Spinning up a storm

Ok, so I'm miles behind on the blogging but I've just been far too busy spinning and knitting and doing stuff.

I knit a load of baby stuff the weekend before last. Another pair of tiny baby socks and two baby hats. The first is from baby cashmerino, the second from yarn that I dyed myself. I really like the cross-stitch detail, must do more of that.







The rest of the time I've been busy spinning. Although I'd started to spin my Spindlefrog birthday fibre using the drop spindle I switched over to the wheel in order to try out some of the stuff I'd learnt at the Wingham Woolworks sampling workshop and ended up with this DKish weight two ply. Do you think I'll have enough for a hat?



I'd say that it's the best thing I've spun so far, but then I spun this (I'm in a bit of a spinning groove at the moment).





200g of Shetland three ply in cream, grey and moorit. At first glance it looks like there are only two plies, cream and moorit, but the grey is nestled in there making the yarn appear beautifully smooth and round.

Finally we have my 'reward fibre'.



I picked this up from the Artist's Palette stall at the Cotswold Craft Fair in Cirencester on Easter Saturday and wouldn't let myself start on it until I'd finished plying the Shetland (a resolution made somewhat easier by running out of bobbins).



This is so pretty. The colours apeared really saturated in places in the braid but as soon as I started to pre-draft everything just softened up magically. It's a bit trickier to spin than the Shetland as the staple length is shorter and the fibres are finer and less crimped but I'll just keep treadling away at it.