Spaced-out, like totally man, seeing rainbows!!!!!

The space-dyeing method I described in my previous post is fantastic for dyeing fleece too. I dyed 250 grams of fleece from my crossbred ewe "Pearl" using Gaywool dyes in Garnet, Mustard and Cypress. I separated them into two lots after dyeing. I ended up with some gorgeous colours and lots of reddish locks because I had to move the pot to change the hotplate and the colours mixed. I'm not sure how I'm going to spin it yet, I might do the rainbow colours as one single, trying to keep the colours separate, and then ply them with the reddish locks. The beauty of using this method of dyeing fleece is that there is no fibre preparation first - just bung the dirty fleece in the pot and the dirt washes out when you rinse out the dye!

Some FO's (finished objects)

The socks are done, Ta Da!!!!!! Mum is coming over tomorrow so she can take them over to Dad for a very belated Father's Day pressy. Now I am free to cast on something else, but what? I'm a bit over socks at the moment but not game enough to make a jumper yet. It's going to be summer here in a week so I don't want to start something too big or it will be too hot to work on. Gloves and scarves are small but wouldn't be used for ages, and I have a heap of bags. I want to make something for me, but what? Hmmmmm, back to Ravelry to get some ideas......

Remember the fleece I dyed with the jelly? Here it is all carded and ready to spin.

I spun it in separate colours and Navajo plied it to maintain the distinct colourways.I thought I was spinning it very fine, but once plied it became a super bulky weight, about 6 wraps per inch. Not sure what to do with it yet........

I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me.....

I like Aeroplane Jelly,

Aeroplane Jelly for me.

I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,

A little each day is a good recipe!

The quality's high, as the name will imply,

It's made from pure fruit - one more good reason why

I like Aeroplane Jelly,

Aeroplane Jelly for me!

When the company first released the jingle for Aeroplane jelly in 1938 I wonder if they knew just how useful the product could be. Not only is it a favourite treat for young and old, it is also a great way to dye wool! I'm not usually a fan of these colours but even I can't resist their pure deliciousness.........

Here's how I dyed my wool. I did about 120 grams of each colour and I have 2 more colours of jelly to go. The kids are horrified that I would "waste" the jelly like this but I had so much fun!

My first "real" yarn....

Ok, I know I already posted my efforts with the black fleece, but this time it almost looks like proper yarn! I did one bobbin with all Pearl's fleece and another with some of Billie's mohair and then plied them. I dyed the skeins and this is what I ended up with.
I love the colour, it's actually more teal green than it looks in the pic. I got about 150 grams and 190 metres of yarn in about a 10 ply. I think I'll make a bag out of it so I can have lots of use out of it. There's lots of overspun and underspun sections but I love it anyway!

A very official title indeed......

A wonderful tool for spinners is a drum carder. Problem is they are very expensive (about $500 AUD) which makes them beyond the reach of most of us. But I got one! No I have not suddenly changed tax brackets, I just got lucky. I phoned up the craft co-op in my little town to see if I could borrow one. "Sure," they said, "There's one in the cupboard that hasn't been used for years." So for $10 joining fee I have a drum carder. I asked when they needed it back and the lovely elderly lady winked at me and said "You are now the Official Caretaker of the Drum Carder." How good is that?
These beauties make processing fleece a dream. A few passes through and the fibres are tangle free and aligned in the same direction, ready for spinning. They produce lovely batts like this one.
Pearl's fleece looks good now! This huge batt only weighs 27 grams. I split it into four lengths and rolled them into donuts.
Then it was time to spin. I think I'm getting better, what do you reckon?

Some clumsy plying attempts and luscious alpaca

I have been practising my spinning which I definately need to do. I spun some black fleece that I was given, it was supposed to be merino but isn't as greasy as the merino fleeces I have and is so much easier to clean. Merino is a pain in the bum! I have tried every which way to get my merino fleece clean and I think I just got a particularly grotty one. The fibre is gorgeous but it has so much vegetable matter in it that i just can't get rid of.

The black fleece however is a pleasure to use, so I spun some of that and had a go at plying. My yarn is very lumpy bumpy and I have trouble getting it to grab onto the leader but once I'm on I'm ok.

I haven't got a swift so I rigged up my own out of coat hangers, curtain rod, electrical tape and a bottle. Works great and didn't cost a cent!

I have been busy sorting and washing Pearl's fleece. Pearl is my bottle reared crossbred ewe, my first baby. Being a crossbred her fleece is not as fine as merino but is easy to use so it's good for a beginner like me. I am spoilt for fleeces at the moment, I have 3 wool fleeces and my aunt gave me 3 alpaca fleeces. A fellow she knows was going to chuck them out!

I have a few small bags of coloured alpaca as well, and of course Billie the angora goat's mohair fleece. I washed some alpaca yesterday and it is divine, so soft and gorgeous. I love the variations in colour, so pretty.....There's a bit of vegetable matter in it but it comes out easily. I have to touch it every time I go past it, it's so yummy. I haven't a hope of buying an alpaca while I still have all this fleece so I think I'd better go spin some!