fiber arts/dyeing/spinning - leilani handmade

Ugly Dye: Adventures in Indie Dyeing

The Ugly Dye experiment: Four bundles of hand-dyed wool roving in various vibrant colors—multicolored, pastel, and rainbow hues—lie on a wooden surface, arranged in both loose and braided forms. The wool appears soft and fluffy.

Ugly dye? That doesn’t sound appealing at all! I’ve had many hits and misses over the years in my indie-dyeing journey. When I started spinning 9 years ago, I swore I would never get into dyeing: another learning curve. But then I started processing fleece from raw and the appeal was there to learn.

Soon I learned it was easy to fix mistakes by over-dyeing, salvaging overheated/manipulated fiber by re-combing or picking it, and spinning the fiber more methodically so the color flows more beautifully together.

What is Ugly Dye?

Ugly Dye is a term I coined after challenging myself to try dyeing roving in ways that would normally would be considered undesirable. Clashing colors, muddy colors, sprinkling dye on haphazardly, that type of thing.

It all started with this roving I dyed several months ago. I called it my ugly roving:

My ugly roving turned out to be nothing like I envisioned/sketched out. With disappointment, it sat on the shelf for several months. I had absolutely no idea how I would spin this, nor any desire to do so

As people on Instagram pointed out, it’s not really that ugly. I think it had too much going on, and it went back in the dye pot (in this instance a rectangular crockpot with low water submersion) a total of 3 times while I tried to “salvage” it. The second time I added more dye to areas in order to intensify the color.

There were these muddy areas where the colors ran together that I simply hated! The third trip to the pot was to add those blobs of purple that I was convinced was the nail in the coffin for this ugly roving. I had officially gone too far, done too much. After drying, I braided it and socked it away. Since it is merino top (good quality fiber) I knew I had to use it at some point.

Documenting the Ugly Dye Experimentation

When I finally decided to spin it, I was amazed at the intensity of the color, the uniqueness, and the overall appeal both in spinning and in the final product.

This launched my “ugly dye” journey. I was so intrigued by the finished yarn that my head had so many ideas for different types of “ugly dye” to try.

I decided to document this ugly dye mini-experiment for myself to refer back to, as well as for encouragement for those who are interested in dyeing, who feel they are failing at dyeing or are feeling stuck in their indie dye journey. Let my curiosity be your inspiration!

Example of my Ugly Dye experimentation: 3 braided bold colorful rovings on the right; a bobbin full of colorful yarn as well as an unwound roving on the left lay on a light colored table. — All four of these rovings were dyed using similar colors (the middle roving has purple omitted). Amazing to see the dramatic difference in the final project depending on the technique and amount of each color used

This post will not be helpful if you don’t have some basic knowledge of dyeing fiber. There are many ways to dye and this should not be taken as the best way or the only way.

Spinning the Original “Ugly Dye”

Recently, it emerged from its ugly slumber due to boredom. I was in between spinning projects with no good ideas. Upon examining it, I decided to strip the roving before spinning it (the action of pulling apart roving into thinner pieces for spinning). Breaking up the color more, instead of spinning the intact roving from top to bottom, would hopefully give me the best chance of harmonizing all that color.

I was really pleased with how it started to look:

As you draw fiber out for spinning, you are also drawing the color out, having less of it saturating a small area, and thus muting the tone. If you’ve ever dyed a “muted color” roving that you liked well enough but found it rather bland and flat once spun, this is why. In this instance, stripping the roving helped re-distribute the bright color throughout, toning down the loud, and complimenting the muter shades.

I was having such a good time spinning this “ugly” roving, that I decided to spin up all 4oz and ply it to another roving to give me maximum yardage. Not all 4oz fit on my bobbin. I am still deciding what I will ply this to. It may not even exist yet! The beauty of dyeing, is that you can have whatever color scheme you want at any time

My hate-turned-to-love for this roving intrigued me enough to try experimenting some other variations. Again using 4oz of merino top, this “ugly dye” consists of:

Gold ochre
Deep orange
Kelly green
Turquoise
New fuchsia (not to be mistaken for fuchsia)
Amethyst

My dye notebook. This is the start of my notes on the final dye, a dip dye of all these bright colors. I tried to keep the ratio of each color similar to that in the original ugly roving (thus less fuchsia and amethyst). Each roving gets assigned a number so that I know what to reference in the future.

For the second experiment, I decided to lightly soak the roving in water with dissolved citric acid. The bottom was well saturated, but the top was not. It was then arranged it into a rectangular crockpot. Dyeing fiber and yarn in a crockpot is super simple, and I love that I can set it and forget it while I work on other things.

In the first ugly dye, the roving went into the crockpot dry with a little water and citric acid in the bottom of the crock. I also added the original color in sections rather than at random. This time I sprinkled all the colors all over.

I let that sit for awhile, before spritzing it a over with water and citric acid:

After spraying down the top, I walked away for awhile. Probably about 15 minutes. Then I pressed the color into the roving with the back of a spoon:

The roving after spritzing with water/citric acid (l), and the color pressed into the roving (r)

I know what some of you are thinking. It looks so pretty, why press the color in?? Remember, we are going for UGLY roving… ????

Here’s the finished 2nd “ugly” roving. Hard to believe this is the same colors as the original one, just distributed differently, in different amounts

Like the first ugly roving, there is a lot going on. Nonetheless, I love the “mood” of this dye combo, and there is several interesting patterns and striations of color that does not come through in the photos.

For the 3rd ugly dye experiment, I decided to soak the roving entirely with a water/citric acid solution. Then into the rectangle crock. I erred on the side of caution and omitted the purple as I knew the dye would travel around more on a thoroughly wet roving, and it may cause too much muddy color:

I forgot to get a pic of the dye after I pressed it into the roving with a spoon – but see below for round 2

After pressing in the dye, I left it in the crockpot for approximately 1 hour. After rinsing, I was dissatisfied with the result. The color was very muted, I assume because the roving was fully wet, allowing the color to spread a larger distance. Sooooo…back for round 2 it went.

Left: returning the dull color roving to the crock pot, sprinkling in more dye. Right: after pressing the dye into the roving with the back of a spoon

Here’s the end result after rinsing for a second time, then drying:

The results of a fully soaked roving before adding dye is fascinating: “muter” in some elements, and brighter in others

This may be a good contender for plying to the original ugly roving:

Maybe ugly dye number 3 will be plied to ugly dye number 1? I won’t know for sure until I spin it

The final roving in this project was a dip dye of these colors for comparison. What a dramatic difference:

Only six different dye shades to make 4 completely different rovings for spinning

Now that you’ve seen what can be done with just 6 shades of acid dyes, I hope this is inspiration for your next dye project. If you are new to dyeing, I hope this encourages you to simply invest in a handful of colors to get started. I am far from an expert in this topic (obviously!). I’m simply willing to try and share. I hope to do more posts like this in the future, and if I can assist you in any way on your indie dye journey, please do not hesitate to contact me.

2026 Ugly Dye Update

Since this first experiment, I have documented my recent ugly dye adventures on my YouTube Channel. This topic is quickly becoming a channel favorite among viewers. I hope you enjoy and subscribe. 🙂

Posted on February 8, 2021August 21, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

A Hackle – Another Funny Named Fiber Processing tool

What in the world is blending hackles? Read on to find out... — What in the world is a blending hackle? Read on to find out…

In late January I ordered another cool fiber processing tool but it arrived around the time my baby cat passed away, so it took me awhile to get around to use it. I’ve always seen a hackle as a tool for blending fleece & fiber, and since I own a drum carder, poo-poo’d investing in one.

Then it occured to me one day that a hackle could make my life so much easier when it comes to combing fleece top. A drum carder is great for blending and making your fleece & fiber somewhat smooth, but it won’t remove all the noils or tiny gnarly bits nor is the fleece/fiber guaranteed to be lined completely straight like it would be if combed. This texture has merit for spinning, particularly chunky or woolen yarn. Of course I do like to spin a textured art yarn as well. For certain fleece that I hand process I prefer them to be smooth – like merino for instance. I love a nice, smooth, merino top. Plus I get the added bonus of felting with the leftovers. I love my St. Blaise combs, but there is only so much you can comb at once. With a hackles, I can load a larger amount of fleece, then comb it out with my combs.

I’m still working out my process with the hackle, but what I find is that I can load the uncombed merino onto the hackles, then comb with just one comb: added bonus is this is so much easier on my neck/shoulders/back. The hackle is clamped to the table, so instead of motion with two of my arms, I only need to used one arm.

This merino is pretty rough so I will comb as much will fit onto the comb, then finish it by hand combing with both combs, then pulling a small top. After the top is pulled the process repeats: back for more fleece from the hackle, combing out, and so on. This makes the process so much easier! I was amazed how fast I went through the fleece – it cuts the time in half, at least, not to mention it really saves my body from the wear and tear which is the biggest advantage. I love to work with my hands, whether it be jewelry making, paper crafting, fiber washing, dyeing, combing or spinning, but it does wreak havoc on my muscles and tendons so any tool which makes it go easier is worth it to invest in.

A Hackle is mostly used for blending and I have yet to try that. You can pull a nice long roving off of it rather than the little top I pull from my combs and coil into a nest. I purchased my hackle from Gemini Fibers here in Canada, and I appreciate that they are handcrafted in Ontario.

Posted on April 17, 2017August 23, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Is Wool Yarn Ethical? A reason why I started spinning

There is a disturbing video making its rounds on Social Media, of workers brutally beating sheep as they are being sheared of their fleece for the wool industry. I won’t link to the video here because it is truly upsetting. Seeing this video auto-play time & time again reminded me of one of the main reasons why I started spinning yarn.

p1030853 — One of the larger skeins of yarn I spun early on in my spinning journey. It’s a mixture of fiber from two alpacas: Rita von Teese and Bennie

When I was teaching myself to knit and finally became comfortable with it, I started asking knitting friends and acquaintances what yarn brands they recommended as far as quality goes. Often the brands that came up were 100% wool – often merino. So off to the (craft) big box store to investigate. I was surprised at the lack of information on the label about the wool itself. In fact, there simply is no information past the weight and fiber type – normally just 100% wool. Well, what kind of wool? From where? I couldn’t help but ask myself the question, “Is wool yarn ethical?” Looking up the websites for these brands provided no information as well. What I did uncover, is accusations of abuse and mistreatment of the animals bred for this industry. I was left concluding I simply could not continue on with a hobby knowing animals were potentially abused just so I could knit a hat. At the time, spinning seemed way out of my wheelhouse. But the more I wanted a greater understanding of how yarn is constructed so that I could understand knitting better, the more spinning became appealing.

My family frequently attended wool shows and fiber festivals, in the beginning because I

Making friends at a New England Wool Show

wanted to do more natural crafts with my children & this route was suggested to me. They proved to be a great family activity. I grew up in a rural area and sometimes it was nice to get away from urban life. It soon became apparent that I could buy fiber from small producers and hobby farmers. I have even at times met the animals the fleece came from, and bought their fleece fresh shorn – on the spot. This is how I know sheep do not have to be abused to be shorn. Sure, some are very stubborn, but a skilled and compassionate hand can get the job done quickly without punching and kicking and strangleholds with minimal discomfort to the sheep (shearing in and of itself is a craft and I’d even say an art form – it is very fascinating to learn about & watch). In my observation they are also pretty darn happy to have all that heavy fleece off in the hot summer months. Much like buying local & direct to know where your food comes from, the same could be said about the fiber that is to be spun into yarn. I could connect with the producers and breeders, & I could feel confident in the product I was using. This connection lead me to learn how to process fiber by hand. At first, I couldn’t imagine handling a dirty fleece! Now I will skirt them if need be, hand pick then wash it – often soaking for hours on repeat – then card, dye and comb it (if creating top). My yarns really are from the ground up – and it is absolutely satisfying to me to see this product, a gift from the animal turned into something so lovely and appealing. This way I can really honor the animal that was so generous to share their fiber with me. Without these animals, I could never grow as an artist.

I know there will be people that will disagree with me that I cannot know know for absolute sure the animals are happy and well treated in captivity. And to some people’s horror, these same farmers also offer lamb meat (I personally do not eat lamb). I am a believer that every little bit of conscience effort is valid. We cannot do it all. I am also well aware of the large amount of greenwashing – and as I call it – “guilt-washing” out there. So I hope that is not how this reads. I am not here to convince you to buy my yarns. Honestly I am happy to keep them all to myself *evil laugh*. 😉 I am here to give thought to alternatives so that we do not have to always live in such extremes.

photo included in one of my bags of raw wool from a small New England producer

Posted on November 1, 2016July 9, 2017 by Leilani — 2 Comments

Washing Merino Fleece: Before & After

P1030670 — washing merino fleece: before (right) and after (left)

I have talked at length about the fact that most of my yarn is made from the ground up. The only thing I do not own (yet anyway) is the sheep, rabbits, goats or alpaca the fiber comes from. That’s not to say that I can pass up a nice looking roving at the Fiber festival – but I do spend the majority of my time at the Fleece sale. My main motivation in the beginning was to save money. Now, it’s mainly because I enjoy it. I love taking dirty fleece, washing it (sometimes even skirting it before hand to get rid of the poo!), carding/combing it – then dyeing it into gorgeous colors to then be blended into batts to be spun into yarn. I also enjoy meeting small producers and getting to know them, their flock, and where my fiber is coming from: something you can’t do at the yarn or craft store.

This past month I have been washing some merino fleece – from Maine – from Rivercroft farm in Starks. If you are an Easterner & spin you may know Joe & Judy Miller: I love chatting with them at the New Hampshire show, which I sadly missed this year due to a relocation. This lot was from last year’s show. I am embarrassed to say it sat around that long and some of that time in storage in fact. But that is what happens when you embark on home renos and then a move. Last year was a dud for me, as far as fleece prep is concerned.

Thankfully, these bags were already skirted – so no poo for me to remove. 🙂 I am a fleece rescuer – I drift towards the more inexpensive bags of fleece that most hand processors pass up. I see the potential in every bag. Unless it is totally full of VM (vegetable matter) or has signs of lice or fleece rot, I’m in (and I have bought duds of fleece before – live and learn). It just takes a little more elbow grease, and a little more patience.

For fleece this dirty I just reach for my bottle of Dawn dish detergent. If we were talking good quality locks or award winning fleece, I would reach for the Unicorn Power Scour or Namaste Farms Wash & Dye Bastard. But for this quality, I find Dawn works just fine. I start to fill the sink up with hot water, and while it’s filling I will place pieces of fleece to float on top. Once the top is covered, I squeeze on a bit of Dawn in a zig-zag pattern, then add another layer of fleece. Squeeze on the Dawn, and so on – until I have enough in the sink that I feel is comfortable to clean – usually about half the size of the sink. It’s fleece & soap lasagna! At this point I gently start pressing the fleece down into the water, and let soak for approximately 3 hours. This soak happens 3 times, only on the third time, I do not add soap but about a quarter of a cup of vinegar to the hot water to remove the soap residue. I usually will flip the fleece between on the 2nd and 3rd soak. If it mildly felts I don’t worry about it too much as it will be carded and then combed.

The difference in color is quite dramatic. I didn’t even realize just how yellow the unwashed fleece was until I saw it washed. Gets pretty darn white, if I don’t say so myself!

The washed fleece is run through a salad spinner to get out the excess water, then out to my deck to dry in the North Mountain air. It can get very windy here, and after chasing drying fleece all over the lawn, I have learned to put a cover on it. These racks are from a store that closed a few years ago (Zellers – for all the Canadians reading along). I would eventually like a set up so that the air can circulate both top and bottom, but for now I just flip the fleece after drying on one side for awhile – and this has worked well.

I’ve already started carding this into batts to then be dyed – and then combed into top. This is by no means a quick process but it certainly is satisfying, especially when a one of a kind skein of yarn is created.

Posted on July 22, 2016May 2, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Spinning Accessories: Ashford Niddy Noddy Jumbo

I love that spinning accessories are relatively inexpensive – and are often times handcrafted. You can easily purchase a drop spindle and get started spinning without the investment in a spinning wheel (I know this will mortify spinning purists, but I hate the drop spindle. I broke the cardinal rule of spinning & bought a spinning wheel before ever mastering the spindle).

A niddy noddy is one of those inexpensive but must-have tools. It has a very amusing name. I picture someone a few hundred years ago, designed a skein wrapping tool and when asked what it was called, “niddy noddy” was what they came up with while put on the spot. Perhaps this nonsensical name has a clear meaning and if so, do tell! 😉

If you are still wondering what a niddy noddy is, it is a wrapping tool used to make skeins of yarn after spinning. They are traditionally made of wood, but I have seen homemade varieties made out of PVC pipe, and even metal/wood hybrids. There is one central bar where you hold it, and crossbars at each end that are offset from each other by 90 degrees. Here in North America, niddy noddies are most known to come in 1 yard and 2 yard lengths. I prefer to use the 2 yard length on my Lendrum niddy noddy. Before removing the skein I count the wraps & multiply by 2 to give me the length in yards.

Making more and more funky art yarn on my Spinolution wheel these days, I was finding the Lendrum niddy noddy to be too small to fit some of my skeins. I would make them fit, but it was not easy. I was excited to find that Ashford had a jumbo Niddy Noddy. I purchased mine from Gemini Fibres for $39.

P1030572 — a side by side comparison of a standard size niddy noddy (Lendrum) vs. Ashford niddy noddy jumbo

I’ve put in a lot of hours with my Lendrum and can pretty much wrap without thinking (it takes a bit to get the right rhythm the first few times). Due to the larger size of the niddy noddy jumbo it took a bit of getting used to all over again. The pro is that I don’t have to worry about running out of space when skeining my bulky art yarns. It holds over 1 kg (2.2lbs) of yarn. The cons are that it is heavier and more cumbersome to use compared to my standard Lendrum. I also like that my Lendrum has notches on the cross bars so that if I need to squeeze the wraps together more tightly they are not overlapping the wraps on the other side which can get confusing when you pull off the yarn or tie it off.

Another quirk is that, coming from New Zealand I have to remember that this niddy noddy measures in metres and not yards. So when counting wraps if I forget and calculate yardage rather than converting the meter length to yards (1 metre = approx. 1.09 yards) I will end up with more yarn per skein. This is not a bad problem to have of course, but I like to try to be exact so that I can keep track of my materials & how long it takes me to spin it.

P1030576 — jumbo coil plied yarn vs. bouclé

Despite its nuances I am really happy to add this tool to my studio and suspect I will use it very often in the coming months.

Posted on June 25, 2016May 2, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Current Yarn Stash – handspinning overflow

This is the culmination of 4 years of hand spinning. All the experiments with both dyeing and spinning: locks, roving, all of it. All the hours put in to hone this skill. Some were hits, some were misses. I would say the majority are acceptable, if not pretty darn good for a gal who hated the drop spindle but decided to just to throw caution to the wind and buy her first wheel in 2012. I adore spinning. To hell with knitting. I will sit and spin all day any day. 😉

Now with two wheels (first my Lendrum and then my Spinolution wheel) I can work much more efficiently and that means the yarn stash has the potential to grow even bigger, faster. I didn’t do a lot of processing (skirting, washing, or dyeing) fleece last year. We seemed to be in a perpetual state of renovation. But that didn’t seem to stop me from combing, carding and spinning.

I laid all this out on the table the other day, and I was a bit disturbed at how big the yarn stash has grown. With all that time sitting and spinning I haven’t had, well, any time to knit or crochet or weave. It feels a bit stagnant to me, in the sense that – as much as I feel you can never have too much yarn, having these around is stunting my creativity and zest to try something new. There is literally too much choice right now.

One reason why I find it hard to let go is because spinning is such a cathartic process for me. It really is therapy – if not a spiritual experience. So the finished yarn carries a lot of those emotional qualities for me.

The other reason is that I look too critically at my work, and assume it is not good enough for anyone else to enjoy.

Excuses aside, it’s time to get these ready for listing and hopefully into some new homes (my handspun is probably the only thing I sell that I am not unhappy about if it doesn’t sell ;)). I have a few skeins drying now – some of these have been in storage so have become compacted and needed to be fluffed up and looking their best again. 🙂 I also have my pricing spreadsheets set up and shipping rates worked out. I just need to get photographing and listing. I’m not sure if that is all going to gel together by the end of this month – which is fast approaching. I was hoping to get a least a skein or two up this week but I guess you just can’t rush a good thing.

You will find the prices will be affordable if not downright rock bottom. These yarns have served their purpose as a teaching tool to hone my skills and I am happy to give away the time and possibly even partial cost of materials in order to make way for new skill building. The hardest ones to price will be my merino and alpaca yarns, since they were the most expensive of my fleeces to obtain. They are so soft and fluffy and – the hardest ones to part with. But I am all about intention and energy and my hope is that these yarns will make it into the hands of people who can appreciate all these qualities that come with them.

Then when I am done with all that, you see these two containers in my closet? The label on the top bin says: wholesale overflow. And that is exactly what this is. 13+ years of wholesale, clearance and closeout jewelry supplies. In my lifetime, I will never use all of this. So these materials will have to find a new home as well. Now, to clone myself several times in order to get all this done… 😉

Posted on May 25, 2016July 9, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Free Alpaca Fleece – Pt. 1

20160422_194214 — a trunk full of alpaca fleece – all for free

Last month (and on my birthday no less) I picked up over a dozen bags of alpaca fleece – and I didn’t pay a cent for them. Above you see my trunk – filled to the brim.

Mother’s Day is a holiday I don’t care much for, but for the majority of the afternoon the weather was nice to sit out on the deck off my studio and do some picking. I have been (im)patiently waiting for a day to go through some of this, not really knowing what condition the fleece would be in. It had been stored for sometime, in a shed – so somewhat exposed to the elements and critters.

P1030512 — Wonderfully shorn with not many second cuts

I only got through one bag before the fog rolled in, but boy, did I ever pick a great bag to start with! The fleece came out in all one piece – and you could picture how this laid on the animal. It is a beautiful butterscotch/cream color -probably my fave alpaca color. It’s shorn nicely with very few second cuts – and a low to moderate amount of VM (vegetable matter). Pretty much not at all dusty. It is also quite long stapled as shown in the picture below.

I separated this into two bags: one with the fleece with very little VM, and then a bag of seconds that has a ton of VM and is stained/discolored. The seconds batch I will do first: comb and card out the Vm and then most likely dye since the color is uneven. I will store the bag of “firsts” for now. i like to experiment with the lower quality first before diving into the good stuff. 🙂

I’m ready to start my second bag and it’s not so great as it has a ton of VM – but, it will still be nice fleece to work with, it just needs more elbow grease to remove the unwanted bits. I will chronicle the processing of this fleece as I go. BTW – this is the view from my studio – isn’t it breath taking? When the fog doesn’t roll in, that is…

Posted on May 10, 2016July 9, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Picking vs. Throwing: Continental Knitting in my Jammies

Since teaching myself to knit I have been a thrower – formally known as English style knitting. This is the way that made the most sense to me when learning and I have been content to do so – until now. I really like to knit (or crochet) in bed. It is definitely not the most ergonomic way to knit, but I am too fidgety to sit and knit. Let’s face it, if I’m sitting in a chair I am pulling one of my spinning wheels up. Yup. I’d literally rather sit and spin. 😉

All this obsess – er- excessive spinning really puts tension on my right arm, around the elbow area. I’m finding my preferred way of knitting puts more strain on the right arm. Strain means I slow down, slowing down means the projects don’t work up as fast as I would like and then I lose interest. It was time to look at an alternate way to knit so that I could give the right arm a rest.

I’ve never really tried continental knitting (aka picking). I’ve seen videos of the technique but since I was comfortable with the English style I never saw a reason to really give it a go. But I am left handed (left dominant mostly with ambidextrous tendencies) and it seems that the speed knitters out there use this style. I also hear that pickers find their knitting works up looser. I do tend to have tight stitches as a thrower. Since I knit a lot with handspun bulky art yarns a looser stitch is definitely appealing.

Earlier this month I found myself laid up in bed feeling under the weather so since I wasn’t feeling well enough to sit up and spin, a little personal knitting workshop was in order. Off to YouTube I went to see different styles of Continental knitting. After trying different people’s styles below is what has worked well for me thus far. I was amazed that not long after I was continental knitting in my jammies. 🙂

beginning to wrap the yarn around my pinkie finger for tensioning

In the videos I watched, many people liked to simply let their yarn hang between their fingers. I definitely prefer to have the yarn tensioned. The best technique was wrapping the working yarn around my pinkie twice then laying it across my fingers towards the index finger.

laying yarn across all 3 fingers toward the index finger

So once I found a comfortable way to hold the yarn in my left hand – which by the way – felt so awkward at first since I am so used to using my right hand – I found that my knitting for the first few rounds resembled crocheting with my index finger held up in the air. The problem being that my index finger would get tired really quickly, and I definitely could not get the rhythm for purling with my finger so far away. In another video, I found my answer: rest my index finger against the needle. It was all starting to make sense now.

holding my finger too high and too far away from my work

The outcome is I really like Continental knitting. I started by knitting in the round with a bulky reclaimed yarn that already had stitches done in the English style. There was a definite difference in the tensioning of my stitches. I found with continental my stitches were looser and thus looked/felt much better with the bulky yarn. I also found my knitting worked up much faster with the picking method, although I’m not sure if it is because I am quick at it yet or simply because I don’t get fatigued as quickly and can sit for more rounds before stopping. I’ve also practiced ribbing since then and I do like the closer change up between the knit and purl stitch. I’m finding my ribbing maybe a little too loose for my liking, but I think that will change with practice. All and all, I am so stoked to have another way to knit, so when I get tired (or injured!) on one side I can switch it up and keep knitting. 🙂

Are you a picker or a thrower? Have any tips for me? Drop me a line, I’d love to heard from you!

P.S. I didn’t keep a list of the videos I watched on YouTube, but if you search for “continental knitting”, “continental vs. english knitting” and even “speed knitting” you should get a good amount of examples to help you.

Posted on November 28, 2015July 10, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Deconstructed: Unravelling Thrift Store Finds for Yarn

I have read a few articles with great fascination about buying wool sweaters from thrift stores with the sole purpose of unravelling them to reuse the yarn. It seemed like a lot of work to me, but I loved the idea nonetheless. I am surrounded by fleece and my own handspun, but what a great idea to a) reuse and b) obtain wool yarn without breaking the budget. If you have the time you can get a nice stash of yarn for just a few dollars.

Although the idea of unravelling sweaters sounded daunting to me, I am a picker and puller – I love to undo things. I find great satisfaction peeling paint and glue, dismantling jewelry that was not quite right (or to reuse components), or unravelling my own knit/crochet to make something bigger/better (in my mind, anyway). I have even been known to unravel my own handspun yarn – which is no easy feat but very satisfying when I can use the plies again.

I haven’t had any luck finding suitable sweaters, but I did find these 2 scarves, one with the tags still on. Although this is synthetic yarn they were super long, soft and bulky. Lots of yarn to be had here not to mention easy to unravel (in theory). I figured it was a great place to start – for practice anyway.

I vegged in front of the tv one night and gave it a go. The tags and tassels came off easily, and the end was petty obvious – just a loose knot so they unraveled like magic! Of course the unworn one unravelled the easiest. What to make? Definitely not more scarves. I have many of those with my handspun already. Slippers? I am thinking maybe chunky mittens/arm warmers or even some quick hats for my kids. They are always losing their hats/mitts so it would not be a shame if they lost ones made out of old scarves from the Thrift store. 🙂

Posted on November 1, 2015July 10, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Experimental Crazy Handmade Yarn Creation

scarf; shrug; accent piece: I am not sure exactly what I would call this but I am quite satisfied with how it turned out.

I made this yarn out of…frustration? Boredom?

I was really dissatisfied with the original yarn. So I decided to go for broke, and see what would happen if I boucléd it around some commercial cotton. This crazy handmade yarn is the result.

The outcome is certainly interesting to say the least! So what to do with it? I now have a bulky, buckled spiral yarn made of wool, banana fibers and beads (now, cotton yarn added to that mix). What in the world to make with this hot mess & a half?

When in doubt with a funky bulky handspun, I always turn to the elongated knit stitch. There are many different variations but one that I love to do is really simple. Cast on the number of stitches you want, insert needle to knit one, but bring yarn around both needles before looping around the inserted needle like a regular knit stitch. This extra bit of wrapping will elongate that stitch nicely.

Here is a video by Ashley Martineau of Neauveau Fiber Arts demonstrating the stitch. I love Ashley’s videos and her spinning style! I probably learned this stitch from her originally, a video tute on a pillow cover comes to mind. 🙂

So back to this funky creation I made with this yarn-I-was-so-fed-up-with and a simple knit stitch. I was shocked by the result. I didn’t expect much from this so I didn’t keep any notes. But I cast on approx. 80 stitches on large circular needles (17 comes to mind, possibly bigger). Then it was elongated knit stitch until I had just enough to bind off. That was it. Total TV watching knitting.

My intention was to make a cowl or infinity scarf, but I guess you could call this what – like a shurg or a shawl too? And once I started to tug it out/form it it was screaming for this chain detail.

These are the things I love to make. Happy accidents. Throw all the rules out the window and just go! I get so caught up in perfecting technique sometimes it’s nice to forget it all; not have a plan and see what comes. This may still be a total hot mess, but I know one thing. I throw this on with a nice jacket, and I have a conversation piece. And that is true artistry to me.

The moral of this story is: don’t be shy to go there and totally own the result. 🙂

Posted on June 28, 2015July 11, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Upcycled Handspun Yarn – Vegan Friendly – and The Scarf it Made

core wrapped banana fiber yarn still on the bobbin

I made this yarn this past winter & it occurred to me that this upcycled handspun yarn is vegan friendly. Most of the yarns I spin are with animal fibers, but this was made using sari silk remnants (banana fibers that are similar to rayon – so not exactly “natural” as the name would suggest). I can’t always get these from the company in Vermont but when I see them I nab them. They are colorful and silky & usually I add them to my batts. This is my first time making a complete yarn out of them. I love the idea of up-cycling a discarded product.

After thinking it over, I decided the best way to showcase these fibers as well as keep it an even diameter was to core wrap spin it. Core wrapping is a technique where you wrap fibers – usually from a batt – around a finished yarn, the core. Many people use commercial yarns for the core. The banana fibers come in a bag in one big mass, so I found it easy to tease out a bit at a time and let it wrap around the core. I used this dacron yarn (polyester) as the core. I found this huge cone of it at a second-hand store for only $3.50! Score!

To add a little more glitz, I added a commercial sequined thread at the same time I was wrapping the fibers. Another bargain find from the clearance section of the craft store. I am a bit of a magpie (or squirrel? Mouse?) when it comes to shiny and cheap things. 🙂

I made a really cool scarf with this yarn, I really wish the pictures would capture the texture better. It’s very organic in feel yet glitzy all at the same time, and naturally 100% unique. I love rocking this!

upcycled sari silk banana fiber yarn made into a continuous scarf - doubled over — upcycled sari silk banana fiber yarn made into a continuous scarf – doubled over

This is a continuous scarf knitted in the round using an elongated stitch. I made it really long (it’s approximately 36″ from top to bottom) because I wanted to be able to fold it over more than once for different looks.

I used size 11 circular needles. As I harp and preach about handspun yarn: go big or go home! 😉 Always go with a larger needle to allow the fibers to open up and have room for any larger sections.

twice folded over and fanned out - cowl like — twice folded over and fanned out – cowl like

I love elongated stitches and use several methods when knitting my handspun. I love that airy, webby effect and I think it showcases the handspun so well. Not to mention it’s super simple and works up fast. I’ll have instructions for this stitch at the bottom of this post…

Because of the ease with these kind of stitches, I threw this project in my bag and worked on it when I had a passing minute while out on errands. You never have to remember where you left off because it’s all the same until binding off.

Elongated Stitch for continuous scarf

CO desired number of stitches (I CO 110 with size 11 circular needles)
Be sure all stitches are facing the same way, and are not twisted then:
K1;
Insert your left needle into the front of the ST you just created and make a stitch within this stitch: just like a continental purl stitch only using your left needle instead of your right.

Insert left needle into the front of the knit stitch you just created, and essentially purl into this stitch

Continue until scarf is desired length & CO. It doesn’t get more easy than that!

Posted on May 28, 2015July 11, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

2015 New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival

Posing with the adorable babies from Skyeview Alpacas

We had yet another wonderful Mother’s Day weekend attending the 2015 New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. The show has become a yearly family tradition of ours. One of our favorite stops is the Alpaca barn which was showcasing many babies & adolescents this year. I swear I dropped an ovary or two looking at these cuties! Special shout out to Skyeview Alpacas. Always a pleasure stopping by their booth.

this year's haul: sadly (accidentally) in monochrome. — this year’s haul: sadly (accidentally) in monochrome.

I didn’t take near enough pictures, of course. How could I when there was always a bag of something in my hands?? I took a pic of this year’s take in the back of our Jeep but the camera setting was bumped to monochrome & I didn’t realize it. I guess it doesn’t matter too much since the theme this year was definitely white. Besides the angora rabbit fur and white alpaca fleece from Skyeview, I also came away with 2 bags of merino wool from Joe & Judy Miller to process; 1 lb. of to DIE for (or should I say, to DYE for – har har) white BFL top – I just couldn’t say no; and 3 4oz balls of coopworth top. The only thing of color was 3 hand-dyed 4oz balls of a wool/silk blend to play around with. I normally don’t buy roving anymore. But sometimes it just calls my name. I look forward to doing some experimental dyeing this season. I definitely had some restraint this year, but my studio is over flowing. I really could use a bigger space for processing fleece. I would probably get through it faster if I did. Someday…

Posted on May 12, 2015May 2, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Finding Inspiration: What to Make With Handspun Yarn

P1020648 — funky handspun becoming an infinity scarf in the wee hours (my fave time to knit)…

If you are like me, you like to comb the internet for inspiration. I consider myself a spinner, but not so much a knitter or crocheter. My knowledge of knitting and crochet is actually pretty basic. People tend to be quite surprised by this because the assumption is one starts spinning after mastering the needles.

I taught myself to spin just few months into teaching myself to knit and crochet (the beginning stages, anyway). The story as to how I got started would suit a post on its own, but the fact that I learned about making a textile from the ground up made me appreciate the basics of knit and crochet. Handspun yarn literally has a life of its own. Rather than you making it into what you want it to be, it tells you what it will be. Thus, you gain a respect and appreciation for handspun that you realize is best left to speak for itself.

P1020593 — jumbo colorful yarn chain (aka Navajo) plied from fleece seconds

Because of this, we are often left scratching our heads as to what to do with gorgeous artful textured handspun. I say “we” because I know I am not alone in this. Many of us have that stash of pretty yarns. Because of its unusualness (or its mind-blowing prettiness) it becomes a permanent fixture in the yarn bin like the wall-flower never picked to dance (and we know it really should be the belle of the ball!). Whether it is handspun or an artful commercial yarn, I know many knitters know exactly what I mean. When I started spinning the goal was to make the most even, symmetrical yarn possible. But soon I really wanted to push the boundaries of what yarn is. The problem was I wondered what I could make with such unusual and small amounts of it. I have a growing collection of yarn that I spun that I feel is “too pretty” to use.

P1020659 — core-wrapped handspun with handmade flower inclusions

So even as a spinner, I find myself taking to the internet to find inspiration. Not patterns. Patterns are no good with such a unique medium. More of a reassurance that others truly are making items out of handspun and it’s not just a pretty yarn to be hung in the studio. I also have this bad habit of over critiquing my yarns and again, a post for another day… I found this wonderful article on craftsy that really sums up what to make with handspun yarn.

P1020711 — crochet handspun jumbo yarn infinity scarf worn as a shrug with handmade flower and button detail

Since it is recommended to use larger needles with handspun and to keep the stitches simple, I believe handspun is a great textile for the novice knitter or crocheter, or, if you are like me – those who do not possess the time or patience for a long term project. I want to get back to the wheel, afterall. 😉 It may look intimidating at first. It can be comprised of many bumps, thick and thin sections and even over twisted sections, but when you realize a basic knit or crochet stitch will give you a stunning one of a kind scarf for example, one quickly realizes how how satisfying it is to use. The projects are not only simple, but since they are worked up with large needles, they make the perfect afternoon project.

P1020695 — free form crochet left-over handspun neck warmer washing machine felted

Don’t be afraid to mix your handspun with commercial yarns. I love to make the ribbing of my hats with commercial yarn and then let the handspun be the personality of the rest of the hat. What about a scarf in elogated knit stitch switching back and forth between handspun and commercial? The possibilities can truly be endless, and it is freeing to not have to follow a pattern. Free form crochet is your friend with the leftovers! I’ll be starting a series here on the blog showcasing what I have knit with my handspun. Some will be hits, and some will be misses I am sure. Many of the examples posted here are from my spun seconds pile. I really need to have the courage to tackle that pretty yarn stash. My goal is to share the journey with you so that we can grow together. The yarn is piling up here and I need a butt kick to come up with some projects with it. I do not feel comfortable selling my handspun when I myself do not know what to do with it! With that, I am off to play with that jumbo rainbow yarn pictured above.

Posted on April 30, 2015July 11, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Tabletop Fleece Picker

picked fiber (left) and wool that has been washed & dyed but not picked (right)

I have been combing and carding a lot of fleece this month. I’m actually squirreling away my pulled top. It’s the “premium” stuff so I am not sure whether I will make yarn with it, or sell them in batches eventually so others can spin/felt with it. I’ve actually been been enjoying spinning the “waste” product from pulling top – the lumpy bumpy stuff. Such interesting yarns! That’s a textured yarn addict for you. 😉 But that is a post for another day…

I realized I never blogged about my tabletop fleece picker I acquired last fall. I have written before how I like to hand pick fleece, but I finally conceded that I needed something that would get the job done quicker. I did not have the funds for what I’d really like (a triple picker!) nor the time/inclination to build my own so I found this inexpensive one. Above you can see the difference in fleece before and after it is picked with said picker. Note: the wool on the right is not the same color as the wool on the left. It is from the same batch, however.

P1020329 — note all the dirt/dust that comes off when the fleece is picked

The picker has heavy sharp teeth on the bottom as well as the top piece, that slides back and forth, teasing the fleece apart; opening up those fibers so that they are easier to comb or card. I really like that this one locks in place when not in use particularly since there are many curious little hands in my house. You could even add a pad locks to it, if you wanted to.

close up to see how the top locks down when not in use.

How well does it work? You ask. It is adequate. For the price I had really low expectations so I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works. It still requires a bit of elbow grease and it’s no triple picker, but it certainly aids me into getting fleece picked faster than I could do it by hand. But someday, triple picker – you will be mine! 🙂

Posted on March 22, 2015July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Introducing: My New Mach III Spinning Wheel by SpinOlution

close up of the front of my new Mach III

The best gift ever. DH got me a Mach III Spinning Wheel – by got me, I mean, he said “go ahead and order that spinning wheel you want”. Ha ha! So I ordered it in the New Year, and 3 weeks later, my Mach III by SpinOlution was shipped from California and on its way to my dealer in Vermont.

lendrum (left) and Mach III by SpinOlution (right)

We drove down to Burlington to pick it up, and after arriving home and removing all the pieces from the box, the initial overwhelming feeling of “how am I going to put these pieces together?” was short lived. It was actually really easy to assemble! With the exception of attaching the strap to the front (which helps you move the 35lb studio wheel from one end of the room to another) – it was in a new, but totally obvious place. Thanks to Leah for helping me out with that! Putting it beside my Lendrum was almost comical – the difference in size. This Mach III is a beast and I mean that in the most affectionate way!

I got all the bells and whistles with my Mach III, including the largest bobbin/flyer – 32oz – you can make up to 2 lbs of yarn with it!

Take a peek at some of the other accessories:

Mach III lazy kate (left) vs. lendrum lazy kate (right)

The lazy kate is genius as it attaches to the wheel as well as free standing.

This is a pretty nifty attachment. You simply treadle and the yarn winds. I need a lower chair though as I find it does brush my thighs while rotating. And, I really like my 2 yard skeins, so I still use my niddy noddy more than this. I do find with yarns with large inclusions this is a really handy tool to have.

and here's what approx. 2lbs of handspun yarn looks like! — and here’s what approx. 2lbs of handspun yarn looks like!

For the first few days I had the wheel I simply played around with it. Like buying a brand new car I really like to sit and get acquainted with a new piece of equipment. I tried out different tensions (settings) and fibers before settling on a kid mohair to make into my first skein of yarn (the orange you see above). The first skein took me only an evening to make – approx. 4 hours in total. The large 2lb skein took me 2 evenings – about 3 hours each night. I was determined to fill that large bobbin and I was surprised at just how quickly it took. This is an easy wheel to use and the biggest hurdle was to get used to the bigger rotation of such a large bobbin as well as treadling much slower. This wheel is very smooth and will get going quite fast much more quickly than I am used to.

I’m currently working on a core wrapped yarn with large flower inclusions. I put the flowers together with left over handspun, felted in place and tied with a pearl bead. Very fun and so easy to do with the hook attachment & open pegs SpinOlution is known for. I really want to try the many different techniques of textured art yarns I have grown to love so that I become comfortable with the Mach III. Thus far it has been an easy wheel to fall in love with.

If you are looking for a dealer for any of SpinOlution’s products on the east coast/New England, I highly recommend Leah Rosenthal! She was on top of things giving me updates by mail and she really knows her stuff. You can find out her details on the SpinOlution website under Vermont, and be sure to checkout her blog.

Posted on February 27, 2015July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Adventures in Yarn Dyeing: Low Water Immersion Technique

acid dye applied in stripes to dye mohair handspun yarn

Here’s a closer look at the dyeing process from the post Handspun Bouclé: A Closer Look. This is only one technique I use for dyeing animal fibers. This one is super easy/quick with minimal set up or equipment required.

color applied in stripes except for the black with was dotted on randomly

This is my technique for dyeing small amounts of fiber, & it worked well for one skein of yarn. I use an old glass corningware – dedicated to dyeing only, not food – that fits my smallish studio microwave. This microwave is dedicated to crafting only – never used for food. In fact, we don’t even own a microwave for food!

color applied in a swirl (spiral) pattern working from the outside - in. — color applied in a swirl (spiral) pattern working from the outside – in.

The term “acid dye” sounds really toxic and menacing. But it actually refers to the product used to bond the dye to the fiber. A mild acidic agent is used, normally citric acid or good ol’ kitchen vinegar. Acid dyes are non-caustic and very safe to use. You can even buy dyes such as “Greener Shades” that guarantees no heavy metals, although I have heard criticism that that is a rather trumped up claim since acid dyes normally don’t contain heavy metals. Either way, the piece of mind is there and I have used Greener Shades in the past and enjoy their color palette.

thick and thin swirls — color applied all over then thin turquoise in a spiral pattern. Fuschia is randomly dotted on

I prefer using citric acid over vinegar. I have found that the color seems to absorb and adhere better to the fiber than vinegar. Which means more vibrant colors and less dye down the sink during the rinsing process. Although admittedly I am getting a better feel for vinegar, due to the fact I had run out one day. It is more readily available in large quantities – you can buy it in bulk at Costco. My citric acid I order online in bulk for the best price.

For this particular technique I use low-water immersion. Meaning, there is just enough water to barely cover the yarn. I add either diluted/dissolved citric acid in water or add vinegar to the water. The skein of yarn is carefully placed in the glass bowl, either in a spiral or accordion fashion. I already tied off the yarn in 4 places with ribbon to discourage tangling. Then, I apply the dye via salad dressing bottles bought from the dollar store. The dye comes in powder and I mix it with water ahead of time. I literally squirt on the color!

The yarn was soaked ahead of time in warm water with a little synthropol, which is a liquid soap that helps open up the yarn fibers to receive the dye. I then cover with saran wrap and will microwave on high at 5- 7 minute intervals (I’ve gone up to 10 – 12 minute intervals for bulkier amounts of fiber).

swirls, stripes and tiny dots of turquoise

If by 10 minutes the color is not entering into the fiber I will add a little more vinegar or citric acid to the water. Then microwave again. It depends on how many times this happens. The goal is for all the color to be absorbed into the fiber leaving behind clear water.

Upon doing this several dozen times, I noticed something interesting. When the water was clear the saran wrap was sucked down into the bowl like an air tight vacuum. The first time I witnessed this I had a heart attack thinking the plastic had melted all over my fleece. But instead it was a perfect dye – water was clear in bowl and no dye escaped when I rinsed it under hot water with a little Dawn dish detergent. Now I continue to microwave in intervals until I see this phenomenon. Then, I let it rest for another 5 minutes before taking it to the sink to rinse.

Dyeing seems like an incredibly daunting task until you do it. Then you are amazed at how incredibly simple and satisfying it is. Still, I have a lot to learn with just one year of dyeing fiber under my belt. I need to work on knowing the best combination of colors so not to create a “muddy” color, which I dislike (see the pic above – brilliant oranges and reds, but I was not happy with the turquoise/greens – very dull/muddy. I did remedy this somewhat with a quick overdye to the darker areas. Perhaps another blog post on that technique is warranted). The good news is it is a terribly satisfying practice where the possibilities are as endless as your imagination. And if you don’t like the results, you can always over dye – which gives you a whole new set of results and colors that could blow you away.

Posted on January 20, 2015July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Handspun Bouclé: A Closer Look

P1020381 — Mohair bouclé on commercial cotton – hand dyed gracing the studio walls

Back in November I blogged about spinning bouclé yarn for the first time. I loved the technique so much it lead me to experiment with other fibers other than mohair to see what the end result would be. Here are some closeups of the finished products.

The above photos are all mohair. I dyed these after the yarn was spun, and will do a post about the dyeing process soon. I am really growing to love dyeing both fleece and yarn.

So this was interesting. I spun some silk and then looped it as a bouclé on some handspun alpaca. After it was finished, I washed and fulled it (a process of shocking the yarn with hot/cold water so that it felts a little bit) and regretted it! I loved how it looked straight off the wheel, but thought it really lost a lot of its character and looked rather clumpy after the fulling process. Now that it has been hanging up in the studio for awhile, I am intrigued with it. Hopefully over winter break I’ll have a chance to knit it up & see what it looks like.

Alpaca makes a really nice bouclé, too – very similar to mohair. I finish plied this with handspun silk and it looks so yummy against the dark alpaca fiber. I just wish I could have gotten a better picture of the entire skein, it was hard to do since it is so dark. I’ll definitely share once I have it knitted up in something.

I’m definitely bouclé hooked. So many ideas! I’m taking a break from that to do some core spun yarns which I will share more about in the New Year.

Posted on December 23, 2014July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Spinning Bouclé Textured Yarn

I’ve dabbled in the past spinning bouclé, but I never liked the results and I felt it was too time consuming. I realized after reading up on the technique that I was missing the most important element: mohair.

From my research, I found out that mohair (from the angora goat) gives the most perfect little loops. It cards to a straight slippery fiber and because of this texture the loops stay round and don’t collapse on itself like sheep’s wool would. Also my research stated it works best if you spin it in a fatter single and ply it on a thinner yarn.

So I got digging in my bins and found the perfect fiber to experiment with: some mohair roving I had bought from an individual at a wool show a couple of years ago as a destash. I couldn’t believe the price for the roving (cheap!). After spinning it, I wished I had bought more!

I ended up with 6 bobbins full of mohair singles. I had some commercial cotton that I picked up at a thrift store making it the perfect (and affordable) base for this yarn.

I ran the commercial cotton through the spinning wheel once in s-twist (spin to the left) to add more energy. This is so that after the final ply, spun in the opposite direction (known as z-twist), you end up with a balanced yarn. I know spinners are mixed on this practice. I don’t always do this but after examining the cotton it just felt like the best course of action.

So fairly soon I got a rhythm with making loops. You basically hold the 2 plies loosely with one on either side of you (2 lazy kates in other words on either side of your chair) and start pushing up the mohair onto the base yarn until they make loops. Once I got into it it was so much fun and I didn’t want to stop. 🙂

The loops will still move around, until the final step of plying, where you take a thin thread and ply in the opposite direction so that the loops stay put. You can see in the photo above I used a purple cotton thread to do the final ply. The next step is to dye the skeins. I ended up with 6 skeins all together – and the dyeing stage will be discussed in an up-coming post.

UPDATE November 23rd, 2014: since spinning these I have also experimented with making bouclé with alpaca handspun singles as well as handspun silk singles. The results are totally different but the lover of textured yarns I am, is totally digging it! I’m glad I got the technique down with mohair first, now the possibilities are endless…

Posted on November 8, 2014July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Rhinebeck Bounty 2014

7 bags of fleece-y goodness :) — 7 bags of fleece-y goodness 🙂

You are looking at this year’s take from the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (aka simply as “Rhinebeck” – as in the town it takes place, Rhinebeck, NY). 3 bags of alpaca, 1 bag of mohair, 2 of cormo (excited about this, since I have not worked with it before) and 1 bag of icelandic (sheep). I need this much more fleece like I need a hole in my head! I have gotten so behind in fiber production since keeping (contentedly) busy with engraving jewelry. That said, I regret *nothing* and this has only boosted my passion for hand processing fleece from raw.

I still have some merino to finish dyeing that I picked up in Maine this summer, and then I will dive into scouring the cormo. I will most likely blog about each fleece as I go, but until then take a look at the crimp in this alpaca! I took this photo with my macro lens so perhaps it is too detailed…in any event, it is so soft, and the color is drool worthy. Caramels and creams seemed to be the color of the season this year, I even picked up some dyed silk in a similar colorway. I’m thinking my next art batts will be named after desserts! 😉

Posted on October 22, 2014July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Adventures in (Faux) Tailspinning

experimenting with variations of tailspinning locks handprocessed/hand dyed fleece

I’ve been experimenting with variations of tailspinning locks of fleece (in this instance mohair locks). This would actually be classified as a faux tailspun as I sandwiched each lock in between 2 plies of handspun via my spinning wheel and then re-plied it with metallic thread for added strength/definition. Typically tail spinning is characterized by spinning the locks around a core. I like to play around with different ways of doing things and this came about simply because I have a bunch of one plies done that I am bored with plying together to make traditional 2-ply or 3-ply yarn.

This sample skein would make a nice scarf all on its own.

Once spun the sample skeins went into the dyepot. The orange sample had locks spaced approximately 3/4″ to 1″ apart, while the purple sample had locks sandwiched approximately 3 inches apart. Although I like the overall fullness of the orange sample the purple was fun to knit up as well, and honestly they don’t look that much different in the end. It’s all about the size of needles used. The orange skein would make a fab scarf on its own, don’t you agree?

This is the orange knitted with a #17 needle. I had my macro lense on my camera so this may be a tad too much detail. I went with a larger needle size to let the locks spread out. You could easily use a smaller size as well if you want a tighter knit.

Purple faux locks adoring the studio wall

Here’s a quick shot of the purple sample. I used a #10.5 needle. The locks are more spaced out in this sample. I should also mention I knit every row in both samples.

So what to do with this? I could see it as a beautiful scarf, trim for a hat, or I was thinking the shoulders of a shrug. What about a stuffed animal friend? I really appreciate yarn hat resembles the animal it came from – it is probably why I am so drawn to artistic textured yarns. I’d say the experiment was a success. Definitely more of this on the horizon…

Posted on October 15, 2014July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Combing Fiber with St. Blaise Carding Combs

St. Blaise combs and hand processed/dyed sheep fleece

I’ve been combing fiber like mad while we’ve been here in Nova Scotia. After watching Robin Russo’s DVD Combing Fiber I was convinced to give it a try, and purchased her St. Blaise combs the next time we were in Vermont.

Of the interesting tidbits I found out in this DVD, like St. Blaise was the patron saint of wool carders (who knew there was a patron saint of wool carders!!), I also gained a greater understanding of the difference between woolen & worsted yarn. It goes beyond how the wool is spun which I naively thought, and also about how the fiber is processed. In a worsted yarn, all the fibers are aligned in the same direction prior to spinning. Half of the fiber is discarded as waste product leaving only the smoothest best quality fibers (aka: top). This is what gives that smooth even texture many knitters and crocheters enjoy.

Robin reviews the different types of combs and their pitches and what fleece is combed with each. In the end I was convinced her own designed St. Blaise combs that are made in her studio in Vermont would be the best option for me as a well-rounded go to comb.

I definitely was not disappointed, and thanks to her instruction via the DVD, I was combing fleece like a pro in no time. Although I own a drum carder I wanted the combs for working with a fleece requiring a little extra TLC. The combs do a stellar job at removing VM (vegetable matter) and are a must-have for separating the longer/coarser strands found in fibers like icelandic sheep or llama. The other plus is that they are portable, so now I can continue processing fleece while we are in Nova Scotia and leave the drum carder behind in the studio.

Posted on September 23, 2014May 11, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Maine Fiber Frolic 2014

Last week the fam & I had the privilege of attending the 2014 Maine Fiber Frolic. It’s been on our list of shows to check out for a few years now, but the timing has never lined up. We love Maine and love a chance to go visit, and this year we just so happened to be in Portland on the same weekend of the show. So we drove the hour and ten minutes out to the Windsor fairgrounds to check it out.

The show was absolutely charming. Totally chill and laid back like I would expect in Maine. It wasn’t at all as big as I had imagined, and I say this in a good way. As much as we love to immerse ourselves in the thousands of folk at Rhinebeck, We’ve always enjoyed a slower paced laid back show where we are free to take our time and linger looking at animals, exhibitors & vendors without feeling like we’re in the way.

Of course I enjoyed the fleece sale barn the most with the food vendors being a close second. 🙂

The family was in agreement – Stone Fox Farm Creamery is the *best* ice cream we have ever tasted – and best of all no egg, which my children are allergic.

P1020103 — Making friends with the goats – oh how I wish I could have these little darlings!

Although I did not get a ton of fleece this show (The NH Show was just in May and I came home with 6 big bags of fleece and roving from that one) I did nab 2 bags of raw merino to play around with. I love a challenge especially when it means I can get my hands on Merino at bargain basement prices. 🙂 Takes a little more elbow grease on my part but I love to see the progress from a dirty fleece to a clean one. 🙂

If we happen to be in Maine same time next year, we will certainly be checking out the show again!

Posted on June 10, 2014May 2, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

2014 New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival: New Goodies

Last weekend, my family & I attended the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival in Deerfield, New Hampshire. This is our 4th year in a row attending the festival, and has become a tradition that we spend Mother’s Day weekend at the show. We saw many furry friends, but my absolute fave was Praxis, a white alpaca who posed for pictures for me. If you look closely it looks like he is smiling. 🙂

P1020069 — Praxis after haircut (love that they kept his mohawk :))

In all I came home with 6 bags of wool: 5 raw to be processed from the fleece sale & 1 bag of roving of various colors. I think this year I am most excited to find a supplier of some (new to me) acid dyes courtesy of the good folk at Contented Butterfly Farm.

P1020083 — I had to rearrange the dye cupboard to make these fit – 13 new colors I am “dying” (ha ha) to try… 🙂

Looking forward to next year!

Posted on May 18, 2014July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

More Handspun Confetti Yarn: New Colors

More handspun confetti yarn has been added to the website. I like to call this light & lofty yarn “confetti” because before I spin the roving, I card it with bits of leftover wool, silk & angelina fibers (for sparkle!). 🙂

One of the first yarns I made & knitted projects from evolved into what is now confetti yarn. Currently it is mostly made up of roving from a small mill in Maine that I re-card adding my own bits of fiber throughout. The dyeing/overall color has to be credited to the mill. Now that I am dyeing my own fleece confetti yarn will most likely evolve into a product designed completely from raw, but that still remains to be seen. So long as I can obtain the base roving at a decent price I’ll continue to buy it. Plus I could never replicate the colors seen here (nor would I try!).

If you enjoy a thick yet light feeling yarn like I do, you would most likely enjoy this series. I love to knit a winter hat or a scarf/cowl with this. It also makes a nice trim for projects. I normally us a US9 knitting needle.

I love to process my fleece from raw but there is something so satisfying about drum carding roving and being able to spin virtually right away. I used to spin this particular roving straight out of the package but I like to spread out the fibers even more on the drum carder as well as add my own flair.

As this is a wool mix and spins up quickly it is one of my least expensive yarns for sale. I can give a sizable discount if bought in person since I do not incur any shipping/packaging fees.

I have spun more yarn than I can ever use so I’m happy to share it for those interested in purchasing it. That said, I’m also happy to squirrel it away & wait for the inspiration to hit for a new knitting project. 🙂

Posted on February 10, 2014May 11, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment

New Alpaca Handspun Yarn Listed

I have several skeins of natural brown alpaca handspun yarn listed on the website. My first completed batch of alpaca yarn spun from raw. Unlike sheep wool, alpaca does not need to be prepared ahead of time to spin: shear and go! The fiber does not contain any oils and is relatively straight, so it can be easily spun without carding ahead of time. After this batch however, I have decided to give my alpaca a quick soak to remove excess dirt or mud as well as give it one quick round in the drum carder. I found it quite dusty, and find it a huge time savings if I can get most of the fiber going in the same direction. The batch I’m currently working on was pretty muddy underneath, to boot!

This is a 3-ply probably best suited for a US#4 knitting needle. This batch of fiber was obtained from a small producer in Upstate New York. Being alpaca it is on the pricey side, but I can offer a sizable discount if you can buy in person, since I don’t have to incur shipping fees.

As usual with my yarn I am reluctant to let it go, however, I have spun so much of it I’m happy to offer it for sale if someone is interested in taking it. Otherwise this will turn into a wonderful project for me down the road. 😉

Posted on January 24, 2014May 2, 2026 by Leilani — Leave a comment