Plying and playing

Here is the ball being plied, then I wound off three skeins. Two are 100 yards and one is 50 yards. I thought I would play with some Kool-Aid to see how the silver gray would turn out. I like the heathered appearance. The smaller skein is done with Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, then we have Mango, Blastin' Berry Cherry and the unspun fiber in the basket is Grape. Click on the picture for a close up look at the colors. I put some water into a pot and then the skein, heated it a bit and added the Kool-Aid. I simmered each pot about 20-30 minutes until the water was clear. Playing with small batches is fun, but if I were going to do a large amount of fiber or yarn, I would use commercial dyes. It did make the kitchen smell good.

Coopworth wool

I have washed up some of the wool that was trimmed from the legs and belly of Sequoia Silver. She has an 18 month growth and the sheep guy (Hi Bill) thought she needed trimming so she would not be a sponge when it rained. It is not prime, but not too bad. I love the silver sheen of the ball ready for plying in the first picture. Here it is Washed and some has been combed and skeined.

Alpaca

I am combing some alpaca that is so soft and wonderful. Hardly any vegetable matter but it does have some very fine dust. It looks beige, but once it is washed it is really cream. I think it will become scarves and perhaps a wimple. It is yummy! If you click on any of the pictures they will open larger.

Sheep!

I have not updated in a while. Health scare. That took up time and focus. On Sunday the 17th I bought three Coopworth ewes. The one one on the left is the mother to the one in the center and the dark one is unrelated. Mama is four years old and the girls are two years old. I am trying to come up with some names, but so far I am thinking it will be Sequoia, Sierra and Mocha. Mocha is actually dark charcoal underneath. According to color genetics these gals are Silver/Blue with teardrops. See the light teardrops and the white on the noses? Perhaps I should get fancy and call them Sequoia Silver and Sierra Silver and Mocha Blue. In the end they may end up with totally different names. If you are so inclined, please leave a comment with suggestions. Click on the picture and it will open larger where you can really see those teardrops.