Run Around

Yesterday was a complete run around day. I had finished the 100% Cashmere sample for level 4 and had moved onto the cashmere/wool blend but I didn't get a chance to get as much done yesterdays as I hoped since it had a couple of meetings and didn't get home till  well after 2 p.m. Then I was working for about 1 and 1/2 hours before I had to get supper ready. It's days like that that you scratch your head and wonder where the time is going. Today is lining up to be a better day work wise.

The weather has been very strange here for two days. One day cold one day above freezing with the snow dripping off the roof. With Chinooks blowing in one after the other it almost feels like spring which is not good since if the snow melts too quickly we will not have enough grass for hay again this spring.

I know I talk about hay issues a lot but really it means the make or break of a farmer. Without feed there are no animals... or if the feed is too expensive too many years in a row then it does not bode well for making enough money off the animals to keep them.

Part of the reason why I decided to get animals in the first place was because I needed to feed the mill wool... but now that I've sold the mill I'm trying to decided what direction I want to go. There is not much market around here for spinning fibre... unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) I don't live in an area where there are a lot of people who spin and weave... and frankly weavers want fibre already spun. There is a fellow alpaca farmer who lives north of FSJ and has just gotten back some really nice yarn that came from her animals. She sent it to a mill in eastern Canada and it is lovely and best of all sells like hot cakes.  That is pretty much where I am.  I'm thinking that it is time this year after shearing to sort my fibre by colour and send it off to the mills to be spun... (some of it I will keep for me) and make a business of selling yarn both dyed and natural. My summer dyeing retreat would be all about getting fibre ready for sale... I'm really liking the idea. Ye Olde Batt would have to become Ye Olde Batt... Strung Out.  (Hee hee!! Teapot might think Strung Up!)

Anyway as for the Cashmere samples... here are a couple of pics....

!00% Cashmere 3 ply yarn very soft and lovely to touch.

50% Cashmere, 50% Wool, 2 ply yarn also very soft but not as soft as the first sample.

I think I'm using these as examples for my 150 hour project.  I will decide based on these two samples and a few more samples which yarn to use for this...

yes this was my final decision... I had bought all that Cashmere fibre and I couldn't very well forget that.... almost $200.00 dollars worth of Cashmere.... you don't just throw that away! So onward I go.
no Lopi Sweater... at least not now! : )

So today is all about the write ups for these two samples and then I'm on to the silk section...  I hope your not too bored with all this shop talk. Bare with me and I'll try to say something awesome or funny tomorrow... (snork!)