April 16, 2007

I have a sock!

I finished it up! And it fits very nicely....so it should fit DIL! It felt so good to finish that one. Will CO on second sock today.

Got quite a bit done one the hat, too. Brought it downstairs to check it against pattern instructions. ( I wish I had a printer!)

It was an especially long weekend as they all will be for awhile. My daughter's work schedule has her leaving the house at 7:30 am and returning about 11:15 pm both days. Makes for a long time of being #1 responsible person for the two grands.

Got to listen to the first half of HP and the Chamber of Secrets. The movies were on TV over the weekend, too. It's been quite awhile since I've listened to these and I was surprised how much I'd forgotten.

I carded some of the llama. It's not really dirty, as I suspected, just dusty and compacted as it'd been crammed into that cloth bag.

Then I decided to spin up an ounce.

That's when I decided I needed to send it out to be processed. There are just too many short cuts and guide hairs in it. Commercial cleaning and carding will help cut down on that a lot. I did wash it after I'd spun it to block it and it is pretty soft, but not as nice as I'd hoped. This must be an older llama with a rougher coat. Would make a nice exterior garment but will wait for final judgment until it gets back from the processors. <--click It seems Jehovah Jireh Farm is the least expensive at this point.

As a general rule, I like to buy fiber that's already been processed. I've tried doing the washing myself, etc. and if I had a drum carder I might be more inclined to do more of it myself. But for the small amount I do, the $350-$400 for a carder is just not worth it. And now I'll get the alpaca, the llama and the last of the unprocessed wool I have.

It felt good to spin and I really should "make" myself do some spinning every day... but, I really hate shoulding on myself....