Hippo, Yarns, and Luxury Fibers

Okay, I said I was going to do a pig next, but instead I did a hippo. These are our homegrown fibers. A blend of Rambo lamb, kid mohair and angora. Sooooo soft!

More yarns are coming from the dyepot. Dryad is the green and blue and is a blend of silk, merino and alpaca. Old Flame is the red and gold and is Peruvian Highland wool. And, Paper Roses is the rose and purple one and is a DK weight Merino.

And, I carded these batts in gorgeous shades of chocolate, white and spruce. The chocolate is Merino, the white is Alpace and the spruce is Soy Silk. There's a little peacock colored flash in there too. These are too yummy to leave lying around. Someone better buy them quick or I'll devour (spin) them. I won't be able to help myself!

Little Lambie

She's finished. This little cutie is a gift for my partner in the stuffed toy swap on Ravelry. I'm so tickled with how she came out! She's been handspun and crocheted from a wool yarn and a tailspun yarn. I dyed the roving and the lincoln locks to match in my partner's favorite colors of blue and green.

Her little eyes are crocheted flowers from some wine colored Merino lace yarn that I got as a sample in my Phat Fiber box and they are accented with some little white buttons. Isn't she darling? My husband says I need to make some more of these for my craft booth during Fiddle Week. I think I'll try a piggie next. She was so much fun to make and plan. I definitely have to try some more critters.

Llama Batts and Knitting Needles

Been busy today. Here's what I've done. Oh so delicious, drum carded batts. Smokey lavender grey llama, dorset wool and silk. Can you say lustrous?

Look how fluffy and soft they are and oh the shimmer! These will make someone a very happy spinner. The llama who donated the fiber is my daughter's Hot Shot. His fiber is very silky with almost no guard hair anywhere. I'm thinking he may be what they refer to as a "suri" type llama. I really gotta learn more about those llama fiber types.

I also got the first two pairs of our lovely new walnut knitting needles done and listed. These are hand rubbed with beexwax and orange oil. The tops are hand painted and slightly distressed. I love them! They're 12 inches long and a wonderfully large 3/8 inch in diameter. So cool!

More Yarns

And the dyepot overfloweth... Boy Meets Girl on the mohair base

Summertime on the bulky wool singles

Dancing Queen on the bulky wool singles

Playful on the mohair. Off to do some more!

I love dyeing yarn

I've been dyeing yarns like crazy trying to have them in the shop by the time the Feb and March Phat boxes get into people's hands. I just love dyeing yarn! I got some gorgeous bases to work with and they are turning out splendidly and I may have to snag one for myself to work up into something so I can see a finished item. For now, here is a sneak peek at a few of the yarns I've been working on. "Rustic" a bulky domestic and new zealand wool blend.

"Lavender and Old Lace" a mohair and wool blend with a sparkly thread wrap.

"Geranium" a worsted 100% Merino.

More Dyeing

These are some Merino Rovings that I dyed yesterday. Oh so pretty! This one is "Raggedy Do" because it reminds me of the yarn hair on an old fashioned rag doll.

"The Dye Pot Burped" and this is what I found.

This is "Spring Smile". It makes me think of flowers and Easter and other spring things.

Look What Came Today!

Look what we got in the mail today. These are American Seramas. They are the smallest Banty chicken. The males weigh less than 2 pounds! These will be show birds for two of the kids this year. This is the pair that my daughter chose. She's named them "Spark" and "Sparkle", I think.

This is the pair that my son chose. They have been dubbed "Shadow" and "Fireball". They are so stinkin' cute!

Swap Box

My Chocolate and Coffee swap partner from Ravelry got her box today, so now I can share pics of what I put in there. She got two kinds of coffee because I couldn't decide. She got Mayan Chocolate instant coffee, dark choc Toblerone, dark chocolate buttercrunch truffles by Almond Roca, smoked almonds and two Idaho Spud bars beacause you can't send a package from Idaho without including those! She told me she wanted to learn to spin, so I included a wooden student spindle, a spindle sack from my shop and some wool roving that I dyed with lichen. I also found some way cool wooden knitting needles with vintage wooden thread spools at the ends and I bought two pairs--one for her, one for me. Of course, I plopped in a tin of Teat Treat and the yarn was a blend of camel and tussah silk that I spun because she told me that camels were her favorite animal in the whole world. I had such a great time working on this box!

New Yarn Off the Wheel

I love spinning coilspun. It's just so quirky! This is a wool coilspun with a cotton core. There are bits of gold thread showing here and there. It's super squishy and extremely colorful! I've called it "Sea Witch".

Busy, Busy

Lots of things coming off the wheel, hook and needles. This is a hat I did for myself. It's spun from the other Merino/Silk Tropical Smoothie roving that I kept behind. It's so soft and squishy. I just love wearing it. I spun it bulky and knitted it on my giant wood needles.

This is a hat I'm doing for a local lady. I love the way the black and white graphic stripes look. It's coming out beautifully, but I underestimated how much yarn I would need. Back to spin some more Merino.

This will be my next spinning project. Some luscious baby camel and baby alpaca for a tie shawl. Can't wait to start on that one!

Out of the Dye Pot

I did a buch of dyeing yesterday and came up with some really pretty fibers. All have been listed in the shop. Can't wait to see how they do! This is some really pretty BFL that I called "Peony". I love the way the rose and the spring green go together.

This is an ultrasoft Merino that I dubbed "The Ides of March". I may do some more of this colorway for the March Phat Fiber box in addition to my Loch Ness plan. These colors just reach out and grab me.

This is another BFL roving that I named "Nosegay". The blue came out a little darker than I anticipated, but I've decided I like the contrast to the softer lavender and rose.