sari

I recently ran out of loose recycled sari silk, a staple in my textured batt-making, so I ordered more from my favorite wholesaler and was surprised that it arrived in a new form - carded roving!

The staple is super-short and a bit challenging, but it's spinnable as-is. I've been using it to add sari-silk stripes in core-spun yarn, though I also tried spinning a thin single approximately dk weight, and that was really interesting too. Of course, the BEST use for this gorgeousness is carding. Add a sprinkle here or there sandwiched between two layers of fine wool for a confetti-batt, or feed directly onto the drum and "paint" the sari silk wherever you'd like it. I also finally ordered lovely sari silk threads, which my Louet Classic accepts hungrily without damaged teeth.

I've been adding globs and tangles of this beautiful mess into my ArtBatts and am now tempted to spin a chunky black alpaca yarn with giant globs of rainbow sari-silk and silver angelina sparkle. Or maybe a white sparkle-batt with giant chunks of random colors.. I just want to spin this madness, but I've got a pile-up of rainbowish bagged fiber to card, and three seasons of Downton Abbey in my queue. I can't lose, it's going to be a great night in the studio after the littles are tucked in!

carder-love

What a blur.

My little bear is nearly 3 months old and I'm having trouble remembering anything. Some mornings, I pull him out of bed and wonder where he came from.

Living this double-life of making and mothering is is both exhilarating and exhausting, and I'm going to make a goal out of spinning around my children sometimes in order to blend the two roles. Other women seem to manage it. I'm sure it will become easier once the little guy is mobile and can interact more with his doting sister, and I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to this wiggly little fellow getting around on his own.

Since my last post, I've spent hours and hours with my new Louet Classic carder. We've got a serious relationship developing - the batts I'm pulling off that beast are inspiring me to spin more, and I'm finally making the yarns I dreamed of making when I began spinning in the first place. Like this:

And check out how sweet it is to my itty bitty curly BFL locks:

All of the texture and spontaneity I'm able to preserve with the LC has inspired me to whip up Battlings with texture, and I've been whipping those little bubs out in mass quantities for both my Etsy shop and Maryland Sheep & Wool.

Thanks to my mom watching the little guy 2x a week, I'm making some serious progress on Maryland Sheep and Wool preparations. I'll even have more this year than last year - about 200 ArtBatts and dozens and dozens of exciting packages of pretty fibers and batts in varying quantities. I haven't unleashed a huge shop update in a few weeks partially due to my MDSW prep, but I'll get there.. eventually.