Another Way to Make Tweed

I made another tweed and wanted to share it with you. I purchased a Shetland mixed wool from a friend. The wool is softer than most Shetlands; however, it was very full of VM. For the non-spinners, this means vegetable matter, which is twigs, straw, grass, and anything that can be attached to the wool fleece, (yes, it can also be poo). I scoured, (spinner term for washing the wool in very hot water to remove the greasy lanolin, some dirt, and some VM), and dyed the wool violet. I dyed the wool with the intention of getting light and dark hues of violet. I then combed the wool mixing the hues a little and mixed a very soft white Merino wool into this mixture. With all of the VM, it is hard to not mix the wool very well, but I want to leave quite a lot of variation from white to dark violet. I have pictures of the wool in various stages of preparation. Even though I tried to spin fairly smoothly, it is hard to spin a very fine wool without some lumps, or nips occurring. I made the yarn 2-ply or two stranded. I hope this post is helpful for new spinners and shows another way to achieve tweed yarn. For non-spinners or advanced spinners, I hope this post is something interesting to view and read. Dawn

Goats Milk Soap

I made soap last evening. It was the simple way, using melt and pour, with a lot of additions. I used lemon, rosemary, and lemon grass essential oils. I added kelp, rosemary, lemon thyme, turmeric, and dairy whey. I tried to layer it. The bottom two layers I mixed together some. The kelp usually speckles green as the soap ages. I like that look. I found 3 little fruit bowls at an antique store. They have a green band running around the top. The flowers are pink and peach roses. I like to use small bowls and small plates for soap dishes. I understand that people use wood that is not level so the soap will drain. The wood rots though. What is up with that???

Tweed Yarn

I was in Ravelry not too long ago and one of the new spinners asked how to make tweed yarn. There are several ways to do this, however I thought I would explain one of the simple ways to make tweed yarn. I recently purchased some fiber from Scottish Fibers. Yes, they are in Scotland. The fiber is called seaweed wool. Well, it is not made from seaweed, but the sheep eat seaweed primarily. The wool has to be separated and the guard hair removed. The part left is very soft, but you do see some guard hairs hanging out of the wool. It reminds me of Jacob wool, as far as the guard hairs hear and there. After I washed the wool, I didn't think it was quite as soft as before. Part of that was probably due to the fact that wool is not as soft after it is spun and not due to the washing. I spun the wool in the original white color. I divided the wool into two hanks of yarn. I dyed one hank a medium blue. I died the other hank in a royal blue dye bath. On purpose, I tied the yarn with a tight piece of yarn, so that part would stay white. I used a little of the left over white and plied it with a variegated blue of one of those mystery wools. I made a hat to show you how the tweed would look knitted up, and also took pictures of how the tweed would look on the hank. I hope this post will be helpful for a spinner wanting to make tweed.

!!!Winner!!!

We have a winner!!!!!!!!!!!!

April is the lucky girl. I hope she enjoys all of the goodies in time for Valentine's Day.

GIVE AWAY---------ALMOST OVER

My new website should be up and showing today. Unfortunately there will not be any products showing yet.

Don't forget to enter the give away. Check out the previous blog for information. Dawn

More added to the give away!

I have added more to the give away. See the new picture.

I have my new website and I am trying to put the items on it. My old website will quickly be gone for good. I am pleased with the new site and it has some fun animations on it.

I worked on a little remodeling at home this weekend. The birds, (large parrots), liked to eat and peal the paneling behind their cages. I could patch the wall, or remove the paneling and see what was under it. I assumed that there would be glue, since the paneling was installed at the time the house was built. I removed the first piece of paneling and I saw writing with glue. What do you think from the picture what it would say??? Well, It actually says "I love Carol."

I saw a powder puff made from Merino wool. I decided that I needed to make some for me. I practiced a couple of times and found that it is hard to keep the wool together without it pulling out of the puff. I think I have it figured out, finally. I do think it may matt a little since the wool is so soft. Most all wool is soft, until it is spun, so other kinds will work fine too.

I painted my bathroom walls. They came out very pink, compared to the pale pink that they were. I wanted to put up new drapes and I picked out the fabric. I wanted a valance with little yoyo's along the bottom of the valance. I started making the yoyo's and I changed my mind. I placed off white lace curtains up instead. The other print would be too bright since the walls were so pink. Well, I decided to keep going with the yoyo string. I placed rose buttons every two yoyos. I think the yoyo garland is such a cute thing. It can be used anywhere a garland can be used. What do you think?