Macro Lens

I am really excited about having a macro lens - it was delivered today and this is just a small selection of the photographs I have taken. I have always thought macro interesting and am determined to learn all the ins and outs of using this lens to best effect.

Majacraft Little Gem Spinning Wheel

I have a new spinning wheel - a Majacraft Little Gem and I am very pleased with it. The photographs show it complete with Mr Spinning J's Flyer which he made especially for the Little Gem - he finished it today - so just in time : )

New Flyer

Mr Spinning J has made me two new flyers for my Majacraft Spinning Wheel. The photograph shows the second one which is lighter than the first and I am hoping that I will be able to do lace weight yarn using this flyer - they both work amazingly well. He is now looking into making a jumbo flyer - no he is not up for grabs : )

More Fleece

This is by way of a 'catch up' blog. I have been busy with household and gardening chores and have neglected my blog, but I am here now and wanting to show of the lovely alpaca fleece Mr Spinning J bought me - he doesn't really ever get a mention but he is very supportive of my hobbies and comes along quite willingly when I find something spinning related to go to and the last time we went on such a trip he bought me this lovely alpaca fleece. It is an outstanding colour which I would describe as being a rich dark auburn and although it is not the easiest to spin the resulting yarn is lovely and soft.

I have also bought a Jacob fleece which was relatively clean without too much vm but I am having problems carding it as there are a lot of really short second cuts which is rather disappointing as otherwise it is a lovely fleece. Hopefully I have found the poorest cut to start with and things will improve as I card more.

Ness Gardens

This blog is a little out of sequence but I was looking through the photographs I took when I went to Ness Gardens on the Wirral a couple of weeks ago and thought some of the photos were worth recording here. I also found the following poem by Rudyard Kipling which I haven't read before but I think very appropriate to somewhere like Ness which looks so effortlessly beautiful.

The following is not the full version but just the verses I have selected:

THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN

Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,

Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,

With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;

But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.

For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,

You will find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all;

The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dungpits and the tanks:

The rollers, carts and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.

And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and

'prentice boys

Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise;

For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,

The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.

And some can pot begonias and some can bud a

rose,

And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows;

But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,

For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.

Rudyard Kipling

Fluffy Fleece

I have washed about 300 gms of fleece and carded a small amount. It is lovely and fluffy and is spinning up well. I used Fairy washing up liquid for washing the first 100 grm just to see how clean it would come up - the photo opposite is wool from my first washing. The second 200 grm washing was with Power Scour and compared to Fairy Liquid I used much less and it was easier to rinse out, also the tips looked whiter but I did four washes with the Power Scour (three with Fairy Liquid) using more than the recommended amount for the fourth wash. I think in hindsight I may have used too much water for the amount of Power Scour used in the first three washes I went by the weight of wool being washed not the amount of water used and I do like to use plenty of water.

Fleece straight from the sheep

We had a lovely afternoon at Blaze Farm's, 'Wool Experience' at Wildboarclough. There were demonstrations of spinning and sheep shearing and this is one of the fleece from the shearing demonstration. One of the spinning ladies helped pick out the fleece for me which was great as I really wouldn't know a good fleece from a bad.

When I got home I spread the fleece out on cardboard on top of the bins. I pulled out the worst of the soiling around the edges of the fleece but I was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't too bad at all. I have some soaking in cold water so that I can start washing tomorrow. I was encouraged to try spinning in the grease but I really feel more comfortable washing the fleece -but who knows - not long ago I was saying I wouldn't buy a fleece........