High-Fiber Diet

Day 154: I thrive on a high-fiber diet. I'm guessing that my stash of weaving cones and wool for spinning would last me at least two years if I didn't make any new purchases, and believe me, this is a thought which has been in the front of my mind since...oh, let's say the last week in January. Certainly, some projects might not be exactly what I'd prefer, but then, if your cupboard is bare of everything but canned peas, you'll bloody well eat canned peas rather than starve. As it is at the moment, I can pick and choose. Want a lighter shade of green in that band? I've got it. Need a handspun hat for a friend who likes pink? Can do! But if push came to shove (and I suspect it will), I'm sure I could design an attractive band around brown and grey and, boring though it might be, creamy white Corriedale wool has a delightful feel as it slips through the fingers to wind onto a spindle. The cedar chest is full of wool. The weaving cupboard is fully packed. Off camera, there are several bins of commercial yarn, every shade of embroidery floss known to DMC, linen threads for bobbin lace in sizes which would make a spider envious, crochet and tatting cottons filling numerous drawers. I may wind up with an empty tummy before this nightmare ends, but at least my hands won't be idle.

It's Mango Time!

Day 203: One of my fiber suppliers always includes appropriate product samples with each shipment. When I placed an order for several bags of Corriedale roving recently, he threw in 10 grams (plus or minus) of a merino/silk combination in a colorway called "mango." It's been sitting on top of the harpsichord while I finished up a large bag of raw "cafe-au-lait" fleece, waiting for its test drive. While I am never likely to purchase or even use luxury fibers, I thought it would be interesting to spin it up at lace weight and double-ply it. What you see on the bobbin here is exactly half of the sample which, when doubled, isn't going to be enough to do anything with unless I use it to add a single row of "fuzzy" to the cast-on row of a hat. Next up, I'll be spinning a more practical alpaca/Romney blend in dark steel grey. I won't commit to spinning it at a lace weight until I've actually got it on the wheel, but that's what I hope to achieve.

Hand

Day 59: If you hang around spinners often enough, you will hear the term "hand" being batted about. This refers to the textural feel of a fiber as well as the ease with which it is manipulated into yarn. There are a number of considerations which enter into "hand," including crimp, fineness (measured in microns) and type of critter from which the fiber was harvested. Currently, I am spinning an alpaca/Romney blend which has the best hand of any wool I've ever spun. The fibers are long (4" or more!), silky and almost without crimp. Purchased as roving at a local bazaar and meticulously processed by the seller, this blend develops into a yarn of uniform diameter effortlessly, slipping through my fingers like silk as it winds onto the bobbin. Now I wish I'd bought more than a pound!