Chef Rob

My best mate Robynne (or should I call her my 'partner in fibre/yarn crime'?) and the biggest enabler in the world, is a bit of a whizz in the kitchen.  For Easter I had planned to knit her a Chocolate Bunny, but then decided that a teeny weeny, itty bitty chef (complete with whisk) would be far more appropriate!  I knocked this up last night on 2.25mm DPNS, with scraps of sock yarn from my 'left over bucket', and yes, he was a fiddly bugger to knit, but super cute.

Small, yes, Pointless, maybe, Smile-provider, priceless......

Combing my locks

These things look like medieval torture devices, but boy, do they get the VM, sand and dust out of Alpaca fleece.  I bought this fleece on ebay, thinking I was getting 'white'.  The photo showed this gleaming raw fleece, was promoted as A+ 19 micron yummy stuff, so I was disappointed when a mound of grey landed.  I even queried if I had been sent the right stuff, not to mentioned that I paid WAY over the odds for 900gms, and when it arrived only 730gms were enclosed.  I complained about that too, and they said it could have been their scales....yada yada yada.  It was taking up too much time to email back and forth, so I said don't worry about it and went to work to try and clean my grey fleece.

Handcarders weren't cutting it, so I went for my Hand Combs and wow, does it make a difference.  The washed fleece was still grey, but after a few brushes with the combs, grey was sprinkling all over the floor.  Horrah!  It's lovely and soft, and I'm hoping the rest of the VM can be picked out in the spinning process.  The dirtiest Alpaca in the field methinks!

* Note to Self:  Don't buy fleece off Ebay again (2nd bad experience!).

Jenkins Turkish Spun Camel Silk & Angora Bunny

I make no secret of my love for Jenkins Turkish Spindles.  Really, I adore them.  I spin finer singles on the Jenkins Turkish Delights, and ply on the larger Turkish.  I also tend to save my luxury fibres (especially those with shorter lengths) for spindling, as I feel more in control, plus I love the having the fibre in my hand for longer (it just goes too fast on a wheel).

This fibre is probably my favourite base of all, and is dyed with natural dyes by the wonderful Charly at Ixchel Bunny.  It's a camel/silk/Angora bunny blend and is truly divine.