Fiber Follies

I have a new hobby. I introduce you to a new-to-me Ashford Kiwi. I understand it’s a great wheel for a raw beginner. I think it’s perfect. An ideal size for my cramped little house and untidily cramped office. It’s a fine looking machine and I expect I’ll paint it (actually, beg Precious Child to paint it). The wheel’s wheel will likely be done up in Irish Celtic knots. Maybe against a stony looking background.

So. I have a wheel, finally, yay! But to use the wheel I must have fiber. So this is what I’ve gathered for the budding stash so far. I know my picture makes it look like something disembowelled. It’s a bunch of wools I bought off my friend Bob, of Winderwood Farm. This guy is awesome. He dyes the wool in vats, it’s amazing to watch him as he applies the dyes. He knows what they’ll look like when finished. I’m always surprised. He’s a great spinning teacher too. I wish I were as good a student. A visit to Bob’s isn’t one of those stop-in-for-a-minute things, it’s an all-day funfest. I drink a lot of coffee here at home and twice as much there. The guys pour coffee into bucket-sized mugs and it’s always excellent.  Patrick handles the livestock-and they’ve got a heap of fiber animals. I’ll go into depth another post, their farm is amazing. Winderwood very successfully lists on ebay and the guys are always packaging stuff to ship to ebay customers. Anytime I walk in they’re wrapping up the day’s shipping, Patrick hauls it to the post, then it’s time for coffee and dyeing. Bob and Patrick are always working. Anyway. The stash.

Clockwise from top: Beautifully hand dyed merino/tencel, appearing a soft brown from a distance, up close it’s greens and reds and tawny. I think whatever it becomes would look great on me. Next is undyed corriedale cross combed top. This is my learning wool. It is clean and fluffy and has that nice sheepy smell. I really enjoy feeling it run through my hands. To the bottom is a merino/tussah silk blend. It has a gorgeous shine and the actual colour is hard to describe and harder to depict. You’ll have to take my word, it’s breathtaking. Next is merino, it’s blue from a distance and blues and reds and many soft shades up close. At eleven o’clock is merino, I call it “Ribbon Candy” because it reminds me of that horrid stuff that tastes so great at Christmas-and is so sickening after that first bit. Ahem. As roving it is beautiful and I’m stumped trying to figure out how to spin it to keep the ribbon candy look. Right smack dab in the middle is summer sunshine-it’s a wheel of merino/tencel dyed in yellows and pinks and reds and oranges and even a dot of green here and there. Sounds blinding but it isn’t, it’s just plain pretty. I did not buy this one, Bob just gave it to me. It’s slippy and pleasing to feel. My output isn’t nice enough for these but hopefully it soon will be.

Now, how ’bout getting up close and quite personal? Okay, look below. Firstly, the brown merino/tencel. I have a half pound of it. Next, the merino/silk. A half pound of this too. I ought to dye my hair these colours.  Then the bluesy merino. I bought a pound of that. And the gorgeous cotton candy. A half pound. I could dye my hair to match this one, it’s already pure white underneath the dye so I’d only need spots of bright colours.  And the sunshine, I think it’s four ounces. This ought to keep me busy for some time. I hope. I can see that spinning will be as addictive as knitting.