Make Like a Tortoise

It feels a little silly to be putting together a spinning post after a week with very little spinning, but I've been missing my Sunday posts and at least have some photos to share, so Spinning Sunday is happening this week. I've added just a few little fiber bundles to my second bobbin of singles for my combo spin this week; although work wasn't too busy this week, I had a bunch of non-work administrative-type stuff to take care of, and my hands were busy typing much of the time. I am just about halfway through the fiber for this bobbin -- I have my next bundle ready to add and 10 more in the bag.

One of the fun things about this project is that although the bags of fiber I pulled for it are all green to some extent, I am noticing some pretty big differences in the fiber bases and how long it takes me to spin them. The Rambouillet, for instance, can last a good long time because the wool is so fine and springy, whereas the Corriedale goes pretty fast. I'm trying to be better about mixing up the colorways on this bobbin after finding multiple bundles from the same shipment all hanging out in the bottom of the first bag, so that means the bases will be well mixed, too. I'd hoped to have all the singles done by the end of the month, but given that there's only a week of it left, I'll settle for finishing up this bobbin.

In the meantime, my September Southern Cross shipment showed up the day before I left for Rhinebeck, and it looks like it'll be a real treat to spin:

David generally ships his club at the end of the month, which means that those of us outside Australia usually get it the following month. I think he planned for a Halloween-ish colorway for precisely that reason -- the colorway is even called Boo! The base this time is Comeback wool, which I was thrilled to see because it's been several years since he last used it for club. Comeback sheep are distinct to Australia, the result of breeding British long wool sheep and Merinos. The wool itself is soft but doesn't feel particularly delicate like a fine Merino would; there's a bit of yummy toothiness to it. I won't be spinning this fiber until I'm at least done with my combo spin, but I'm already contemplating how I might spin it. Do a random three ply? Pull the shades apart and try to spin it as a gradient? Do a two-ply fractal? The nice thing about waiting a bit to spin it is that other members of the club are likely to spin it first and I can see what they do with it.

It's been a very fall-like weekend here, with lots of gloom and some rain and that damp chill. Rainbow and I got a bit frozen yesterday afternoon at a Girl Scouts gathering at a local Audubon Society nature preserve, so this afternoon we're going to curl up with our crafting to watch some TV and then bake some snickerdoodles. Perhaps later there will be some spinning as well!