Estes 2009

How quickly the time goes and once again it is time for the Estes Wool Market. This year I went with my friend Anne, Maddie and met Schelli there. The four of us had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed every moment and dollar spent. I just love the Teeswater sheep, aren't they cute with their bangs?This little sheep was getting sheared.
And this baby Shetland named Diamond Lil almost came home with me. My FIL says all I have to do is build a fence and then I can get some, not sure I'm ready yet though but she almost had me convinced.

It was quite entertaining to watch the border collie shepherd the ducks.

Here is Schelli's Ted with a fellow llama. The llama doesn't look too sure about Ted.

This was a small fleece I bought, probably a 1/2 fleece of Romeldale/CVM from Arianna at Aniroonz in Wellington, I love the rich deep chocolate color.

I adore this Jacob from Perry that Maddie picked out. It is only 1 lb 12 oz but enough hopefully for a vest or maybe even a sweater depending on how much of it is grease.

And my absolute favorite is this luscious 5lb CVM fleece from Geri McGilney in Loveland. The colors are amazing and the crimp is divine. The test lock washed up beautifully and I can't wait to get it to the processor's and back.

This is Ellie, a lovely Paco Vicuna from Hickory Ridge Farms. I purchased 2oz of her fleece to add to the 4 oz I bought last year. Hopefully that will be enough to make a shawl with.

So heavenly, once I make that shawl I think I will wear it with everything I own.

This is a 40/60 Bamboo/Merino roving I purchased from Bonkers. It is 4oz. of the Pavoreal colorway.

I also bought 2 oz of silk hankies from Bonkers.

And a couple of ounces of nylon that I plan to blend with some wool I will dye to match for socks.

And lastly these great Wensleydale locks are going to be used in carding projects and maybe I'll try an art yarn out of them as well.

Overall it was a fabulous time and I am still happily in love with my new fleeces. I just love the smell of sheep.

Welcome Sunshine

I think I finally see the sun poking through the clouds, both literally and figuratively. It has been a rough few weeks lately, I've been battling with kidney infections and UTIs and am now finally feeling a bit better. Good enough to work on my socks today. I did a short row heel, which is by far my favorite heel to do. I think this pair is actually going to fit just perfect, not too loose.
Estes is this coming Sat. and I am so excited to go get some new goodies. My FIL gave me a jump started and gifted me this lovely fleece. I have yet to find out what breed it is, I did do a little test wash and it cleaned up pretty nice. Not next to the skin soft but definitely something usable and free to boot!

I was recently in a swap on Ravelry that included hand spun and hand prepared fibers. These are the batts I made for my partner Linda/Bartons15. I used some SW Merino, some hand dyed by me Coopworth/Mohair blend, tussah silk and some reg. ole wool. I really like how they turned out and think I will have to make some more for myself.

In return I received this lovely package. The yarn is scrumptious and I am eager to knit it up, just waiting for the perfect pattern to come to mind. There is 225 yards or so, time to pull out the One Skein Wonders book. She also dyed the lovely blue wool. I have some BFL that I hand dyed in shades of blue that I think I will ply with this and use it to make little A a set of mittens, scarf and hat. The goodies were awesome also. Thanks for the great swap Linda.

I've also done a little spinning. I am currently working on the Llama/Silk blend I bought at the Alpaca festival. I received a very fast flyer for my Lendrum for Mother's day and am using it to spin this fiber lace weight. I'm almost half done so I should have pictures soon. Now that I'm on the mend I hope to knit with the Arvada knitters again soon, it has been far too long and I miss my knitting gals.