VT Sheep & Wool is featuring the Shave ’em to Save ’em program this year, and their contests are geared towards rare breeds.  I’m ready to spin for the handspun yarn contest with my #5 project, Leicester Longwool.  Problem is the categories are “bulky single” or “medium plied yarn” or “fine plied yarn” (right out).  I do singles, but not really bulky.  So I could go either trying (and failing) to spin a lot thicker than usual, sticking with singles, or a bit finer and ply.  I didn’t enjoy trying to make bulky (ugly) so I’m going with option B.

Random white wool yarn Sara gave me to dye – came out really streaky.  Shave ’em to Save ’em Leicester Longwool roving out of the same dyebath.  I was aiming for a nice butterscotch color I’d gotten on the mohair recently.  I got yellow.

And I haven’t quit making my trademark one-of-a-kind 100% mohair color blends!

There was a Barry Manilow song  called “This One’s for You”.  This first line was, “This one’ll never sell, they’ll never understand…”

Just some of the fine dyeing I have done this week.  Greener Shades, my own concoctions based on their color card.  I’m going to call them, from left to right: chartreuse, Santa Fe, forest green, and maybe ruby-amethyst.

 

Two more, and I earn some swag.

The roving dyed unevenly, so I evened it out a bit on the drum carder.  Spinning in process.

My third project for Shave ’em to Save ’em was white roving (Cotswold I think), but it’s officially Dye Season.  This was in a ball, and the outside of the ball soaked up more dark than the inside.  I will even it out a bit with the drum carder, which will make it easier to spin anyway.  This is Greener Shades dye, a half teaspoon of yellow with a couple of smidgens of black (I couldn’t find my smidgen-sized measuring spoons, though I did later, so I don’t know the exact amount of black I used).  It ends up a nice green.