Handspinning for The Salty Ewe

Working out how fast to spin and work up 2-ply yarn from roving produced by The Salty Ewe Farm. Keeping track of hours it takes to prepare hanks. Prep only involves splitting up the roving into equal amounts of two, so that I can then ply singles from each group and hopefully have equal amounts with little left over. A tricky, eyeballing exercise. The leftovers will get Navajo plyed (makes a three-ply yarn) into much sorter bits. Some is natural: cream, oatmeal and brown, the traditional colors of Olde English Babydoll Southdowns. Some has been dyed beautifully with golden rod and madder root. This is extremely soft and bouncy fiber, a very short staple, so the technique is more of a steady "pinching" with hands held close together. As I know this flock, it is extra enjoyable to work with the fiber. Maya and her siblings and cousins, grand dames Bella and Callie, and all the newcomers are in my mind's eye (and scattered within this blog!) while I work at the wheel.

Off to ship these hanks to the farm's knitter. Will have to finish up remaining rovings when I return from CR later this month.