby brother's birthday!!!  I love him to bits and hope I get to see him sometime over the weekend!

ETA ~  Anyone near by (mid-Michigan) who would like to join in on the hat project, I've convinced my local yarn shop, Sip 'n Knit in Ithaca to do a montly knit-a-long, too!  Check out the link if you're interested.

Spinning, Sparkles and Snow

I was going to write a blog post about some things we're working on around the farm, but then I was distracted by some spinning and knitting and the lovely snow.

How many inches fell where you are?  We only have about 2.5 inches but its very pretty.  It seems to have stopped for the day, but the wind is blowing things around out there.

Spinning....spinning batts....spinning challenges.  I was poking around in the fiber stash the other day and came across some pretty batts I'd carded last year at a friends house.  There wasn't alot, just a few ounces, but it was so pretty and so soft.  Corriedale, of course, both natural and dyed along with angora and just a bit of "twinkle". 

Then it just so happened that the lovely group at Ennea Collective mentioned a spinning challenge for 2012, and the first of those was spinning batts.  Well, it was just meant to be that I finish spinning these up, don't you think?  That's exactly what I did, and I loved every single minute of it.  Clean, soft, well prepared fiber, watching the colors glow and change as they slid through my hands and onto the wheel.  Sigh...delightful!  Let me show you a little bit of what I did to spin ~

In the picture above, you are actually seeing two batts but each has been divided in half giving me four lengths of fiber to spin.  In other words, sections one and three are from one batt and sections two and four are from another.  I did this for two reasons.  First to give me a more manageable amount of fiber to draft and spin and second so that I could blend the colors a bit more on the wheel.  I think you can see pretty clearly in the photo that I had more of the dyed wool in one batt than I did the other!   I spun one bobbin full in the sequence above - sections 1,2, 3 then 4.  I spun a second bobbin in the order of 2, 3, 4 then 1.  And then I plied them together.  Is that clear as mud?  LOL...do you even care ((grin))  Was I overthinking the process?  Maybe, but I like the end results, pictured below ~

About 364 yards, 2-ply, both spun and plied on my Louet S-17, medium whorl.  This might become mittens or a hat or a cowl, not sure yet.  Or maybe the Windchaser Shawl by Lori Law, from the same issue of Ennea.  I could spin some solid grey for the border.  Hmmm...my yarn is a little heavier than fingering, more a sport weight, so I may not have enough.  But wouldn't that be pretty?

This was such a happy project for me, thanks Ennea crew for suggesting spinning batts!

Here's another happy project, a knitting one.  At my LYS, Sip 'n Knit, we're knitting socks.  This is actually a pattern that I wrote up called Sip 'n Sock.  It's simple, really, just a basic sock with a coffee cup motif.  I wanted to do a shop sample out of a soft squishy yarn and we had been having those dreary grey days, so I grabbed two hanks of Cascade 128.  How's this for a bright sock, LOL!  I shouldn't lose these, should I?  The red is some of my yarn, leftovers from making mittens.  Looking at it now, I kind of wish I would have made the heel red as well.  I need to hurry up and finish the second sock so I'll have those to wear around the house now that the temperature has dropped into the teens!

Finally, here's what's next on the spinning wheel, another "finish-up" project of just four ounces:

This was named "Ugly Duck" by its producer, but I don't think its ugly at all!  Unique maybe ;)  Anyway, I came across this the other day, too, fiber I received in a swap and thought I just need to finish spinning it as well.  I'm pretty sure its going to remain a single.  And I think I need to check that fiber stash more often! 

I'm looking forward to spinning at Sip 'n Knit on Saturday.  Any of you reading near Ithaca Michigan, feel free to join us!  We'll be there from 10 am till about 2 pm.

When Cold Winds Blow

What a comfort it is to have warm, handspun wool socks to slip on our feet...

Hard working, handspun wool socks - and yes, that might just be manure on my pant leg! Why do you ask?  LOL...

On our hands....

Fingerless mitts are so nice this time of year!

On our head.....

And over our shoulders to chase away the chill....

A warm, rustic shawl in progress

Are you wearing your wool today?  The Corriedale sheep say "We are!"

Spinning Wheel For Sale

I have decided to sell one of my spinning wheels, my lovely little Louet S-45 ~

It has been a terrific wheel, spins like a dream and is in excellent condition.  I have a good price on it, including a few extras.  You can read all about it right here.  While you are there, why not take a look at some of the spinning fibers we have available this fall?  The sample yarns shown below were spun from some of them - Pasture Land, Michigan Red Cedar (this would be wonderful to spin amidst autumns early colors!), Midnight Dances and Dawns Early Light.  We also have combed Corriedale top, from our very best white sheep.

You can find out more about the fibers at The Wool Mitten blog, the same place the spinning wheel is listed, or if you have any questions don't hesitate to email me at serenityfarmswool@yahoo.com.  If you are at all like me, the cool nights and Indian Summer days have me wanting to do nothing more than spin and knit!

Some of you have asked about this other blog, The Wool Mitten.  I have used it for a while just as a place to list fibers until we are able to completely revamp our main website.  This blog will remain our main farm blog though.  Just so you know ;)

Spinning, Touring, Fleece & Flowers

If you are a fiber person, especially if you like to spin and are on the internet at all, you have probably already heard of the "Tour de Fleece" - basically people around the world join together to spin during the Tour de France bicycling event and challenge themselves to spin in various ways (and possibly even earn prizes).  I don't go overboard in joining groups to do this because I don't have the time to spend on the computer.  But I do like to spin along, its nice to have a goal, and this year I am playing along with two of my favorite Ravelry groups - Knitters Book of Wool and Ennea Collective.  I am even contributing a prize!

I've been really good about staying on task this year!  I decided that I wanted to commit to spinning every day of the "tour", at least ten minutes.  I decided that I wanted to focus on spinning my own fibers from here at the farm (Corriedale) and that my goal was to spin yarn for a specific project - in this case Anne's lovely Currach Stole from the April 2011 edition of Ennea.  I've had my eye on this pattern since its release because I thought it would be a lovely way to showcase the variety of Corriedale colors we have in our flock.  I originally thought I would wash, hand comb and then spin Ainsley's multi color fleece:

Ainsley's fleece has pale grey, charcoal grey and smokey brown colors plus is very soft and fine

But a troublesome arm and shoulder did away with that idea and I decided instead to spin from rovings I already had in natural colors.  A call from my friend Pat to see if I could get away for a night at the lakeside cottage gave me a perfect place to start the tour!  Peaceful, pretty, quiet and with only four of us there (all spinners and knitters) I knew I would easily be on my way to success!

Haha ~ I was also easily sidetracked ;)  I loaded up all of my pretty natural color rovings and my wheel, then at the last minute threw in a small amount of dyed Corriedale top that had been sitting around just because I wanted to turn it into something and get it out of my spinning basket.  Add to that a jeweled tone of Coopworth/Silk roving called "Leopard Frog" from Carol's Hidden Valley Woolen Mill (Carol is our hostess at the cabin) and I was off and spinning the two fibers together!  Spinning Day 1 and 2 of the Tour resulted in the yarn you see pictured at the opening of this post.  Here is another "in progress" photo ~

When all was said and done, I have about 220 yards of 2-ply Corriedale-Coopworth-Silk yarn, spun and plyed on my Louet S-45 wheel.

We returned home on the fourth of July, the third day of the TDF, and I returned to my planned spinning, the natural colored Corriedale.  I had weighed out one ounce bumps of each, and found that I could spin half an ounce in the ten to fifteen minutes per day I was challanging myself to.  Then in the evenings I could ply and keep myself quite consistent.  I am spinning this yarn on the Louet S-17, aiming for a yarn that is something like a Cascade 220.  I'm pretty close, although Corriedale does "pouf" when washed!

Anyway, enough talking - how about another finished yarn photo?  Here are the first skeins, pictured with their rovings...From left to right, the white includes wool from Charlotte, Autry, Amanda and other white sheep in our flock.  The silvery grey is from some of the "Verlee Corriedales" - Violet, Bree and Eve; the smokey charcoal grey is mostly Carson and his sister Carley while the rich brown is Colette and her daughter Elizabeth.  Anne's pattern was made with three different colors of wool, but I wanted to use these four.  This is going to be a warm and snuggly wrap!  I'm having to sit on my hands to keep from picking up the needles and pattern and start knitting, when I know I need to keep spinning - although I have nearly convinced myself that I should do a small swatch to be sure the yarn is a good match, LOL!

I've been spinning mostly in the early mornings, sitting on the back porch while the air is still cool.  This is also the perfect time for some morning prayers and devotions!  I am surrounded by the farm - all I have to do is look around me and see scenes like this from the flower beds ~

I can look to my left and see this bed of daylilies, Asiatic lilies, purple spiderwort and fading lavender.  The Oriental lilies and tall phlox will open soon!

Maybe tomorrow I can show you some more of the flowers in bloom, but for now I'll end this post.  The spinning wheel is calling me!