To start with - hand-spun falkland wool (roving from blueface454 on Ebay) spun by me into a thickish soft single and then twisted with a fine lurex thread to stabilise it all. Then dyed by me with landscape dyes. Here is a ball of it wound up and a little tension square I knitted to check out tension, length and needle size etc. This particular one had the shades - Maize, Alfafa, Saltmarsh and Coral.
I've got quite a few hanks hanging up drying waiting to be measured and re-hanked, with different dye combinations. For anyone who hasn't knitted with handspun before, this is a very comfortable one to use and knits up light and airy with just a hint of sparkle to chase away those winter blues that will be with us very soon. Hope to have these on Etsy within a few days but will blog when they are in. 
Next, it's no-name turkey. At last a picture of him/her looking very much like a turkey now. It is still living in the hen house with the hens but is growing at a rate of knots and we will soon have to think about clearing out the turkey shed as it has a larger pop-hole.
Now, here's a shot of a buzzard sitting on a pole outside the house looking menacing. It has been hanging around the croft for days terrorising everything feathered and small and furry. Even Heather the little dog has looked a bit worried at times. The guinea fowl are always on the look out for predators and make a terrific noise whenever they see it so the hens and chicks dash for cover. So far no-one has been caught.
More about my very useful yarn meter. I've been winding up yarn for the next warp and have had the meter plumbed into the Munty cone-winder so I know when I've got sufficient. It's great and hopefully will save me loads of time and lead to greater accuracy and less wastage. That's the theory anyway! My loomshed could really do with a tidy as well.
And to finishe with, here are the yarns for the new linsey-woolsey. The blue and white are 10lea linen and the brown and grey are Hebridean 13c. The cloth is going to be exactly the same as the one that's in the loom just now - 12 x 12 Herringbone. I've got the yarn up on the creel and if I can find time to start the warp today I will. It's been busy with visitors both morning and afternoon - the season is longer this year I think.
3 comments:
Hi, Just come across your blog & notice you have a Munty cone winder in one of your photos. I've just bought one for my studio here in Northampton. I'm a knitwear designer & the 'Munty Maxi' as it is called in stricking 70's orange came with some knitting machines. I had never heard of them before in my 22 yraers as a knitwear designer & was intrigued to find out more about them. Mine hasn't got a hank winder but I think I can cobble something together! Also the wax discs look like they are going to give up at any moment- I was wondering if there is anywhere you knew of that sold them?
Happy weaving!(I did weaving at Birmingham Poly many many years ago, I loved weaving but knitting took over as it was quicker & didn't have the wait for the technician to help put my warp on)
Claire Newberry.
Hi, Just come across your blog & notice you have a Munty cone winder in one of your photos. I've just bought one for my studio here in Northampton. I'm a knitwear designer & the 'Munty Maxi' as it is called in stricking 70's orange came with some knitting machines. I had never heard of them before in my 22 yraers as a knitwear designer & was intrigued to find out more about them. Mine hasn't got a hank winder but I think I can cobble something together! Also the wax discs look like they are going to give up at any moment- I was wondering if there is anywhere you knew of that sold them?
Happy weaving!(I did weaving at Birmingham Poly many many years ago, I loved weaving but knitting took over as it was quicker & didn't have the wait for the technician to help put my warp on)
Claire Newberry.
Hi Claire,
At last I have found someone else who has a munty. There is a picture on a more recent blog of the hank holder in action. I'm not sure what the wax discs are - let me know where they are on yours and I'll see, but as far as I know mine doesn't have anything except the little black plastic plates with a knob on the top and the washer-type ring that sits on top of the yarn. The motor on it overheats very quickly and trips off regularly, especially when the weather is hot in my shed so I've been looking for a bigger cone winder - without going into the realms of industrial scale! Good luck with the knitting. Sheila
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