Fleece is turning to yarn!

In the last few weeks, it’s been way too hot to spin, especially wool.  Every time I tried, it turned into a mess of fiber sticking to my hands or flying around the room if I turned my fan on.

But I can at least show you my progress so far.

I’ve spun up one bobbin’s worth and wound it onto a spare knitting needle to be ready for plying once I’ve spun up a second bobbin.  (What I wouldn’t do for two more bobbins!)

A bobbin's full of wool!

As you can see, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping guage.  It’s pretty fine since I’m going to use it plied and I want aran (close to worsted) weight.  There are a lot of little variations because of the different wool types that are all blended together (I didn’t sort the fleece as well as I should have), but I really like the little bits of character.

I’m learning a TON already.  A lot of the methods that I’ve read and youtubed about that I couldn’t ever get to work just seem to happen with the rolags I made of this fleece.  I even understand long draw drafting!  And it makes everything so much more even.  I’m also learning about how different staple lengths and textures spin up — I’m able to recognize (by feel anyway) what types of fibers are going to want to slub, what fibers need more twist, and when I get to a section that needs to be carded a bit better.

Patty has turned out to be quite the little helper with this project — up until now she’s just ignored the wheel for the most part.

Patty supervising.

Before too long, of course, she needed to check to be sure that I was hitting the correct WPI.  I think she thought the wool could use a teensy bit more carding, just the type that little kitty paws would be good for.

"Just a second, let me check here..."

We are expecting just a smidgen-bit of cooler weather this weekend (heat index is only 99 degrees, yeah!), so maybe I’ll get a few minutes to prepare some more fleece for spinning.  I bet by the end of this project I will have picked up some speed as well as consistancy!

Happy spinning!

Channeling fun times in Syme.

Yesterday, after an hour at the gym and several hours studying on my own and with other first-years in my program for the prelim, I went out with a friend, JB, on a quest to find her some “strappy sandle-y black nicer than flip-flops sandals.” 1 trip to PayLess, 1 to WalMart, and a trip to two different Targets and we have her shoes. I was really hoping to get a pair like them in orange (because who doesn’t need orange flats??), they didn’t have my size. Something to look for.

My big purchase (apart from kitty litter for Patty), was a new box fan. Somehow, none of my fans from Syme managed to make the trip to St. Louis, mostly because my mum has comandeered the smaller ones, and the bigger ones I ended up using for my horses, and, well, that’s just never a good idea to bring back into the house.

But now I am the proud owner of a Galaxy box fan.

Poor Patty can’t decide if she likes it or not. She’s upset that she can’t look out that window any more, but when she finishes fussing about that, she lies on her back in front of the fan enjoying the breeze.
She looks pretty comfy, doesn’t she?

It has made a world of difference in my room. With the jump from mid-50s to 60s weather all the way up to upper-70s to 90s weather, I think it was a good time to get it.

And now to study in my nice, breezy room!