Silk Cap Spinning

I introduced the group to spinning silk caps from swifts at yesterday's meeting. Some preferred pulling the caps into roving and spinning that way. We spun the silk that was dyed at our Roc Day gathering.





K. is knitting a sweater from her Shetland hand spun. She is using all the natural colors from her flock. Lovely.

Color change

I have dyed the cap and mitts with strawberry koolade. More to DIL's liking I think. The cap is on a hat blocker. Finished the baby feather and fan mitts for myself, but gave them to a friend, so it is back to square one. Good thing I have more of the yarn left.

I spent a few days with a friend while her husband was out of the country on a business trip. It was the most wonderful few days and as always, too short! We knitted and spun and had a lot of laughs. I got to try her lovely Alden Amos wheel and it spins smooth as buttah......for ever and ever. There are deer everywhere in the forest. Bucks, does and fawns of all ages and sizes. They come to nap and play just outside the fence. It was lovely to watch them as I sat knitting. We watched a lot of BBC DVDs and it was a bit difficult to pay attention when the deer were around. The moonlight in the forest was enchanting. Wonderful memories.

Roc Day Dyeing

It was 36 degrees on the patio. A dozen very hardy gals we were! The day was spent dyeing, spinning, knitting, and getting warm with wonderful hot soups and chili. The focus was on silk cap dyeing with some wool and mohair in the vat. The silk was either steamed or done in a microwave. Having a variety of ways to set the dye gives choices and helps with time. Important when is is cold and foggy!





Two caps I dyed, rinsed and ready to hang to dry. These were soaked in water with vinegar added prior to dyeing. Laid on plastic wrap and the dye applied in random places. Wrapped and steamed for an hour. I have and electric roaster oven. Placed a rack inside to hold up a disposable aluminum 13X9 pan. Worked like a charm. I poked holes in the pan with an ice pick so that the steam could circulate the packages well. Many packages can be placed in a 13X9 pan.
The caps will be spun from a swift at an upcoming meeting. This will be a new experience for many of the group. Should be a fun and interesting day.

Let's try this again

Since the last heart mitts caused a Princess and the Pea syndrome........(the dog hair makes her hands itch), I have used a different yarn. This is hand spun FinnXMontedale with Mohair, plied with a tiny, skinny glitz thread. It reminds me of sparkling snow. The Horseshoe cap pattern is from Spin-Off magazine.com. I like them just as they are, but she wants the same strawberry pink, so into the pot they will go......

I have knit another pair of fingerless mitts in the baby feather and fan pattern and will do another hat to go with them. Perhaps for Moi. These will remain un-dyed.

Before and After

I needed a birthday gift for my daughter in law. These are knit with hand spun Finn/Montedale and Samoyed dog hair. She likes pink, (and hearts) so I thought I would dye them pale pink. I needed it to be quick and did not want to mix up dyes. Kool-Ade was the choice. I had one package of pink lemonade. That probably would have given me what I wanted, but I was impatient, thinking it would be too light. So.......I opened a package of strawberry, removing the mitts first I sprinkled in a TINY amount. Put the mitts back into the pot and let it simmer until the water was clear. The result was less than spectacular in my opinion because I was aiming for PALE pink. I was disappointed. However, she loved them and the color too.

Another wonderful retreat

13 attended my group's third retreat. This time we had a class in Nuno felting. Had a great time and learned a lot. More scarves have been ordered so we can do it again. Once again we had the services of my daughter in law, the massage therapist. The weather went from hot to very cool in one day with a few sprinkles. That did not hinder our fun. Much spinning and felting and knitting going on all weekend both inside the three level house and on the porches and decks. There was great food and wine. Good friends and lots of laughs. What more could anyone ask?


Vicki wearing my first attempt. It needs some tacking and embellishing.


My second scarf before felting.



Where did everyone go? Must have been lunch time! Wonderful view.

Cute little bag

Just finished a little bag. It is handspun Cotswold that has just a tiny bit of copper firestar added to it. Bought the fiber at Morro Fleeceworks. Spun on my Suzie Pro. I like the pattern, although it is a bit fuzzy to see all of the detail. (both picture and bag) I added some beads to it just to make it a bit more jazzy. It is for a friend and I know that she likes red.