Blending fibers

One of my biggest pleasures of spinning is the fiber preparation that goes beforehand. Finding the right compliment that won’t overshadow each of the fibers that I have chosen to blend together can be a little tricky with some risks involved. Here is where planning, discovery, and a little bit of serendipity takes me to new appreciations where my own expectations takes a second role.

But that is exactly what makes it fun and almost addictive. And I know I’m not rediscovering the wheel here, but I still jump screaming  “Eureka” when I get something soft and pretty. I’ve been spinning a batt lately made with Icelandic lambswool, alpaca and border leicester.

I find the alpaca and the soft undercoat (thel) of the Icelandic similar in softness and it produces a yarn with a pretty halo that I suspect will be just more obvious once I soak it and  full it.

This is another good combination:

Gotland, Wensleydale and Mohair, and all three of them take the dye with so much vibrance. I have about 7 more pounds of the Gotland to go through, so I hope to post more of my progress before I find another thing to do…