First Fibre Stop Was...

Wool hand dyed by Lucy Richards and Heidi

Heidi Wulfraat of London-Wul was our first stop. She is located outside of Moncton, NB in Lakeburn. We went there last year for the first time and knew that this was a definite stop this year. Heidi was so helpful and friendly. Her website is www.thewoolworks.com. She advised me on the spinning wheel I should be looking for (at a reasonable price). Her variety of wool is awesome along with her own hand dyed wools and fabrics. It is eye candy for fibre artists for sure. Dare I stop on my way home:)...

While there I met Lucy Richards of The Wooly Mason Jar. She has a wonderful method of gradation dyeing in mason jars. There were quite a few samples of her wool so I bought a couple - oranges and purples. I am going to be using them in my new design for the Creativity class I am taking at Deanne's in October.

Shibui yarn for Stephen West Mystery Shawl Kal

These were some Shibui yarns I picked up for the Stephen West Mystery Shawl KAL that is happening right now on Ravelry. If you are a knitter or crocheter this is the place to be. The challenge is that this is going to be a colourful shawl...out of my normal colouring box. I have no idea of the design so should be interesting.. anyway I love the colours so anything done with them I figure will be good...if not fantastic.. got some apple, honey and raspberry. How yummy is that?

Have a great day...Joni

Spinning with a Spindle

Yesterday - Sis and I had a 3 hour lesson spinning with a spindle. We had a blast! Lots of laughs and a lot of fun. A lovely lady by the name of Colette took us on and gave us a private workshop for 3 hours. I sure learnt a lot and I think this is something I may love. Another extension of my passion for wool. 

We started off with some Tasmanian Corriedale (undyed) that I bought on Etsy as a starter spinning kit. I found out right away that my spindle was for light spinning (lace and fine fingering). So used one of the student spindles and my first attempt resulted in some nice lumpy bumpy wool (which I love) that I two plied. At least now I understand the terms and how yarn is made! I will probably dye the rest of the corriedale and use it for some other project. Maybe ply it with some novelty yarn or fleece to add to my rug hooking.

So this morning I was so anxious to practice my new found talent (HAHAHA) that I decided to use my spindle and spin some tussah green silk I had bought.  Practice! Practice! that is the only way. So it is a little bumpy lumpy but that is ok ' cause I like it like that. I immediately saw the difference in spinning lace weight as it can get real thin and lots of spin is needed.

It will eventually be 3 plied with another silk and a merino/ silk blend, once I get the right spindle for a worsted weight. Hopefully it will be nice enough to knit into a cowl....my first spun and knit project. I love new adventures! Maybe I will have a wonderful spinning wheel to call my own next year - better save my toonies! Have a great afternoon....Joni