And what is this?

Whatever has found its way onto my Babe spinning wheel? Could it be? Is it?

Indeed it is!

An owl is perched on my spinning wheel, so it must be that time of year when the veils are thinning and most anything can happen. Halloween is near! Are your pumpkins carved? Is your costume ready?

The leaves are changing color and the air is starting to get just a touch of crisp fall cooling. It is the time of year when my thoughts turn to the natural colors, browns, yellows and oranges, and shades of gold.

I turn to thinking about natural dyes and start looking around and noticing mushrooms and bark and leaves and wondering what colors they will bring me.

At my storefront I have rovings dyed with tea leaves, some with saffron, and some with onionskins. I have a pot of mushrooms simmering on the stove and we will see what colors I can get from that tomorrow.

For now, take a peek at the rovings on my storefront and notice how "naturally" the natural dyes go together. They seem to take to each other, well, naturally!

Meet Bernard

My newest spinning wheel

Yes, meet Bernard, my newest spinning wheel! I needed another wheel like I needed a hole in my head, but Bernard needed a home so what could I do?

What type of wheel is he? Ummmmm, after consulting with experts, the best guess is that he is "one of a kind". Either he is European, or based upon European vertical wheels. He is made for doing production work and I can tell by the wear and tear that that is what he has done for many years. Gotta love these hard working wheels.

It's finished!

shawl view 1

This is the shawl that I knitted from a California Red fleece, purchased from Applerose Farm. My shawl is handspun and knitted in the feathers and fans pattern. Holding the shawl closed is a clip that I purchased in South Africa. The center has a leopard head and three tiny leopards dangle from the bottom of it.

I feel like I have been working on this shawl forever! Finally it is done, and I must say that I am quite pleased with it.

California Red is a sheep that is cream in color with face and legs the vibrant red of an Irish Setter dog. Beautiful sheep! Throughout the fleece are scattered red fibers which show up in the knitted shawl. Gotta look for them, but they are there.

Now I can devote myself to finishing the poncho that I have been working on. The poncho is also hand spun and knitted from a black/white merino fleece. The black/white have been carded together and the effect is a brown tweed. Very nice, but is taking a long time to finish. I have about four inches more to go and that means several more skeins of yarn to spin.

shawl view 2