Because the Tour de Fleece is nearly upon us! For spinners, it’s one of the biggest events of the year — a chance to really challenge ourselves and encourage each other. Oh, and watch a bit of cycling as well. In honour of the Tour de Fleece, I’ve spent this week dyeing fiber.
If you don’t know anything about the Tour, don’t worry — Monday’s post will explain all and give some links to help you get started. In the meantime, what sort of spinning would be a challenge for you? To spin more? Or to spin finer? Maybe to try a new fiber, or a new technique? And please cast your eyes over this week’s fiber porn, all going in the shop today and over the weekend…
Bombyx Silk in Freshly Cut GrassTussah SilkMerino combed top in Garden In SpringBFL combed top in Garden In SpringTussah Silk in Freshly Cut GrassBombyx Silk in PondBFL combed top in UnderfootMerino combed top in Freshly Cut Grass
You know, I forgot how exciting pure silk is. I used to spin it a lot …but then I moved onto other fibers and I haven’t spun it in a while. And I’d just forgotten. But I bought some pure silk at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival — on a bit of a whim, just to play with — and when I dyed it… Oh!OH! Yes, now I remember what I love about silk.
There is no fiber that can rival pure silk. It takes ordinary colours and gives them an intensity and luster that is just amazing to see (and which, unfortunately, pictures cannot capture!). And then you reach out and touch those colours and… oh, there’s just nothing like silk. After I dyed these braids, I showed them to a friend and she actually grabbed them out of my hands and began to squeal and dance across the room. Really, they are that exciting! And I was that excited as I pulled them out of the dyepot, so I understood her reaction. If you love fiber, if you’re a spinner, this is what pure silk does to you. And if you’ve never spun it before, you gotta try it!
Shimmering in the light, here is the burnt orange of desert rock, of terracotta walls, of the parched earth. And here beside it is the startling blue of turquoise, the desert’s own true jewel. Two bold colours that reach out and vie for attention. But there, nestled between them,is the softest of dusty roses, quiet and gentle and tempering them both, so that all three can sit together in harmony, and evoke the essence of the SouthWest.
This is over 2oz of the most incredibly soft Tussah Silk, which spins up beautifully into a lustrous and luxurious yarn.
Fiber Content: 100% Tussah Silk
Weight: Approximately 2.20oz / 60g
Colourway: SouthWest 100505-001
Care Instructions for the final item: Hand wash, Lay flat to dry.
Where steam rises from the puddles that form in the road after a sudden summer storm, and the standing water lifts the grease from the tarmac and carries it like little oil slicks across its surface… there, as the sun breaks through the clouds, the light dances across the oils and creates a delicate rainbow — its shimmering greens, pinks, blues at once both murky and crystal clear — that always takes you by surprise and draws your eye back again and again, just to check that it is still there.
This is over 2oz of the most incredibly soft Tussah Silk, which spins up beautifully into a lustrous and luxurious yarn.
Fiber Content: 100% Tussah Silk
Weight: Approximately 2.05oz / 55g
Colourway: Oil on Water, 100504-001
Care Instructions for the final item: Hand wash, Lay flat to dry.
Each item is individually hand-dyed by the SpaceCadet, using professional grade acid dyes. Please be sure to buy enough for your project as the colours may not be able to be reproduced exactly.
SpaceCadet Creations is a smoke-free, pet-free environment.
Please remember that the colours in pictures may vary depending on your computer monitor. The colours in the photos are as accurate as possible.
