Today was a great day! Not only was it sunny and 45 degrees in February but my cousin Lisa and I spent the day indulging in yarn and fiber goodness!! We drove out to a wonderful yarn and fiber shop in Taylor's Falls, MN (http://www.eweyarns.com/). The shop offers a wonderful selection of bare and dyed, pure or blended roving and batts.
For us, and any fiber enthusiast, to stand at the foot of a table filled with such colorful fibers is equal if not greater to being in a candy store. The solid colors perfectly showcase the fibers potential to be spun into a showy, bold, statement yarn!
The creamy blends of the 100% hand dyed merino wool made the desire to buy a few ounces of everything hard to resist! The funnest part of spinning with a blended color fiber is that you really don't know what you will end up with. Usually with my knitting I am meticulous to the very last detail. Everything is planned and I have a specific vision of the end product. Every once in a while, however, it is fun to let the yarn lead you.
More and more I am seeing new novelty yarns that are spun with tinsel, beads, sequins, and/or ribbon. These batts were a blend of hand dyed merino wool and silver tinsel. Batts are nice and airy. They draft out very easily which can be a nice alternative to using roving, especially if you are wanting to spin a single-ply lace weight yarn.
This beautiful ball of roving is one of my purchases. It is hand painted, 100% merino wool. I bought a little over 12 ounces. It was my biggest purchase of the day but what can I say? I am a sucker for green and this blend of colors was absolutely irresistible to me! I picture this as a worsted weight yarn knit into an over sized cowl that can be wrapped several times around my neck and double as a hood.
This fiber was equally irresistible to me! It is 4 ounces of hand painted merino wool and silk. It is so soft that when I picked it up I knew instantly I would not be putting it back on the shelf! This would make a wonderful sock yarn. The thought of a wool/silk sock snugly fit to my foot makes me almost wish we weren't coming into spring. Almost.
With as much fun as it was today to travel to different fiber stores, touch all of the different fiber blends and to be catapulted into the creative process makes me wish everyday could be as inspiring!
I'm feeling nostalgic and would like to give a nod to the two who undoubtedly passed down their creative genes to Lisa and me. Our grandparents John and Alice spent many years creating together and selling at craft shows. She would crochet blankets and doll dresses as well as paint ceramics and grandpa would make jewelry. They will always inspire and will forever be missed!! Thanks for reading.
Cheers,
Amy L.
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