I was feeling low-energy and out of sorts yesterday, but it was a glorious autumn day, so Theo and I went for a drive out east, farther into the foothills. I discovered that the road goes on for just ten miles or so before it starts to rapidly gain altitude. There is a pass with a ski area at the top, then you come to the shores of Odell Lake. At just under 5000', and 5 miles wide, it feels like a sea at the very top of the world. I've never been to any of the great Cascade lakes, although I've always wanted to see Crater Lake, and Waldo Lake is apparently just about the same distance from me as Odell, or a bit closer. Anyway, the parks are all closed due to the government shutdown, so we just stopped at viewpoints along the way. I was in no shape for hiking, so it all worked out. We found one viewpoint that had easy access to the lakeshore, so Theo and I went down, and Theo had a little swim. It was only about 70 degrees outside, and he doesn't want to swim too much unless it's really hot out, so he just dove in after sticks and had a grand time. So did I - it's all about making the dog happy, right?
The weekend was otherwise devoted to scouring fleeces. I've gotten through two 2.5 lb fleeces - one Icelandic and one Shetland from my favorite Shetland farm, Whistlestop Farm. I did some carding, and listed some new batts and natural wool locks on Etsy. I'm also working on spinning some sportweight sock yarn from Robin's fleece so that I may have a chance at actually knitting some warm socks by the time that it gets really cold. I've been spinning on my favorite wheel, snuggled up with hot cocoa, sitting on my fancy couch in my little cottage while the rain drenches the forest. Perfect!I spun some samples of the two fleeces. The Shetland has sound tips, unlike most tippy Shetlands I've processed, so I don't have to cut or pull off the tips before spinning. I just pulled a fat lock into a rough approximation of top, and spun it up, tip and all. It made a beautiful dark brown yarn with a subtle heathered effect due to the lighter tips, and it was nice and soft, very even and smooth, with decent elasticity, even though this isn't the crimpiest Shetland ever. I also separated the tog and thel of the Icelandic and spun a nice sample of bright white laceweight thel yarn. It was very pretty and decently soft, with good structure and a light halo. There's basically no crimp to speak of, so it took a good amount of twist and had more drape and softness than elasticity. I would be inclined to use this in a lace project if I'm separating the coats. What I actually have in mind is a wild-looking felting project...
These fleeces represent part of a huge backlog of EVERYTHING in my life from the last year of near-constant debilitating illness and depression. I have two more Shetlands, a Corriedale X lamb, a Rambouillet X Cheviot, a llama, and two Jacobs from the past year. I kept accumulating with the idea that I would feel better and just plow right through them, sell half of each and spin the rest, but it took far longer than I could have imagined. Now I really am plowing through them, and I'm glad to have them, even if I'm a bit intimidated by the prospect of pounds upon pounds of greasy wool calling out to be washed! I've definitely gathered an impressive stash in the six years or so since I started spinning, and I'm always grateful for it, but it's kind of crazy for me to have so much when, up until now, I've had so little time to devote to using it. I'm also a skilled but dreadfully slow knitter, and what I really need is to find a spinning student who is a skilled and astonishingly fast knitter who will trade knitting services for spinning instruction. I need some socks!
If you hear of such a person, let me know...
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