I bought some gradient batts from The Fibre Fairy. Three shades of green that are blends of Merino, Shetland Lamb, Polworth, Alpaca, Silk, and Firestar. Wonderful stuff!
I spun the darkest first. Today I started on the lightest and then I will spin the medium shade. I will do a bobbin of each shade and then ply on itself. I want to knit a shawl that is shaded from light at the top to dark on the bottom with the yarn. Not sure just yet what pattern I will use. It will depend on the yardage I get.

This photo shows all three shades of green.

Darkest in progress

Lightest. I tear the batts into thinner strips before spinning.

This shows the darkest and the lightest. I must say that AJs' batts are so wonderful to spin. They practically spin themselves!

Christmas a bit early.

I have to share a gift from a very dear friend. She made a spindle for me, a support bowl holder and some winding stars. I love them! The spindle bowl is felted as well as the spindle whorl. There is a wooden bead inside for more weight. Can't wait to play!

Dear Blog,

I have been neglectful. Sorry.
Last month I acquired two new spindles and a support bowl from Malcolm Fielding. The spin so fast and well that you cannot even see the motion. All I can say is WOW! The order also included a spindle for a very dear friend. Hers is a Dervish in Lace Sheoak. Mine are a Pu Yok Tibetan in Lace Sheoak and Blackheart Teatree, and the starter kit Dervish and bowl are in Tasmanian Myrtle. Shafts and bowl center is Dymondwood.

The bottom photos show the first spinning on my new spindles.

I have been adding to my collection of support spindles. First came the Rose from Gripping Yarns. It is Lignum Viate.The wood smells like roses. Next I ordered spindles from Malcolm Fielding. I am waiting on their arrival so no photos yet. I ordered a Cocobolo Russian from Enid Ashcroft in the UK. (3)  I found a Texas Jeans  maple spindle (1) while at Lambtown in the Carolina Homespun booth. When I got back home again I had an offer to trade one of my knitting bags for a Spanish Peacock holly spindle.(2) I jumped on that right quick! I also have been making support spindles to see what works. I had some carved disks and with a double point knitting needle and a grommet, they weigh 7 grams each. They spin silk quite well. I am slowly progressing with some silk that I dyed on the holly spindle. I have been spinning for 30 years on wheels and took up drop spindles a few years ago. Just now getting into support spindles and I love them.

Support Spindle Bowls

I have fallen down the rabbit hole. Now I am on the look out for bowls to use with support spindles, of course more support spindles and ways to store them. These fabric bowls were made by a dear friend. They function as bases for wood, glass or ceramic support spindle bowls. Keep the bowls from slipping off your lap or leg. Sometimes I use a lap bowl as the Gin Glass in a previous post and sometimes I use a shallow bowl in my lap or on a table or beside me in a chair.

Spindle with Gin Glass

 

Here we have a work in progress on a support spindle. The lap bowl is working quite well. So glad that Cheryl bought that Gin! :-)  The glass works equally well in the wide bowl and in the base. Sort of a two for one thing. I am really enjoying support spindling. I have some on order from Malcolm Fielding. Cannot wait for them to arrive.

Demalangeni Shawlette

I finished another shawlette. This one is so incredibly soft. It is a blend of silk and wool. The pattern is Demalangeni by Wendy Neal. The shawl is drying now. I plan to add freshwater pearls to each point.

The pearls have been added. I think it looks nice and gives a tiny bit of weight to the shawlette.