Tour de Fleece on steroids!

This is the result of 2 full months of a dedication to spinning at least a bit every day.  I made it!   Most days, it was 30-45 minutes, with a few days of an hour or a bit more.  I think I will continue this into September and see if I can stay focused.   

Day 15 of the Tour

 Finished up 4 oz of olive BFL from TerraMia in OR.  186 yards.  I am still on track to spin some each day.  

Day Ten - Tour de Fleece 2023

174 yards, 4 oz BFL from TerraMia purebred BFL flock in OR

4 oz, 172 yards BFL from Desert Panda - this is imported BFL, and so
probably not purebred. 

 

Day 5 - Tour de Fleece 2023

 Today is the fifth day of the Tour, and I have finished spinning the 4 oz of teal BFL and started in on the second braid of BFL in black/natural/green/blues.   Because it is a commercial roving, likely sourced from the UK, it is noticeably coarser in texture from the teal skein, which came from a noted US BFL breeder.  The fiber from the UK that is labeled BFL is not necessarily from purebred sheep - most likely it is from crosses called mules, which are the backbone of the UK sheep industry.  Nevertheless, it is a pleasant spin.  

This year, the Tour runs from July 1-23.  My goal is to spin some each day.   I hope to complete (at least) this collection of rovings.  

I will be a vendor!

 http://www.midohiofiberfair.com/

Look for Somerhill at this upcoming fiber event in historic downtown Newark, Ohio on June 11th.  I will have angora yarns, BFL yarn, locks, and luxury rovings.  

Hat set

A customer bought a skein of yarn at the farmers market last week, and dropped by
this week to show me the hat and scarf she'd crocheted from it.
This skein came from my friend, Kathy Davidson, and is hand painted BFL wool.
I LOVE it when I get to see the finished product.

Christmas sheep

A flock of Christmas sheep. 
I make these for the farmers market - people love them.

Easy care flock

Christmas ideas for the market

Thanks, Annette, for the idea for these cute little yarn ball Christmas ornaments.

One of my Christmas presents

Chuck got this from one of the vendors at the farmers market.  The frame is red to match my kitchen, and has beadboard behind the calendar.  The calendar has covered bridges on it - this one shows what look like Border Leicesters crossing the bridge

Bunny Beanie

This 85% angora hat is for a friend who is sick and facing chemo. The roving was donated by Julie, spun by me, and knitted by Annette. Annette also made and added the angora pin.

Great Hats!

These are some hats that my friend Annette knitted for me from some BFL novelty yarns I had lying around. We traded her knitting skills for my spinning some yarn for her. I LOVE them!
The yarns were made by adding multicolored BFL locks into black or brown yarns while I was plying.

My first River City Farmers Market

It went well for a COLD, snowy day with a parking lot like an ice skating rink! I actually sold my first whole/cut up rabbit. There was quite a bit of interest in it, and also the lamb I'll be starting to sell next weekend.
And I sold enough of my little crafts to pay for my space for the season and make me feel like the morning was a success. I've met several of the other vendors, and they seem really nice and welcoming.

Tiny Yarn Baskets

These are a fun way to use up bits of yarn. I just wound up balls, and found these cute little baskets. They are about 3" square, with a handle. But now I am out of left over bits of yarn!

Teddy Bears

River City Farmers Market

Chuck and I went to Marietta for breakfast yesterday, and then stopped by the River City Farmer's Market at the Washington county fairgrounds. I talked with 3 of the board members, and they have invited us to open a vendor booth there on Saturday mornings.
I took some handcrafts and yarn to show them, and discuss selling lamb and rabbit meat there. Its a very nice group of people, with lots of quality items. This time of year they have meats, cheeses, baked goods, and lots of handmade crafts. I'm told in the summer, they have 120 vendors, mostly vegetables, and some weekends have 3500+ people attend the market.

Out of the Blue!

Be sure to visit and bookmark the new BFL Fiber Co-op sales blog, Out of the Blue!
We've been adding new items - including a whole batch of gorgeous rovings.

If you have BFL fiber items you'd like to list there, please email me at OutoftheBlue2010@yahoo.com

More Dyeing.....

I've got a couple more skeins in a dye bath.
Now I am out of BFL lambswool yarn to dye. Where did we put those sheep shears...................I can't believe I'm gonna have to wait until March for more wool.

Knitting?

I started knitting this afternoon. I have a skein of blue/purple/green BFL yarn that got screwed up in the drying process.......somehow the ties came loose, and it got scrambled.
Since I've not seen anything made from my yarns, and want to see how the colors develop in the finished knitted fabric, I decided to knit a square, and then felt it to see how much it shrinks in the fulling process. I've posted a picture of it after its knitted, and will make another entry once its felted. The closeup picture is frustrating - I cannot get the colors to come out true. The colors in the photo of the book, needles and some of the yarn are much closer.

Ah - a yarn customer/friend, Jan, came to the rescue with a photo of something she knitted. :^) This is a good example of this yarn knitted up.

Christmas Goodies

My friend Tina knitted this white cotton wash cloth for me. See the cute sheep shape in it?
I LOVE it!
Chuck got me a sewing machine for Christmas, and these are what I've been using it for. They are weird, skinny little Santas. They have bags on their backs full of sticks, and their beards are Bluefaced Leicester locks.