Good Bye Fleece...Hello Yarn!

This past weekend I headed up to Bowling Green for the Black Swamp Fiber Festival. My mission: to send off my bags of merino fleece I have been hoarding for a while to get processed. I’ve been holding on to these fleeces since they are the last from my merino, Elizabeth who sadly passed away. In the past, I’ve always sold her fleece at whatever fair or function I exhibited them at-she never placed lower than reserve grand champion-so usually I had a handful of notes from spinners offering to buy them from me.

Now that she is gone, I didn't want to sell them and want to keep them for myself! I have been reluctant to send them off to be processed, partly because I didn't know where to send it, I didn't know what to do with it, and well it's costly. I was referred by a LYS owner to use Zeilinger’s in Michigan. The issue: shipping. I had quite a few bags of fleece and they are quite heavy. Anyone who's dealt with merino fleece knows it's rather spongy and doesn't pack easily. Much to my delight, Zeilinger's was at the fiber festival and brought their trailer to haul fleeces back up to Michigan with them. Which for me means no shipping costs! Plus, they also are having a sale for the month of March when you send fiber in for processing into roving, batting, or combed top. So my mom and I make the drive up to BG with all the bags of wool in the car. We estimated the weights but we only weighed a few bags, not the whole batch. When we got there and they weighed it, it totaled to 78lbs! Quite a bit more than I expected but I was thrilled.

The people from Zelinger's were rather excited about my fleece and commented on how they hadn't seen fleece that nice in a long time, commenting on the staple length and the crimp of the fiber. They helped me decide how to have it processed and my options. So here is what we settle on: yarn and combed topsYou need 30lbs to do a yarn run so I clearly had plenty for that! The rest will be made into combed tops, perfect for spinning. I still have to decide how to have the yarn run- what weight/ply. So if anyone has suggestions or requests, let me know. I am thinking nothing more than 3ply based on the fine fiber that it is.

Now, I am excited to have plenty of yarn for my own use, but I am going to have SO MUCH YARN AND FIBER! I am planning to sell a lot of it so I am looking for ideas as to where to market it, how to market it, etc. Anyone who might be interested or has ideas... let me know! I'd like to try my hand a spinning some of the combed top, but I am not planning to spin 50 lbs of it. I also would like to attempt to dye some but also, no experience in that area either.

So many options... at least it takes a good 4-5 months in order to get the wool fully processed. Lots of time to figure out my options!

Pretties from the Fiber Festival

A Lucky Find x2

A while back I saw the most adorable set on Universal Mama. A little shirt made by {cake.} and a beautiful pair of longies by Dwell Wool Knits. I wanted this little shirt so badly! At the time I thought I could get it for my nephew (one of the two that it would fit). But alas, two things stopped me from getting it. A) The cost since it was paired with the longies (and therefore exceeded the Christmas shopping budget per child) and B) It was snatched up so fast I wouldn't have been able to anyway. Well as the fates have it, I was browsing through Spots and I saw that little shirt listed on there. I had to have it! Of course my nephews are both now too big for it but I am adding this to my someday stash. Perhaps I will find a little one to give it to before then, but I am holding out hope that I'll need it sooner rather than later for one of my own!

THEN a few days later, browsing around Spots again, I came across this gorgeous colorway. A Mosaic Moon colorway called "Noellaig" which matches the shirt perfectly! I am pretty sure it is the same colorway that was used to make the longies that were originally with the shirt because I checked around on Ravelry. The colorway was listed as an OOAK, but now is listed as Noellaig which means Christmas. I am so excited about these lucky finds...this is going to make a perfect set!

A Pair of Little Longies

I purchased this awesome OOAK colorway from Tree Frog Knits and I thought they would make a sweet pair of longies. Boy was I right! I had no one to make them for in particular but either I will hold on to them until either I have a little one or until a friend or family member has someone to wear them. Or perhaps if I ever get enough knits together to open a shop on say Hyena Cart or for a craft show. Who knows. They will find the right owner in due time.

I just love the way that it knit up and the colors look so neat together. I don't know if I would have ever thought to combine all those colors but I am sure glad someone did! I still have some left over, probably plenty enough to make a hat. I am thinking a Hudson Hat. Hopefully that will come soon!

Additions to Yarn Stash

It's always dangerous when your local yarn shop has a "Spring Cleaning" sale. I set off on the first day of the sale with a $50 spending limit (which I *almost* stuck to). Debblie Bliss Rialto DK was on sale and since I have about 100 baby knit patterns that all call for DK yarn, I snatched some up. Rialto DK is an extra fine merino is an all season yarn: cool in the summer and warm in the winter so I am hoping to make some versitle garments with it. I grabbed a handful of colors in hopes to make a cute sweater.

"Chocolate""Berry"

"Beige"

"Pale Pink"

Bloom

Maybe it's the approaching spring season or the want to have my own yard to plant flowers. Regardless, When I saw this beautiful wall hanging, I just had to buy it. The wall hanging is by Mimi of the Smiling Octopus. I cannot wait to get it in the mail and hang it up to brighten up the place.

New Needles+New Yarn=Bliss

Last year for my birthday, my mom bought me the most beautiful pair of knitting needles. They are Rosewood wooden needles made from Cocobolo, a rosewood, in size 7. The makers of the needles, Turn of the Century, were at the Art in the Park show in Medina, and when my mom came across their booth, she said she just had to get me a pair- and I am so glad she did! They are so beautiful! The wood turning on the tops is so intricate. I find myself just staring at them when knitting! If you have a knitter in your life and you need to get something for them, I totally recommend you look into them (and get a pair for yourself too). I just started a new project on them with Spud & Chloë sweater yarn in "Firecracker." I was so excited to finally find a LYS that sells this yarn. The color is so rich and it is knitting up lovely!

Treetops Earflap Hat

Finished an earflap hat for my godson Nicholas. The main yarn is Laines Magnifiques "Treetops" on Rayonnant Organic Merino. The trim yarn is a wonderful yarn I purchased at the Upper Valley Fiber Fest, 50% Merino, 50% Alpaca from Mount Ampato Alpacas. This hat matches the pair of longies I made him before. Luckily they still fit him (for now!) and he can sport his matching set and get more awwwws from the ladies at his daycare.

"Splash Monkey" Hat

I finished this hat the other day for my dear friend's son Jayce. This was an experimental hat. I wrote up my own pattern as I couldn't find one that was exactly what I wanted to do. So I am hoping xxxcrossing fingersxxx that it will fit him! The yarn is Alligator Knits "Splash Monkey" and it's such a cute colorway. I am glad that I still have quite a bit of this left to knit up something else wonderful with it!