Illuminations

 I have another spinning show and tell for you!   I bought some pretty roving from a UK company called Fellview Fibres.     They have consistently beautiful colorways and quality fibres to spin up. A real treat for the senses.

This roving colorway was inspired by the illuminated manuscripts from various ancient abbeys such as Lindisfarne and the Book of Kells.  Carol has three or four colour ways in this series but this one appealed to me for its softness of yarn and color.

The truth was it was a bit of a challenge to spin as the fine merino and silk liked to stay separate and it was a struggle at times to keep a flow moving. So it was a slow spin up and I would do a 50 gram amount and then do something else for a change and then go back and do another.  Eventually, when I dug for another bundle, it was all gone. 

So this was apparently the last 50 gram ball to be spun up.... and the balance shown were in various stages.   Such as 'on the rack' or noddy noddy.

All skeined up and ready for a soaking.

Washed and dried and behaving like it was never a 'problem child" 😁

I wound each skein into cakes and they store up nicely, ready for use.  (For sale in my Etsy store: Thrums Textiles)

My next new adventure?   Learning to use a Turkish drop spindle!

A friend convinced me to give them a try. They make a neat little centre pull ball called a 'turtle' and you can easily ply from two turtles.  The spindle parts all come apart for easy storage and for releasing the turtle from captivity!   🐢     Checking the mail box daily for it to come!   I hear they are addictive and you need more than one.... a whole herd perhaps?    😁