Doin' the fiber fandango

(Warning: not all fibers shown in this post are natural.)
Baby Surprise Jacket and Karlchen Hat in Red Heart acrylic (don't gasp), Aspen print colorway (baby gift; long gone).

Hat and scarf set in uber-soft Moda Dea Wild! nylon, Spring colorway, for Joan at Mud Ranch (3rd Pay It Forward gift: check). This is the yarn a lot of you asked about when I posted a glimpse of it earlier; I had to wait until Joan received it before I could post more about it.

A second skein (the dark brown) spun from the roving sampler Sara at Punkin's Patch traded me for some Shetland roving. This is fiber was from Boudreaux, her Border Leicester/CVM/Rambouillet cross wether, and I really enjoyed spinning it. But a funny thing happened on the way to the plied yarn....

After spinning the single, I wound it into a center-pull ball to ply it with itself, and put it on top of my covered wheel. When I had a few minutes to spare, I went to start plying it and found this:Magic mushrooming yarn! I have heard of yarn moving and writhing like a thing alive when it is steamed instead of wet-finished; apparently the afternoon sun warming the dark ball of yarn had a similar effect!

That mushrooming top separated into a second little ball as I plied, making things interesting for awhile:But I managed to avoid any permanent tangles and major headaches, so all's well that ends well.

Then, as I was casting about to see what homespun yarn I had to send Barbara as her chosen prize for winning my lambing contest, I found a bobbin half-full of thick/thin grey mohair from (relatively) long ago. I also had a full bobbin of fairly fine, consistent, unidentified black wool. (Note to self: always document. You will NOT remember all that you think you will!) I decided to ply the two together, and am loving the grey/black, thick/thin two-ply I'm getting. Don't know what I'll use it for; the mohair is not next-to-skin soft, and I'm suspicious that the black single is superwash. Any ideas out there in cyberspace? As soon as I've used up all the mohair, it is back to spinning another 8 oz. of the alpaca top for the alpaca farm owner.

Most recent FOs (finished objects) and WIP (work in progress):I've been working my way through the four charity hat kits I got from Allison at Supercrafty. The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 cotton, which is nice and soft. I've played a bit with the pattern and color combinations Allison sent me.These have been fast and fun!

WIP - Waiting In Plastic:My friend Pam fell for a cute cardigan for adorable Hannah, but didn't feel her knitting skills were up to the task. I agreed to knit it if she got the yarn. Thankfully, she doesn't need it until next fall/winter, because I have two more new baby gifts to knit!

This box contained the last of Bella's and Dinah's 2008 roving. A new spinner bought 4 oz. of Bella's roving from me last November, and recently spun it up. She liked it so much that she wanted the rest of Bella's roving, and decided to take what I had left of Dinah's roving, too. I included a sample of Valentine's light fawn, a color she had expressed interest in, so soon a pound of that will wing its way to California to join the light grey and white. (Thank-you so much, Phyllis!) I am thrilled that she is so happy with what my girls grew (covered by Rocky Sheep Suits) and Leza at From Barn To Yarn processed for me! I just sent off the four recently skirted Shetland fleeces to Aunt Janet's for processing, so there will still be plenty of roving available for anyone interested.

That winds up (hee; get it?) this fiber post from . . .