Field Of Dreams

Things around here have been quite busy lately … filling custom orders, spending time with family that are visiting + a super awesome family picnic, and, of course, lots of spinning and knitting.

I’ve decided to be a bit more adventurous this month with my spinning and tossed in some fiber prep as well.  When I received my June “Field Of Dreams”  fiber club shipment from Spunky Eclectic, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I wanted to spin the fiber as a spectrum – a rainbow from orange right through to purple – to showcase the wonderful bright hues that this Shetland wool shows off so well .

To get the color effect that I was daydreaming of, I needed to separate the fiber by color, so I pulled the top apart and divided it into distinct color groups.  Here is where the fun really began!    I used my hand carders to blend the colors so the transition from orange to purple was very gradual.  Here’s a pic of a few of the rolags:

This was my first time carding wool (I used some spare wool to make 3 practice rolags first) and I’m really happy with how they turned out.  The cards felt a bit awkward in my hands in the beginning but it quickly got easier to do.  I still have a lot to learn about hand carding but this was a great first project to cut my teeth on.

Field Of Dreams was a couple more “firsts” for me besides the carding.  It was my first time spinning Shetland (which I’m totally in love with) and it was also my time spinning a woolen style yarn.   The long draw was kind of scary as I normally do a short forwards draw, but once I got the hang of it the fiber felt almost like it was spinning itself.  Such a neat feeling!    I’m eager to try spinning more woolen yarn.

This fun handspun is destined for a Stripe Study Shawl paired with some yet-to-be-carded-and-woolen-spun cream colored BFL.  I can’t wait to start knitting it already!

Are you spinning in the Tour de Fleece this year?  Are you trying anything new and daring?  I’d love to hear all about it!