Fiber Arts Friday: Interweave Yarn Fest

Toward the end of April, after our former place had sold, I actually had a quiet and restful weekend available..

Saturday was extremely windy, so my plans for outdoor activities were postponed and I took the opportunity to visit Interweave Yarn Fest.

Typically, this show has far more crazy-dyed yarn than I prefer.  But I am usually able to find a couple of vendors that are more up my alley.

Notable was that Eugene Textile Center had Silk Hankies, Noil, Cocoons, and the like...  I've been wanting to try silk in forms other than roving for quite some time... so I brought home some Hankies and De-gummed Cocoons.... all three are undyed.

I found a small amount of Kettle Dyed Yarn from Teton Yarn Company in Idaho.  I love the depth of color with kettle-dyed yarns.  There is some variation which makes it interesting, but not the overt crazyness that a lot of other people clearly love.

Then, on my way out, I noticed The Mendocino Wool and Fiber Company, who I learned about in reading Raw Material a couple of years ago.

They have breed-specific yarns and rovings, primarily in natural colors.  Their fibers are all grown local to them.  I was so excited to meet her, that I nearly gave her hug.

So... as usual, my trip to a Fiber Festival was worth it.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Alpacamundo Monday: Momentous Occasion, part 2

Back in January (2019), we dropped off our first-ever load of fleece for mill processing.  It has now finished processing and was received over the weekend!

There is beautiful yarn and roving.

It will take me a few days to get everything photographed and labeled.  Then the next step is to set up our online store!!

Holy Moly, I am excited!!

Fiber Arts Friday: A Momentous Occasion

Last Friday, Hubba and I dropped our first ever load of fleece off at a mill.

This is 8 fleeces of Bandit, our Medium Silver Grey Herdsire, 1 fleece of organic Shetland wool, and about 2 lbs of Wonton, our first Tibetan Mastiff.

In total, about 27 pounds of fleece.

The Shetland and Tibetan Mastiff will each be blended with the Huacaya.  I have requested 3-ply sock yarn and drafted roving for both of these blends.

The balance of the Huacaya will be made into 3-ply sock, 3-ply DK, and drafted roving.

The drafted roving is thicker than pencil roving, but much thinner than standard roving.... about 1-finger thickness.

Once processing begins, the lead-time is 6-8 weeks, but our fleece will be in the queue for about 8 months for a total lead-time of about 10 months.

I'm happy to know that our local mill is so busy... and have prepared myself to wait for our final product until November.

Aside from the Shetland fleece which was purchased from Michigan, the final product is raised and processed in Colorado.  The mill is about an hour drive from our farm.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Estes Park Wool Market, 2013

I've said before, Estes Park is one of my favorite places and I make a point to visit the wool market every year.  This year it was on June 8th and 9th.

This is when I do most of my fiber, yarn and tool shopping.

I was on the lookout for a small drop spindle.  The one and only I had is quite heavy at 3 ounces.  The new ones are lovely and quite light at 0.77 and 0.98 ounces.

I also wanted to look for black yarn, white yarn and unusual rovings.  I forgot to look for the yarn but I was not disappointed with the selection of rovings and clouds.

First was a Romney Lamb + Alpaca blend.  I don't know what it is, but I love the way sheep's wool smells. :-)

Cotton was everywhere.  Surprising because I had not seen it on prior years.  I picked up a naturally colored brown sliver,

a white sliver,

and a large amount of Ginned Cotton.

The white cotton sliver is much softer than the brown cotton which makes sense since the white cotton has been bred for a much longer.  I'm very excited about the Ginned Cotton... there are little seeds in there that has me thinking I may be able to plant and grow my own... of course I'm sure that a huge amount of work.  ;-)

There is also some de-haired Bison in cloud form that is especially soft,

and a Bison + Tussah Silk roving.

Pure silk in a lovely cinnamon color that is not as silky as one might expect.  I have only spun silk in blends, so this one will be quite an adventure.

 A lovely cloud of cashmere,

And I added to my cashmere+silk stash.  This is a 50/50 blend.  :-)

And finally, the pièce de résistance, Qiviut!  This will need to be de-haired, but even the guard hair is super soft.

If it seems like quite a haul, I would have to agree.  But I always go with a canvas bag and cash in my pocket.  I'm done when either my bag is full or my pocket is empty... as you can see the bag was full, and I can tell you that my pocket was within a few dollars of being completely empty.  ;-)

I hope that you are having a fabulous Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: It's Not a Toy!

It would appear that the girls had a well-crafted and executed plan.

Wednesday evening, Wonton was calling for my attention.  So I went out to see what she wanted.

Wonton and The Alpaca Dog

The door to the house does not always latch on it’s own and did not this time.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until it was too late.

Wonton, who is not much for opening doors, went straight to it and kept it from latching until Noodle was able to come over and fling it open.

Noodle

The both of them went straight into my office and snatched something to play keep-away with.

They raced around the house until we cornered them in the bedroom.  It turns out that they had a ball of llama-silk roving that I had started spinning.  :-/

Fortunately what was already spun is ok.

But what’s left is now covered in dried dog saliva.

Some is definitely felted, but I think most of it is salvageable.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Estes Park Wool Festival, 2012

Ahhh, the Estes Park Wool Festival where two of my favorite subjects collide.... Estes Park, Colorado and all things Fiber-y.  :-)

I had a few things on my mind for this festival... especially the cashmere goat show.  I happened upon the end of it a couple of years ago and missed it completely last year.  I could not find the schedule of events, so I missed it again this year.  :-/  But I did spy a few of them snoozing.

I was also looking for some specific yarn for a specific project.  I didn't find it, but I did find this...

wool + silk + viscose

I think it will turn into something wonderful.  :-)

I also found some special roving for the Tour de Fleece.

Corriedale Top

cashmere + silk

camel + merino

alpaca

llama

I will be spinning with the Team of Wonder again.   :-)  Of course, I just realized that most of the rovings are very nearly the same color...  lol.

The High Park Wildfire started that day, which I wrote about here.  So it was difficult to relax and spend time enjoying Estes Park, as I typically do when I'm there.

As of about 6:30 last night the fire looked like this from our place....

I think this photo is optimistic.  The fire is estimated at 52,000 acres (larger than the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland combined) and about 15% contained.  At the time I was taking this photo, the fire was racing to the north and had crossed the Poudre River.  That being said, last night was the best air quality we've had in nearly a week.

I am pleased to note that our Governor issued a state-wide ban on all open fires and private fireworks yesterday.

I hope you are enjoying your Fiber Arts Friday.  Please join us over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder.  There's always a lot to see.  :-)