Handspun Friday - Falkland/South African Fine

I missed last Friday's handspun post. But here I am today. This one's not so exciting as others, it's rather boring. Don't know what I expected, when I combined these two. I liked both colorways, but put together - b 0 r i n g!

I like spinning with Falkland fiber. It's like Corriedale I think, and I wanted to make 3-ply sock yarn. But with 4 oz there would not have been enough for my size. So I added some South African Fine, which I dyed a long time ago. I did felt it a little. It was a struggle to seperate strips, and predrafting was a must. Still I liked the color combination of lavender/silver birch. I still have a couple of ounces left. I might use this color combination again some day.

~ 32yds navajo plied South African Fine

The Falkland had many nebs in it. You can't see that in the braid, but I got very frustraded while spinning. At first I picked them out, but they came so frequently, that at some point I let some slide. So the singles were a little uneven. To top it off, I forgot to check the tension on the Lazy Kate (again) and it overtwisted with plying. But adding the second colorway gave me some great yardage! ~ 622yds!

Yesterday we had thunderstorms and Tornado warnings. It was like the world came close to an end. The eeriest light after the storm. This photo is not photoshopped or whatever. It was just fantastic to watch. Here the bad weather moved on East.

And here the look to the West. I saw some blue before the sun was down for the night.

More exitement was to be had that day:

While thunderstorms were all around us, I was sitting on the sofa spinning on my new used Ashford Elizabeth wheel, which arrived yesterday. I've got it from Susan. It came in two boxes, and after David put it back together I grabbed some undyed natural brown BFL to give it a whirl. Boy, that's a big wheel combared to my Ashford Traditional! I tip the treadle once or twice and it runs, and runs, and runs, it might still be running, I haven't checked. Among the many accessories there was a Wooly Winder as well. I always wanted to give it a try and now I have. At first it ripped the fiber right out of my hands, but I managed it in the end and spun up 2oz of the fiber in record time, even my usual thin singles. This was a very nice experience during bad weather. And to top it all off, Happy (I still want to say Sam, after all those weeks!) snuggled up to me and let me spin!!! At first he was like this, head stuck in the corner, but he liked it better the other way.

Of course the peaceful moment did not last. I had to get up eventually for something or other, and as soon as I did not pay attention, he grabbed a mouthful of fiber and was off at high speed. I think he was planning it all along. Lull me into believing he's harmless to my fiber, when in reality he's fibers worst enemy. :o)

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Have a nice weekend you all!

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