Why, three bags full in fact!
Actually, I have so much more than that! But I did get those at the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival last weekend!
I can’t really pass up a deal like that – it’s scraps and seconds, but $6 for 8 oz of fiber is just too good. Unfortunately I must come across deals like that too often, because I have so, so, so much spinning fiber that I’m quickly running out of places to put it.
So, obviously knitting is not my only pastime. Spinning is certainly one of them, and although I wouldn’t consider myself to be a great spinner, I love the process of watching a big ball of fluff turn into something wonderful and useable. Even though I didn’t dye the fiber myself, I know that whatever yarn I spin out of a particular fiber will be unlike anything that anyone else would spin from it, since our techniques and preferences would be different. I really like that – it feels like a very personal experience with the fiber.
I also love fiber festivals because you meet amazing artists, many of whom love color like I do. I always love going into the Woolgatherings booth, because it makes me feel like a rainbow exploded all around me!
This is my score from them this time – juicy, summer rainbow colors and sparkes! It’s like they read my mind!
But according to some of my co-workers, I’m a bit hard to pin down as far as preference. Because when I saw the Sporfarm booth, the soft, delicious ice-creamy colors just drew me in and I couldn’t bear to leave without it.
That pink confection is a wonderful Merino-Shetland blend – but it looks more like raspberry ice cream to me. And the other is my very favorite – mint chip!
Obviously I was hungry at that point – but I swear I can smell sugar and waffle cones looking at that fiber.
The problem for me is that I just don’t have time to spin this all up! So, thanks to your encouragement last week, I actually took a brief hiatus on my husband’s sweater and dusted off my spinning wheel for the first time in a year and a half. I had a little bit of something going on one bobbin, so I finished that up first. I’d show you, but it’s really obvious that it’s been a while! It ended up pretty uneven but hopefully useable – even if it’s just a decoration.
But last night, I started spinning up some fiber I’d completely forgotten about – a gorgeous batt from Hanks in the Hood! It’s a perfect blend of burgundy and burnt orange wool with daffodil-shaded silk. It’s very much like the Fairhaven colorway of her custom-dyed batts, but the content is a little different. So far it is a dream to work with – once I get the singles finished, I’ll have to share some pictures! (It was way too dark last night to get a good photo – the silk really needs a sunny day to show off its glow!)
What’s good about this, too, is that I am feeling a little less overwhelmed by finishing hubby’s sweater – and there are only about six inches to go! Let’s hope this is a productive weekend.
Spinners out there – have you tried the Hanks in the Hood batts? I’d love to hear about your experiences with them! I’m loving it so far.
