A Clean Start

It seems so arbitrary to use the start of a new year on the calendar as the starting point for a new project, but as luck would have it, I started 2017 off with empty bobbins on both wheels. I had many choices when it came to my first spin of the year, but ultimately I decided to start off the year with something simple: an undyed fiber spun into my default yarn. I'd inherited a bit more than 6 oz. of creamy Corriedale top from a friend who moved away, so I split it into three bundles of 2 oz. and began spinning a three-ply fingering weight. The first bobbin is done.

As much as I enjoy spinning dyed fiber, there is something to be said about spinning fiber that looks pretty much like it did when it came off the sheep. There's no worrying about colors blending in an undesirable way, so I can focus solely on the experience of spinning the fiber. I'm planning to pair this with some dyed fiber (which I'll spin up to a similar grist) for a shawl idea.

Meanwhile, when I've had enough of the cream and I'm craving color, there is new fiber to pull out. Both my Southern Cross Fibre and my FatCatKnits club shipments showed up while we were away. The SCF shipment (actually October's selection, but it took a long time to cross the ocean) is Charollais -- a new-to-me fiber -- in a colorway called Boil and Bubble. The colors are amazing, as always, and the fiber feels both spongy and toothy, not unlike Shetland.

The FCK shipment is BFL/silk, and the colorways are called Trigger and Twister. I would never think to put these two together, but I love them!

I believe I have one more shipment from both clubs before they go on hiatus for a bit, so I'll have a chance to get caught up. It would be great to make a good dent in the fiber stash in addition to the one I'm trying to make in the yarn stash.

And now I'm going to go start the second bobbin of my Corriedale while the chicken soup I'm making for dinner simmers on the stove.