We Now Return You To Your Normal Blog Posts

I'm sick of writing about being sick. And I can only imagine what a depressing read it is for everyone else. I'll just skip The Sheepie Health Watch for today except to say that the fever is now officially 24 hours gone and that I did not give it a of bon voyage party of any sort. It was not a welcome guest. The only good thing I have to say about the experience is that I got to take the narcotic cough syrup and even that is getting a bit old. Sure, it's been fun for the cats to watch Mommy stumble over mumbling, "I love you, man..." But, I suspect that my having allowed the cleaning of the litter box to slip my foggy mind on more than one occasion this week is taking some of the joy out of their Mama Mocking.

I like to think that I might use my fiber blog to actually share that little corner of my life for a change! The knitting has been sadly neglected of late. I tend to knit with a little less of the accuracy when I'm ailing. And since I have learned over the years that a certain amount of attention to detail (number of stitches, gauge, making sure that all the stitches are securely corralled on the dpns rather than slithering off during moments of inattention) is the key to knitting success, it made sense to work on a few other projects while I was convalescing.

So, I spun. Spinning is a good activity for those of us on prescription cough medicine. Once you find the rhythm, you can go to a fairly mindless place. Well, to a degree...I have to admit that today's samples are probably not the most consistent spinning I've ever done. But they aren't half bad if I do say so myself. Both are from Wooly Wonka and represent some travels into uncharted territory for this old Sheep.

First up: The Rambouillet:

Despite not being a joiner to any real degree, I couldn't resist signing up for The Exotic Fibers Spinning Club. I thought it might be a fun way to try some new fibers without committing to pounds and pounds of any of them. And the subscription came with not only the fiber, but cool information on the breed from whence the fluffy stuff came, spinning tips and a pattern for the finished product. Not too shabby for what was really a rather small investment! My first fiber arrived this week (in time for my birthday, no less) and I decided to set aside my lamb/silk spinning in order to catch up with the other club spinners this weekend. Rambouillet is an interesting fiber, frankly. It doesn't look like all that much in fluff form. It is one of those fibers that needs the spinning to really be all that it can be. I'm not what you'd call a champion spinner....

But even I can get something rather lovely out of it!

The color is pretty darned accurate on my monitor, too. I've got some spots where the shorter staple length got away from me and I was suddenly spinning sewing thread. But it still looks pretty good, IMHO. I can't wait to see how it looks after plying!

And next up, we present: Spindle Spun Shire Blend:

That's right! I finished plying my second ever spindle spun yarn (not counting those lumpy, bumpy few yards I did years ago when I first attempted this type of spinning...we bought a wheel rather quickly after that experience and thought we'd never again use a drop spindle!) I don't pretend on any level that this is perfect yarn. It isn't. It is somewhat inconsistent in both the spinning and the plying areas. But, like a mother loves her child as much for his faults as for his strengths, I love this yarn. It is serviceable. More than serviceable, really. And I spun it on a drop spindle!!!!!! I'm glowing...and it's not because of the fever. I don't have a fever anymore. I'm pretty sure that this is pride or something like it.

The Big, Fluffy Kitty seems to like it as well!

That or she is humoring me in order to shorten the length of time she has to pose with a skein of yarn on her tushy. She's good that way. Her Smaller, Less Fluffy Counterpart is not quite as tolerant of my spontaneous photo shoots.

I've been looking at different patterns for this yarn and hope to start something with it soon. I'm planning on a scarf and, if I have enough, perhaps a pair of handwarmers or something. The blend of alpaca, silk and bunny rabbit make for a very soft yarn that will keep me quite snuggly warm come the next winter season.

Perhaps this will keep the Monkey Pox away next year? It can't hurt, right?

SA