Fun under the sun...

I have been spinning  all summer.  Since last spring my right arm has been in pain so no knitting for me :(  I only been spinning merino giving a rest and some time to heal to that injured arm.

 Now I have lots of merino 

2 pounds of dark brown, 1 pound of golden and 1 pound of powder blue.  This was from the fibers I posted on this blog earlier, it's all washed and whacked then dried outside, now it's all waiting for some needles or crochets.

Keep your wool safe

Since I only use natural fibers and I don't buy yarn as most are dyed and dipped into pesticides to keep the moths away... well many people might find they are not allergic to wool or lanolin  but to the chemicals used at the processing mills while dying.

I simply buy few planks of red cedar, I put those in the closets and use lavender sachets in the drawers, you can always use some lavender essential oil to refresh the sachets.  The bugs won't bug you and won't feast on your wool, better be safe than sorry, this is very simple and natural no harmful chemicals.

It's not very expensive or complicate and it's working great.

Micro Plastic

I don't buy synthetic yarns anymore, first I found having skin problems wearing synthetic fabrics and mostly it's a large source of ocean pollution. You can read this article: http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/washing-machine-pollutes-111024.htm  Every time you are washing synthetics you are feeding the ocean plastic, then the fishes are eating it and lastly you are eating those fishes.
Cutting your synthetic fabrics and plastic use is important if we want to keep this planet alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhinzERu4yU

Watch this video if you want to learn more about this topic.

From Raw to Washed

Raw English Leicester fleece.
Same fleece washed, it's very nice light and soft, can't really see on the pictures but it's got luster. I really like the colour it's a mix of silver and fan on the tips.

Next fleece is a raw white English Leicester.  As you can see there is a lot of lanolin and the tips are dirty.

Same fleece washed, after 2 baths and rinses it turns light and soft with a very nice luster, I still have to comb the tips to get what's left and I did care to not taking all the lanolin off , as I might dye locks or simply spin it as and washing the yarn later and it will be pure white.

First attempt dying locks

This is my first time dying locks, those are from an English Leicester fleece.  It was a fun experience and the result is a very nice rainbow.  I used food colouring with vinegar and about 10 minutes in the microwave.

More Free Patterns...

I'm giving you a link to more free patterns... a full variety of gorgeous projects.
http://www.knitty.com/librarycovers.php
Just click the link and then click the different covers to see all the patterns from the issues.  Knitty is a great online magazine... enjoy.

My new spinning wheel

Ashford Country Spinner 2

I finished it with 2 coats of Tung oil and 2 coats of bees wax, now it's all set and ready to spin.