Sock yarn, at last

The specs: This is around 6.5 ounces of hand-dyed and hand-blended fiber, about 25 or 30 percent commercially processed superwash merino, and 70 or 75 percent Sophie, our Border Leicester:

It went from this:

and this:

dyed and carded into this:

To singles:

To the final product. I know this is a recap, but I am so taken with the whole process, I figured I'd go over it one more time. I love my sheep!

I ended up with about 549 yards in a yarn that yields almost 1300 yards per pound. This would make it, technically, betweena  DK and fingering weight. But it looks so fine! Depending on how I wind it, I get between 15 and 17 wpi, which I think makes it very thin. If I have to go down below a size 0 needle, I'm going to be an unhappy knitter.

As for the "hand" of the yarn, it's quite smooth but not at all elastic. I'll put some ribbing in my sock to hopefully solve some of that problem. Casting on soon...

Farm stuff: Here's a disorienting picture of roosting birds, as seen from below. Chip between two hens, and Roy the turkey on a higher roost. Take a moment to get your bearings. Every night I walk under them to close up the turkey house, and I pray they don't poop on my head. So far, so good.

We went for a walk last night. Not as relaxing as it might sound.

The goats and sheep have just one fenced area at the moment and there's nothing new for them to eat. So they were beyond thrilled to get sprung for a while and acted like the occasional measly tufts of semi-green growth were an absolute feast.

First, the goats made a beeline for the chicken coop and raided the feed bag. All three of them were in there:

Once I dragged them out and we went a-grazing, my daughter practiced a bit of softball catching (this is important later in this story) and the goats and sheep ate for all they were worth.

Not surprisingly, the animals didn't care to go home to bed. What followed was chaos I can only hope the neighbors didn't see. In between trying to lure, coax, and shove goats and sheep alike back into their pen, I had to deal with the yellow Lab going in and arguing with the goats about whose pen it was. Meanwhile, I had given my daughter permission to "chuck eggs," disposing of the chicken eggs we found in one of the turkey's nests, since we didn't know their age.

She piled almost a dozen raw eggs in her softball glove and started throwing them out into the field. In my frantic herding efforts I hardly noticed when her cheers of delight after each toss turned to hysterical screams. Apparently, J.J. decided it would be fun to ram her. Repeatedly. I'm not sure whether she cried more from the sheep attack, or the fact that in her panic she smashed the eggs in her new glove.

There were tears.

Anyway, I updated A Piece of Vermont yesterday. (If you got the email, or if you hate blogs that hawk yarn and fiber, bail now.) The skein of Tie-Dye, made by my daughter, sold nearly instantly, but I thought it was so cute I have to share it:

There is Colonial Superwash:

Merino/silk:

And superwash Merino top (with samples):

If that second-to-last one ("Ice") looks a little understated, it's because my daughter dyed that, too, and lost interest partway through. It does make a nice soft gray-blue when spun, but I can overdye it or blend it if no one takes it.

She has not one but two friends coming over after school and my pantry is now down to 3 limp carrots, a box of stale cereal, and a jar of jalapenos. Time to go shopping...

Comments

[JessaLu]

Funny, as soon as I saw the chicken picture my first thought was, "chicken poo on camera = no fun" ;o)

Beautiful yarn!

[moiraeknittoo]

All of it is beautiful! Except the possibility of poo dropping on your head and, well, the smooshed eggs. I had to say that out of all of them, I really, really wanted to get "Ice" but just couldn't justify another purchase. I find it very restful and soothing and, well, cooling. Things at work are very hot right now - maybe that's why? :D

[stephanie]

Goats are waaaay too smart. They don't miss a trick do they?

[Amy]

Your farm stories and photos are priceless and I often sit here giggling at the screen. Chicken poo and cheeky goats are hard to come by in an apartment.

[Carol]

You are one brave woman waking under all those feathers! I can't tell you how happy I am to be the one to go "na na nana na" on the Tie-Dye! It really boosted my spirits, it's been so long since I bought yarn and I really needed something special :) Poor kid, denied the toss, huh? What's up with that sheep?

[Bea]

You got some hungry goats and sheep! They are more than welcome to nibble at our grass, I've got a whole yard of clover and dandelions they can eat :) That is just too cool, Sophie's yarn, I love how subtle the colors turned out. That's so weird that JJ decided to head butt your daughter, the image of all those eggs cracking in her glove reminded me of that I Love Lucy, when she's living out in the country and all those eggs break in her shirt...random. I think I'm going to

Are you going to offer any more "Sophie" batts, or are you all out?

[Ruth]

Wow, you have been really busy! I love all of the animail pics you post.....Dude, knit yourself a hat slicker for the chicken coop duty......but it looks like you've been lucky thus far. Awesome yarn and dying!

[Teyani]

Great hand spun sock yarn Jessie - it'll make some gorgeous socks.
Oh your poor daughter - must have been so scary to have the sheep ram her..
Love them fiber colors - you're tempting me to haul out my wheel once again (thank you!)

[aimeed]

Your sock yarn turned out lovely. Have you washed it yet? That may give it a little bit of elasticity. For me, merino top always remembers it's crimp after a bath.
And, give that kid some more eggs. You know you have plenty.

[Donna]

I love the skein your daughter dyed, it's such happy colours. (yours is always beautiful)

[Susan]

What a fun post! Sorry though that your daughter's adventure was somewhat cut short..or smushed. I love seeing how the fiber progresses and it's even more special seeing the original source. ~~waving hi to Sophie.

[Robin]

I'm so behind in reading your blog! Have missed all the animal and fiber pictures! The tie-dye skein is just wonderful. She did a fabulous job. The colors are so evenly saturated. I like how you show the little sample of spun yarn with the fiber. They are all just fantastic!

[joyce]

I saw some of the fiber you posted and just knew that it would be my inspiration for my 1st spinning adventure. Just purchased and cant wait to recieve it!

p.s. love hearing about all your critters too!

[sweetea]

I love that you AND your daughter are dying wool together. That is fabulous. Keep up the wonderful work - I am addicted to your yarn! Is there a support group for this?