Barbara's Blog - Mostly Spinning

I have been having a lovely time trying out spinning up all the different types of yarns in my bargain bags. I'm getting along fine with the new spinning wheel now and think the results are better than with my old wheel as far as tension is concerned and it is easier to treadle. I'm finding that I'm spinning finer and finer so the small intake orifice isn't much of a problem now. Here I am relaxing at the wheel.

I thought I would try spinning the black & shades of red Merino blended with white flax from my bargain bags. The result wasn't quite what I expected, but I think it will make a nice enough scarf. I thought there would be more definition of each colour rather than the resulting all over tweedy effect.

I then had to knit another suntop for Summer. She said the other one was prickly and I couldn't understand why as it felt lovely and soft, and then I noticed that there was a fine mohair thread in the yarn. She can wear the prickly one over a tee-shirt. I also made the new one a bit bigger as she is growing so fast.

Next I made a hat from a blend of grass green, bottle green and brown and white wool. It's a bit green!!!!!

I still had some unspun blend left over, so decided to add some more colours to it, to tone down the green a bit. I am in the process of knitting a crown downwards hat and the colours are absolutely wonderful. I shall be tempted to keep this one for myself!

My last 'make', was a brown Jacob hat for the farmer on the Isle of Man who will be letting me have 2 of his fleeces.

I am currently spinning up a blend of black and white. It feels and spins up exactly like bamboo which has a sort of light powdery feel to it, so probabaly this is what it is. The resulting yarn looks really nice. Maybe by next blog I will have made it into something.
Well Spring is here, and so is my hayfever. I have tried everything and nothing at all seems to ease it. I have non drowsy pills, a little machine with a glowing red light at the end of 2 prongs that I plug up my nose for 3 minutes, Homeopathic pills, nose sprays - you would think one of them would work! I have a continual blocked tear duct that itches like mad. That's why I look like I have one eye bigger than the other in the photo!!!!
Last week was lovely and the birds were coming down and stealing my scrap fleece again for their nests. With no planes flying overhead because of the Icelandic Ash, you noticed the birdsong more. It was bliss.