Saturday: Rainy, cool, gloomy. But there is goodness to share.
First, I updated the A Piece of Vermont with three colorways of Panda Superwash. Here we have Fern Lake:
May Day:
And River Rocks:
If I ever finish my April socks, my next pair will be in Panda Superwash. It's nice and shiny and makes a good warm-weather sock project, in my opinion. But what with the spring weather and the longer days, knitting has hit the back burner, I'm afraid.
Fiber, however, is right up front. I just put hand-blended batts up in the shop. These are primo fiber: 65 percent Tussah silk, 35 percent alpaca from Champlain Valley Alpacas right here in Vermont. I processed the raw alpaca here, dyed it and then blended it with the silk that I dyed separately. The way the colors end up totally floors me. Check it out.
This silk:
plus this alpaca:
Becomes these Champlain Sunset batts:
You can't see all the color variations that well, but they're in there. Here's the fiber still on the carder after the second pass:
And this silk:
And this alpaca:
becomes these Shore batts:
My friend Jenn was kind enough to spin up a tiny sample of the Champlain Sunset:
I Andean-plied her singles and made a very dumb (too wide, too short) swatch:
It doesn't do the fiber justice, but you can see a bit of the sheen from all the silk. So soft.
Anyway, I've put a bunch of batts (plus or minus 2 ounces each). Honestly, they're pricey. But the alpaca, being local, cost more than the silk, plus I processed it from raw fleece to fiber. But if you're a spinner looking for a unique and really luxurious fiber to spin, this might be the ticket. I'm still swooning from touching it all day yesterday.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: Piglets!
I didn't get such great shots, as the lighting is low and I had a backlighting situation going on. But I lightened these up a bit so you could see the growing babies. I have nothing to add to these, so just enjoy them and get on with your day.
Those little piglets sure do grow quickly.
The colors in the two Shore batts are beautiful.
Posted by: Dee | May 03, 2008 at 09:55 AM
The fiber looks good enough to eat!! Beautiful. And thanks for the piggies. Brought a smile to my face on a gloomy Saturday in New Jersey.
Posted by: Alotta | May 03, 2008 at 10:20 AM
That third one had me thinking of a caption:
"Aha! There you are. See how strong I am: I lifted this with just my nose."
Posted by: trek | May 03, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Lovely colors - I wish Alpaca and I could get along better. ;o)
Posted by: JessaLu | May 03, 2008 at 10:32 AM
I absolutely love the alpaca/silk rovings. Perfectly beautiful. As for the piglets? They all look like Babe to me. I'll bet they talk to the dogs.
Posted by: CindyCindy | May 03, 2008 at 11:55 AM
great pictures of everything! I love those batts. I am trying to figure out a way to buy a drum carder to make batts out of all these silk fibers I own. Thanks for the inspiration in all your handdyeing.
Posted by: Rosa | May 03, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Beautiful yarn, batts, the whole ball of wax! You do nice stuff...
I'll be checking things out...
The piglets have pink ears! They are too cute. Can't you tell I missed my calling - I probably should have been on a farm or something as I love animals so very much.
Posted by: Sara | May 03, 2008 at 07:21 PM
Cute piggies, and gorgeous fiber! It almost makes me want to learn to spin... almost....
Posted by: janna | May 03, 2008 at 09:26 PM
Those piglets are so cute it hurts! The last photo makes me think of Charlotte's Web...
Those batts are beautiful!
Posted by: Manise | May 03, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Damn, those batts are gorgeous! I'll have to tell Jasmin she needs to go shopping. :)
Posted by: (formerly) no-blog-rachel | May 04, 2008 at 12:59 PM
Jessie, for what you're selling, the price is very reasonable! I really like the way the burgundy works in the pink blend and the golden yellow enhances the blue blend. Lovely.
The piglets are grand. They look very happy, too.
Posted by: Sylvia | May 04, 2008 at 05:55 PM
Your blended batts are just Gorgeous. I might need some of that.
Beautiful fiber. Adorable piggies. Life is perfect in Vermont, huh? ;)
Posted by: Laura | May 06, 2008 at 01:38 PM
I don't know how often I can gush about how cute those piglets are before you start to worry about me, but I'm just going to say it once more. *swoon* So darling! *especially that one looking up at you from under the piece of wood. ;)
The fiber is gorgeous, as well, of course. I'm amazed how all those crazy colors come together to give such depth!
Posted by: Amanda | May 07, 2008 at 12:19 AM
Babies and batts and yarn oh my! I need a bigger bank account!
Posted by: Carol | May 08, 2008 at 06:47 PM
Those piglets are the sweetest little things!!! That Shore batt is drop dead gorgeous! I bet all the grazing animals are enjoying that lush, green grass I saw in the last post. :)
Posted by: Andrea (noricum) | May 09, 2008 at 09:07 AM
Your batts are gorgeous! If you continue making them, I know that I'll end up purchasing one! Love the little piggies too!
Posted by: Susan | May 13, 2008 at 09:42 AM