Episode 100

Episode 100 Show Notes - Week In Review - I've been obsessively listening to the Curious Handmade Podcast with Helen Stewart, designer extraordinaire!  I also signed up for her newsletter and was surprised with a coupon for her patterns.  I didn't need much more encouragement than a 30% off coupon for 2 or more patterns, and I bought the Odessa Shawl, Fireflies Rising Shawlette, Candlelit Shawl, and the Sunburst Shawl. I've been thinking a lot about hand pulled roving... I know many of you are spinners and do some level of fiber prep, but I thought I'd include a link to some info on the different fiber preps.  There's even more info here from Abby Franquemont, one of my favourite spinning authorities.  WIPs - Lots of new cast ons and works in progress this week! sitting in the window FOs - Quynn by Woolly Wormhead. Using a handspun sample I spun up last summer. Fiber is Sweet Georgia BFL in the Stella colourway. My sample is a worsted spun 2 ply and measured 13 - 14 wraps per inch (WPI), which is DK weight territory and weighed 32 grams. I used a 4mm (US6) needle and cast on for the 16" size, which gave me a finished size somewhere between the smallest and second smallest sizes. I also worked the plain round during the decrease section only until round 20, then decreased every round, in order to make the hat a little less pointy on the top. Spinning - Still working my way through the Sweet Georgia 85% Polwarth / 15% Silk in the Grouse colourway. I've spun up 31 grams of a total of 223 grams so far. Spinning this worsted and aiming for a fingering/light fingering 3 ply finished yarn. I bought some raw fleece from Ranching Tradition in Montana. I snagged this beautiful gray Border Leicester (75%) / Romney (25%) fleece (all 8lbs of it!) - and also Petunia's lovely Rambouillet/Targhee/Suffolk Cross fleece - Here's a pic of a bit more of this massive 9lb fleece! - Both fleeces are on their way to Morro Fleece Works to be processed into pin drafted roving. I also picked up my braid of SW BFL from Sweet Georgia in the Stella colourway - one of my all time favourite colourways! I'm going to make myself a pair of socks with this eventually. Thinking it'll be part of my Tour de Fleece goal! Soundtrack - "Pamgaea" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/