...huh.

I finished spinning the silk/merino blend last night. (The husbeast is thrilled. He's tired of picking silk filaments out of his food, off his chair, off his clothes. It's gotten everywhere. I'm tired of picking it out of my EYES.) When I'd begun, I tried to separate the roving evenly in two, so it could be evenly distributed between two bobbins and I wouldn't wind up selling two skeins, one 400 yards and one 200 yards. (I haven't quite done that yet but I've sent out some pretty badly balanced shipments.) Apparently that whole 'divide in half' improves with practice. Either that or I got lucky, which is probably the more likely of the two.

That's pretty good, if I do say so myself.


I've begun chain-plying it, and it's turning into a really beautiful yarn. It's hovering between heavy sock and light sport weight. I don't want to commit on the weight until after I wash it. The camera is having trouble capturing the color; it is the same shade as my beat-up jeans. A sort of indigo blue-gray. I think that knit into a scarf it would look magnificent against a black cashmere coat for a conservatively-dressed businessman. The way it's spun (worsted), it shouldn't shed like the loose roving did.

When this is done, I think I'm going to spin a bobbin of Purple Train Wreck before I start on a new project (I think the new project is lined up, too - Ten Carat Socks). Donna Lee is plying the PTW that I sent her, and she's inspiring me. Even though the dye job of my PTW went differently and has more white... still. I wanna see how it looks spun up. Donna Lee is making hers look really good.

---

See Sekhmet?

Sekhmet is wrecked. Totally exhausted. The Goober has been awake at night, has been waking up early (six this morning), has been staying up late in the evenings. Sekhmet tries to guard 'the kitten', as I'm sure she thinks of the Goober, and the Goober's not cooperating by sleeping enough. The poor cat has been exhausted. The Goober, of course, is fine.

---

QUESTION FOR THE SPINNERS: Would anyone be interested in Purple Train Wreck, Summer Berries, or Dreamsicle roving for sale? You don't have to commit, but drop me a line if you think you might. I don't want to lay in a huge pile of shop stock right before we move, but on the other hand, well, if you guys want it, I'm happy to make it.

After we move I intend to find some new suppliers and pass the savings on to youse guys. If I get a dedicated dye studio away from my kitchen I'll also be able to use 'real' dyes and the palette will extend significantly. I'm also planning to see about that indigo vat (Hi, new neighbors! Smell? I don't smell anything. Clothespin on my nose? I don't know what you mean!) Ultimate goal: Pay for, if not tuition when I go back to school, at least books. That'd be nice.