The creative forces at Sheepy Time Knits have been keeping my spinning & knitting life very happy in one way or another since I first put together that Mandie is a dyer when we met at Stringtopia these many years ago. You may have noticed that they come up a lot on TKK, and never in a bad way.
When sign-ups for their 2018 brand-new Female Heroes Club opened the happy experiences made it fairly easy to think through. This time I swallowed the fear of over-stashing fibre and joined on that side of the club.
Turns out I made a swell decision there. Not a single braid has come near the stash bin, and I have found inspiration for more than 4 ounces a couple of times already. How it shakes out in features of a good fibre club in my humble opinion:
- Highly reliable;
- Colourways, oh the colourways!
- Rocking the breed selection;
- Generous braids; never underweight;
- Reorders sing from the same songbook.
This can’t be easy to execute for an indie dye business but execute it they do. This club round-up is my simple appreciation.
But wait, are there backroom happenings? No. I am sharing something that has been consistently good, period.
Minerva on Masham
One ply ball is 35 g, and I last wound-off the Jenkins Lark spindle on in mid-May, 2018.
A come-with-me project
The 2 Turkish-style spindles are grabbed alternately each time I head out the door. It’s a slower but still steady way of spinning a project.
Bravest Girl in the World on Targhee
A quick 2-ply that I spun as a fractal on the Watson Martha spinning wheel over 10 days in April.
Seriously smooth spin
The yarn was spun and plied in double drive, and the second braid is a dead ringer for the first.
As a big fan of Targhee, I was impressed with this fibre in particular. It was open, fluffy, and a joy to spin. The 635 yards of 2-ply is lovely (2,540 yards per pound) and so soft.
Mother of Dragons on Blue Faced Leicester
Imagine my squeal when this came in the mail.
Good mail day this
One good BFL spin has deserved another. Again this went on the Watson Martha in double drive but this time I wanted a 3-ply yarn.
Stormborn as it were
They are in the DK-weight range, and with the re-order, I now have approximately 394 yards (787 yards per pound). The second braid was my ah, we are home again 2-day blitz spin.
Furiosa on Shetland
It may have been a little Mad Max to start this while also plying the beautiful Mother of Dragons.
Lower ratio; light touch
This will be a conventional 3-ply yarn, and I am looking forward to seeing it off the wheels. The Wee Peggy is in Scotch Tension spinning a light 5:1. It’s been very, very relaxing with an audiobook after long days.
That happened quickly
Spinning is in-between other projects – I have finished T’s colourwork sweater & am spending other nights weaving a band in my backstrap loom. There are loose ideas for how I will use the handspun but for now I make the yarn.
The trip was very good for my focus, and I am happy to be working again.
