Growing Silk Worms

I Love Wednesdays and Fridays. They are the days that I don't have to run around, so I can stay home and work on my projects.
Today I am going to work on finishing a ball of roving I started spinning over the weekend.
And I have spindles that want turning.
But First are my babies!

These two shots are of the silkworms on Monday. I think I have an overcrowding problem because I have several different size worms. Most are the two larger sizes but I do have a few really little ones.

This is a picture I took this morning ( Wednesday). I have to separate the silk worms again today because they have grown so much! I now have to cook chow everyday and I will soon have to make 2 batches every day. I use my rice steamer to cook the chow, it works much better than cooking it on the stove or in the Microwave.

This is a 2.5 ounce 2 ply skein I did over the weekend. Kim dyed the Soy/Merino roving for me last spring. I don't remember how she dyed it but it was really stiff. I recently re-washed the roving and it was still really stiff so I carded it. It was such a joy to work with. now what to do with it.

Ok, I am a yarnaholic my stash probably is larger than my life expectancy. I have been trying really hard not to add to my stash but I added 6 skeins in March and Teusday I added 4 skeins of this metallic eyelash. I really need to stay out of Hobby Lobby. I have enough of my handspun to keep me busy for years. I better go I hear the silkworms calling.
Happy Spinning!

April Roving

Ahh Spring!
I am so thankful that warm weather is on the way. My roving for April is based on the daffodils that are starting to sprout up all over Iowa.

The yellow is Merino wool that my husband brought home from Amana, some Merino mill ends, Bamboo and firestar. The Green is superwash merino and soy silk. I also added some white viscose and Angelina.

This is what a striped batt looks like and how it pulls into roving.

This is the same fiber blended together. It looks a lot like sherbet.

Some of the spindles I finished March 29th. They should be up on the shop soon.

My babies!
I love to raise silk worms. They are really caterpillars as they make cocoons and hatch into Moths. These little guys are about 2 weeks old. When they hatch they are about 2mm long and they keep growing until they are between 4-5 inches. Then they spin beautiful silk cocoons. I let all of my silk making friends hatch and soon I have lots of moths. Don't worry they can't fly.
I will have silk worm updates each week. So you can see them grow with out all the messy work.


Happy Spinning!

Febuary Roving

This year I am going to try to stay one month ahead in my colors. January we did a red roving for Valentines Day and this Month I am doing a Green roving for St Patrick's Day. I have to admit I tend to Dye fibers when it is very cold outside. This year I have a pellet stove to help dry my fibers. They dry faster than outside in the summer and I don't sacrifice any fibers to the wind.

I try to remember to weigh the fiber before I start so I can measure the Dye more efficiently, however I do often forget. This is one of my dye pots on the stove. It was labeled Merino/Soy Blend however after it was rinsed, to my horror, it was all soy. Soy and wool use different dyes so after all the work the fiber was white. I like to Dye the blends with acid dye because when they dry I get white streaks (the Soy or Bamboo) through a deep color.The good news is I have a Lot of soy. I also saved the dye water (it was still very green) and took some Merino Nylon out of my stash.

Finally results! My February Blend contains Superwash merino, merino, Domestic wool, nylon, bamboo, Firestar and Green Angelina.

Super soft and sparkly, the perfect cure for the winter doldrums. Boy, I miss grass, right now I even miss mowing : )

Happy Spinning!
Loretta

January Roving

The January roving is finished! The contents are Merino, Super wash Merino, Mill ends, Soy silk, viscose and Firestar. What fun!

Some roving I spaced dyed just for fun.
And a 2 yard Niddy-Noddy my husband made for me last weekend.

I added 2 silk scarves to the dye pot. I think I will give one to my mother for Valentines day.

Ta Ta for now!

More Spindles

Hi everybody!
This week I have been busy making some new spindles. I just listed a new kit with a spindle and spindle bag. I love how soft the scotty bag feels.
Kim is coming home for winter break on Friday. We already have a dye day planned. I love blending colors together and I am running low on several colors. I am completely out of hand dyed firestar. I am really happy to have 2 pounds to dye on Sunday.

I still have 20 or so spindles to turn, but Kim will probably pour more before she heads back to school. And I need to make some stock for shows. We are hoping to do two spinning shows this spring.





I will put up pictures of the fibers on Monday.
And I think we will start some silk worms on Monday as well.
Ta for now
Loretta

New Winter Arrival

We have had a very busy week. Friday Dec 5 my husbands Bernese had 2 puppies with my Bichon Frise and yesterday we had a little baby Cria. She is the most adorable little thing.
Crias are Baby Llamas or alpacas . This is our little llama cria. I prefer the temperament of llamas to that of alpacas. We have had both we kept the llamas and the Alpacas found new homes.We currently have 4 adult llamas and 2 sheep. They all live together with 5 roosters, the roosters peck at the seeds the other animals drop. It is really funny watching the "herd" move from one pasture to the other. I never imagined the roosters would become part of the herd but they follow the llamas and sheep around. The herd seems to look out for all the members 2 and 4 legged.


This is my son Sam with our new addition. She doesn't yet have a name , please feel free to send your ideas. When we approach all of our llamas we either start by offering our hand for them to smell or our hair. Llama s are very social animals and are a real treat to have on the farm. In this picture you can see baby with momma in back and behind Mom is Dad's head.

More Cria Pictures.

I took my printer into Best Buy on Monday because it was having paper jamming issues. I hate to be without a printer, however they said it would be at the shop for 2 weeks. So I have changed our December sale to an extra sample of roving with each purchase.

Happy Spinning!

December Roving

Just a quick update, as we are getting ready to do 2 craft shows this weekend.
I wanted to share the roving of the month

Peppermint Twist
This is a blend of Super Merino, Soy silk, Bamboo, White Icicle top, and some Angelina.
Very sparkly and Fun.

And Pulled out into Roving!

More next week. Ta for now, Loretta