Time to wash the fleece!

Last fall, I purchased this lovely fleece at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival…..

Corriedale Friesian Wool Fleece

I saw it judged as part of the Junior fleece show, and stalked it like a hawk at the sale afterward. I had originally gone looking for a delicious silver fleece….but had to have this one.

Corriedale Friesian Wool Fleece

As you can see, this is a Corriedale Friesian cross, a huge 11 pounds. The staff working the sale were very excited about this one, the seller, Anne Hinchley, is an up and coming shepherdess that they have been very impressed with. I’ll be looking for her this fall.

I felt terrible putting the fleece on the back burner, but our house was under construction at the time, and I didn’t want sawdust, nails, and slivers of coil stock in it. Winter isn’t great for fleece washing, either….I don’t want to clog the sewer with lanolin, and I know this fleece will have a fair amount. But now it is spring, and I can do initial cold soaks outside, and let the hot water baths cool, and dump it all on my flower gardens, who will love the extra goodies.

Corriedale Fresian Wool Fleece

As you can see, there are many colors in the fleece….here are five I grabbed. I can’t wait to turn this into….a Fair Isle sweater? Woven fabric for a jacket? Something I haven’t though of yet? Or maybe several somethings from each of the colors. I can’t wait to see what they look like when they are clean!   Look at the crimp!  Delicious!

Corriedale Fresian Wool Fleece

That is going to take a while, though. As you can see, the fleece is quite disorganized, and many tips are sunburned. There is a lot of hay and…um…other things in it. I grabbed an area of light color, and filled my 6 little lingerie bags, they are now soaking in cold water in buckets. I’ll let them go a few hours, then change the water and leave them overnight. Tomorrow, I’ll do the hot soapy washes. Yay!

Edited to add:  I’ve had a few questions now on the cold soaks.  A lot of what is on the fleece is pee/poo and basic barnyard dirt.  These will all come off fine with cool water, and the soaking time lets it loosen.  I can’t felt my fiber, as the water is cold, and I’m not agitating anything, just letting it soak.  My first rinse was a nasty yellowish brown after just 2 hours, and there is not a lot of wool in each bucket….maybe 12 ounces.  My hostas are loving their ‘tea’.

I’ll be doing the hot water washing inside, since the water temperature would drop too quickly outside.  My family appreciates that I’m not heating up manure in the house.  🙂

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ShOcKiNG! March Tiger Club Reveal

Yep, reveal is a wee bit late this month. Thanks for allowing us to take a little vacation. We are back, and ready to start April’s Club dyeing!

For March, I wanted to shake up the colors a bit….I’ve done a lot of subdued colors lately, and many of them have featured blue. I also wanted to revisit some dyeing techniques I hadn’t used in a while. So I took pure bright fuschia, and paired it with delicious strawberry red, and let them play in the kettle. The results are SHOCKING!, and my dye studio will be pink for some time to come!

Shocking - March 2015 Tiger Club - New England Combed Top

Our fiber is New England Top, a wool pool of the Eastern states. It’s quite a nice general wool….corriedale like. It slurped up the color, and they actually blended and made colors I didn’t know would appear!

Shocking - March 2015 Tiger Club - Safari Sock Yarn

Our sock yarn is my personal favorite, Safari. The wool is Corriedale, which stands up to the abuse socks take better than Merino. It’s also blended with nylon, which adds more strength. The yarn blooms nicely into the stitches when washed, making a comfy and cushiony sock. These are kettle dyed (and overdyed!), so no two skeins are alike. It was really fun to do.

I’m gearing up for April’s club, and then I’ll be opening Tiger Club for new memberships on May 1. We’d love for you to join us, I love creating new things every month, and trying new fiber and yarn.

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Driftwood – February 2015 Tiger Club Reveal

Driftwood Inspiration

I rather enjoyed looking around our home for last month’s ‘Globe Trotter’ inspiration, so I took a cue from this corner for February. Our 50’s home came with this turquoise block wall, and to tone things down I painted the walls a pale sand, and found this great picture of a bird playing in the surf. The driftwood grey of the frame, and various brown matts bring it all together.

Ever since Salted Cashmere Mochaccino, I’ve been considering how to make a graduated yarn that would have the stripes stay a similar width on a triangular (or other top-down) shawl. I did a crazy lot of math, and came up with some numbers that turned out beautiful and proportional. I decided on 9 sections, and to have the three colors of the theme to go from light to medium to dark.

Driftwood - Feb 2015 Tiger Club - Tiger Twist

Here’s another view, with the colors stretched out….I’m afraid the light isn’t as good, but you get the idea. The beginning pale tan section is about 7 yards long, and each section gets longer until the charcoal, which is about 100 yards.

I did have a bit of an issue with the yarn, I don’t know where my brain was. This is Tiger Twist, and the skeins are larger than usual; 4.7 ounces and 466 yards.

February Tiger Club - Tiger Twist Gradient

We’re having a discussion on Ravelry about shawlette patterns to use, do stop by and make your suggestions! I’m looking forward to knitting up my own, and then applying this formula to the regular line of yarn.

Our fiber this month is an old favorite in a different form….Superwash Blue Faced Leicester. Ah, superwash, how you slurp up colors!

Driftwood - Feb 2015 Tiger Club - SW BFL

Fiber clubbers, you are more than welcome to pop into the shawl discussion, we’ve already found several that would work better with that gradual transition that a hand spun yarn will have.

For everyone, if you want to stretch this out, there are many color pairings you can make. I was thinking rust colors, or sage or pine greens, but a butter yellow was mentioned today, and that would work, too.

Did you miss the fun? Tiger Club is open this month through the 15th for new subscriptions. The club will not open in April, so don’t miss the boat!

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Tiger Club Reveal – Globe Trotter – Jan 2015

Ah, winter. Nothing like snow and cold to lend a feeling of cabin fever. With this in mind, I looked for a theme for January’s Tiger Club….and found it in our well used globe. I love how handsome the muted tones are, and brought that feeling to our yarn and fiber. I admit I dithered on the title a bit….Earth Tones? Might be confusing. Around the Wool in 80 Days? Too long. So I settled on Globe Trotter.

Globe Trotter Tiger Club Jan 2015 - Cheviot and Tiger Sport

The fiber is Cheviot, and if you’ve been paying attention around the web, its currently being chatted up quite a bit. The wool has a unique structure to it, lending loftiness no matter how you spin it. It makes fantastic socks, or other objects where you’d like some sproing and hard wearing.

Our yarn is Tiger Sport, because such a large subject needs a big yarn! I used a hand-painted across technique, which will make some great pooling and stacking in the round.

GlobeTrotter in Cheviot and Tiger Sport, Jan 2015 Tiger Club

I hope you’ll enjoy working with your yarn or wool while watching a travelogue to cheer up the dreary winter.

For February, I’m working up a new stripe for our yarn, I’m thinking appropriate for a shawlette. And I have a fiber we haven’t technically had before, but is a variation of an old favorite. There are some Club spots available, you may sign up through February 15th. Tiger Club is available for gifting, also….just contact me and I can set you (or your sweetie) up with a custom number of months.

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Fresh from the Dyepot – Gradients on Merino and Black Silk

Oh my, have I got a treat for you! Creamy merino wool blended with streaks of black tussah silk, and then dyed in bright gradients. Mmmm, mmm. They look like watercolors over charcoal drawings, such a neat effect.

Tropical Rainbow is a short length repeating gradient….all those bright colors from pink to purple.
Tropical Rainbow Merino Silk

Royal to Scarlet:
Royal To Red Merino Silk

And I had a bit extra of top….so I kept going…here’s Royal to Yellow-Orange:
Royal to Yellow Orange Merino Silk

Peacock (Yellow to Green to Teal to Royal to Purple):
Peacock Merino Silk

Xanadu (Turquoise to Royal to Purple to Magenta):
Xanadu Merino Silk

And finally….Yellow to Scarlet (with yellow-orange and orange and red-orange in between!):
Yellow to Scarlet Merino Silk

 

I recommend spinning this blend from the fold, it will help you keep the fibers together and preserve the cool marled look.  All of these are in the shop in the Limited Edition Fiber section.  Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend.  We are hoping to not be buried under 6-8 inches of snow!

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Project Round Up

I had some time to work on projects over break, and I’m trying to keeping going (moving the computer away from easy reach of my chair has helped.)

I finished this Quaker Yarn Stretcher Boomerang shawl first. It was a fun knit, and I loved the quickness of using thick yarn. This is Red Heart Treasures, and although there is some wool content, the acrylic is a thing. I bought it originally to make a gift, and it still may end up gifted. I like the shawl, but the tail is crazy long and it is weird to wear. I want to make another in a gradient, but start with a longer cast on edge to make a more traditional shawl shape.

Winter Twilight Boomerang Shawl

Continue reading

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Amazon Cracker – December 2014 Tiger Club Reveal

Amazon Cracker - Hamadryas chloe

I found this lovely Amazon butterfly early this fall, and said to myself, ‘Self, you should make something like that for club’. What a challenge. The magnificent blue….not too blue, but not too bold, either. The lacy brown throughout, and the spots of red with incidental purple.

Amazon Cracker - December 2014 Tiger Club - Merino Silk combed top

To meet the challenge, I looked for supplies. Originally I would have chosen mixed BFL for the fiber, but the brown in that didn’t quite have the contrast I wanted, and I was looking for something a bit luxurious as a Christmas treat for Club. Voila, a new fiber….. Continue reading

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Periwinkle to Petunia – November 2014 Tiger Club

November’s Tiger Club just came together in a serendipitous way. A new yarn was available to me (new! yarn! American grown and spun!), AND Targhee (EEEEeeeee!!!) became available. I wanted something simple, yet lovely to show them off. I took a browse through my dye sample book, and fell in love (again) with the range from Periwinkle blue through to passionate Petunia violet. Nothing but a gradient would do.

Periwinkle to Petunia All American Sock Yarn Nov 2014 Tiger Club

Our yarn is neatly divided into two matching 2 ounce skeins. Each skein is a single gradient of 5 shades from blue to purple. I figured each color is about 44 yards, so you can do a lot with pattern on this yarn and it won’t get lost. Warp up a stripey scarf or shawl. Knit alternately from opposite ends of the skeins and stripe it up. Or try some Fair Isle. So many options!

Perwinkle to Petunia Targhee Wool Nov 2014 Tiger Club

I was so thrilled to get my hands on some Targhee again. I took a different gradient approach with this, each color is longer than the last, planned for a triangular shawl. Keep the long color changes, or fractal it. This wool and the colors were having fun with me….each batch turned out a different variety of awesome, so you received something unique.

If you’d like to join the fun, we are open for December. I have another new yarn and fiber blend for you to try. Both are soft and stunning. Sign up on or before the 15th, I dye starting the 16th!

On the club thought track, I have some extras from previous clubs up in the shop now, so check what’s listed in the ‘new’ section.

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Flotsam – October Tiger Club Reveal

Well, I’ve been putting off this post, mostly because I saved a skein of this month’s club for myself, and I really wanted to proudly show off my completed socks for the reveal. You know how those ‘best laid plans’ go…..anyway, I can proudly show you a strategically photographed sock that will be ripped out and totally remade. I had a math fail.  Multiply by rows per inch, not stitches per inch.  Duh, me.

So, I guess I should back up. October’s Tiger Club was actually inspired by the yarn, which is Tiger Tweed. All those little bits of Donegal plus some shades of blue and green and a glimpse of rust made me think ‘Shipwreck’, and here we are….Flotsam!

Flotsam Bengal Tweed Sock - October 2014 Tiger Club

I really love how they turned out. And here is my proto-sock. Don’t feel too bad for me, now I’ll actually tweak my design and get them better fitting. If the first one had been ‘good enough’, I would have just made a second the same and been done with it. I think I’m going to take a few stitches out of the leg, maybe narrow the ankle, then add them back in for the foot. I also liked how I picked up one side of the heel, but somehow the other side is different. I am a little miffed that I cut the yarn already, so I’ll have to splice on the re-do.

Flotsam Sock....try 1

Ah, and our fiber. I brought back a great fiber from last year, Masham. It is naturally an oatmeal-gray color, and adds amazing depth to our Flotsam shades.

Flotsam Masham Wool - October 2014 Tiger Club

Here’s the inspiration photo:
Flotsam

Want to join the fun? There are spots in Tiger Club open until November 15th. This month, both yarn and fiber will be products of the USA. I love supporting the return of the wool industry to America, especially when the products are so great.

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Tiger Stripes and Polwarth and Silk, Oh My!

It’s time for a shop update, and I have a passel of things for you.

First off….you know I had to do it sometime…..here we go, Bengal Stripes!

Tiger Stripe - Safari

I’ve also put up new batches of Iris,
Iris Safari

Koi Pond,
Koi Pond - Journey

and Forest self striping sock yarns.
Forest - Journey

Next up is some Polwarth. Yum.
Out of the Deep Polwarth
Evening Haze Polwarth
Darner Dragonfly Polwarth
Citrus Splash Polwarth
Autumn Splendor Polwarth
Autumn Blaze Maple Polwarth

Next comes the Merino Silk. Oh yes, 50/50, soft as kittens.
Purple Passion Merino Silk
American Beauty Merino Silk
Stormy Seas Merino Silk
Mississippi Mud Merino Silk
Leaf Merino Silk
Dawning Merino Silk

Finally, I have a few batches of Mawata Silk Hankies.
Tropical Rainbow - Silk Hankies
May Flowers - Mawata Silk Hankies
Lily Pads - Silk Hankies
Lettuce - Silk Hankies
Lavender Sachet - Mawata Silk Hankies
Blue Skies - Silk Hankies
Black Tulip - Silk Hankies
Water Lilies - Silk Hankies

As you can see, I had a lot of fun with different yarn and fibers for this update. I hope you like them!

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