End of year cram

A quick check-in along with some fiber pics. A week and three days ago, I posted about an end of year wrap up on fiber projects. How great it would be to get a few things finished before January. January is usually my wrap up month, but this year, given the virus, I thought why not get some things done in December.

I have so many projects started. Not being that organized at the moment, I didn’t come up with a specific written list for the last three weeks of this month. Using fiber that’s been sitting around the longest makes sense for piecing together a mental list. Looking around my studio …

A list in pictures! I like it. Above pictures are a good portion of my currently in progress fiber To-Do’s. Basically in the order I should work on them. That Coopworth fleece has been sitting around the longest (since last year) – because I’m saving it to make a throw blanket for myself. That ALWAYS gets pushed to the bottom of the list of things to do. The Teeswater sitting on top of the Coopworth is roughly half a pound of the one pound washed of the 7 pounds raw that I got early summer this year. Teeswater – I love it, I hate it, I love it, I hate it…

Middle picture is where I actually started last week. I count seven different wools plus those pink rolags sitting on the floor in the back. I started with the round bin hanging on the right toward the back. That’s a Harlequin/mohair mix from sheep and goats in Smithville, Texas, milled into roving at Independence Fiber Mill. That is actually one of my most recent fiber purchases, but I was super eager to dive-in.

Last picture is pillowcase & bag of Southdown (washed last month), 1 bag of gray Harlequin/mohair roving, and last bag unknown (I need to take a peek inside). All piled neatly near my spinning wheel within the last month or so.

10 days and only 5 ounces later… I finally got all the Harlequin/mohair on the bobbins. I guess I should keep in mind for future planning that this is 5 ounces of 1 pound I bought. I am starting with 5 ounces to get a feel for this fiber. I wasn’t entirely sure how I wanted to spin the bulk of it. Or if I wanted to do several different types of yarn. Get a feel for it, I did. I spent at least 3 or 4 times the spin time picking out VM. VM, VM, VM! Must stay calm and work diligently in the midst of Vegetable Matter roving. Oh the challenge, the fine motor skills struggle of little bitty piece picking, the strain to see them all. The worst part is thinking you’re going to whip up a quick yarn, then coming to a sudden holt, for the most part, before it’s even begun. VM, the yarn blocker! *argh* *sigh* It happens… more often than you would think. I have come to think of it as part of the “charm” of working with wool. If there were no challenges, it would be dull. Some wools are just worth all the trouble. This one is going to be great, it’s Harlequin and mohair.

Feel free to share your projects in the comments. I love to hear about what everyone is working on – struggles, successes, mishaps.