Handspinning 'Ula' - Yummy Yarn

You may remember I blogged about this fibre in February, You can read the post here

I finally plucked up the courage to spin with it this weekend.  It looked so pretty as batts that I was a bit reluctant to spoil it. 

  

 I untied and unrolled the batts, lovely, lovely, lovely.

 Using my trusty little Kiwi wheel, I managed to turn them into this nice fat bobbin full...

 It was fantastic to spin, I have been working on spinning some undyed Merino for a Dyers Picnic in June, so to switch to this was a treat.  The colours and the sparkle were fascinating.  It really made me think about Oceans, mermaids, dolphins and King Neptune.

   

A couple of hours into this spin I was having a dilemma with what to ply it with or wether to ply it with itself.  Then I saw some beautiful Yarn that Patricia, YummyYarnsUK has hand spun.  She Plied some wool with Tussah Silk in co-ordinating colours.  Patricia also loved the 'Ula' fibre and has agreed to dye some Tussah Silk to ply it with.  I am hoping the silk will be a fantastic contrast for this fibre, with the sheen of the silk complementing the sparkle that is already in the yarn, I can't wait to see it and have a play...for now back to the Merino.

YummyYarns UK

Yummy Yarn

This is a photograph of my YummyYarn UK 'Ula' batts - Ula is a Celtic name meaning 'Sea Jewel'.  Patricia from YummyYarns UK kindly let me use her photograph to show off my batts in all their glory, as it was quicker than sending me on a photography course!  This is a beautiful photograph that captures the colours and sheen of the fibre true to life.  I can't wait to spin these babies!  I can't quite bring myself to do it yet though as I havn't finished admiring their lovliness.

SPINNING batts, merino, firestar ,green, turquoise, lime, etc 104g - ULA-'Sea Jewel' YummyYarns uk



Patricia and I share the same birthday and are Pisceans, this may account for me obsessing over these 'Sea  Jewel' delights.  They do make me think of clear blue oceans and mermaids...I have said before I am a bit of a dreamer.  They are also a much welcome antithesis to my creation 'Oil Slick'!

This photograph is of the same batts that I took today, very different results and quite disappointing.

My photography does not do this fibre justice.  I purchased three of these batts from http://www.etsy.com/shop/YummyYarnsUK?ga_search_query=yummy+yarn&ga_search_type=seller_usernames
They are absolutely beautiful I just want to squish them and stroke them.  I will have to get tips from YummyYarns UK for photographing fibres.  If you visit the Etsy shop you will see a full range of fibres for spinning and hand dyed yarns.  I also had superfast delivery which is great for an impatient soul like me.

First results from my new toy - Drum carder

Today is a nice bright day with the sun popping in and out from behind the clouds.  I could see the results of yesterdays carding in its full glory.  I took very quick photographs as the sun keeps disappearing.  I am beginning to realise it is very hard to take pictures of fibre.  I must try harder to take pictures that show the true colour and texture.  The fibre in the bag is Angelina which is very sparkly not that you would know from this picture.  The white is silk and the other is my Merino dye experiment/accident!

My six year old and I had fun drum carding for the first time yesterday and he christened the resulting batts 'Oil Slick'.  I think it is very apt.  Here are the batts and a small amount of spun single.

'Oil Slick' In all it's Glory

I have just found really clear turorials for using a Drum Carder on Alison Daykin's blog:
Alison Daykin's Tutorial for using a Drum Carder 1
Alison Daykin's Tutorial Drum Carder Part 2