the biggest source of the growing disorder is the yarn and other knitting-related "stuff" that seems to have taken over just about every room in the place.
we opted to turn our spare room into the in-house studio—which makes perfect sense, as animation pays bills. despite his repeated offers to add some more storage in there to make room for my stash, it is for the best that we keep that space strictly art/animation related. plus... you avoid awkward conversations with the "tax man" about the many balls of yarn stashed away in what is supposed to be a business space.
i mostly keep my fiber "stuff" in a closet at the end of the hall. we installed a few extra shelves, so there is actually quite a bit of storage space. problem is, i can never remember what is in there, unless i am looking at it. so, every few months, i drag bags and bags of yarn out of the closet to remind myself of what is in my stash... then they end up everywhere while i contemplate what i want to make next.
so, there i was in a recent closet-diving expedition, when it suddenly dawned on me that i have a LOT of fleece (fiber right off the sheep) that i washed, but i never got around to spinning after that. this was right around the same time when i was contemplating the purchase of a fleece (or two) from this Spring's shearing.
you know how you can persuade yourself to do something you really do not want to do by promising yourself a reward of something you really do want? sorta like the old carrot-on-a-stick approach to life? well, that really does not work for me.
me: i should spin up some of this washed fleece before i go buying even more.
myself: that makes total sense.
i had already spun/dyed most of those two fleeces. this has been the desktop image on my 'puter for the past few months. my fave kitty with handspun yarn from my fave breed of sheep. yes... i am a rather odd chick.
the grey/white fleece was turned into the orange yarn, which he and i dyed together late one night.
as for the brown fleece, i purchased some colorful silk threads (leftovers from the weaving of silk fabric for saris) and blended that with the BFL, then spun it as is. no dyeing necessary.
i wish i could describe the drape of this yarn. i hung it across my hand, and it looks like i am wearing a fingerless glove. it just lays against the skin in the most luscious, inviting way. this would be perfect for a shawl to wrap around one's shoulders on a chilly Winter's day. that silky drape is what BFL does best of all.
there were some sections off that fleece where the ends—the lighter sun-bleached bits—were so tangled, that i did not want to damage my blending equipment by adding them to that mix.
so i shoved them into a couple bags, and in they went... into the closet where things instantly vanish from my memory.
and that is where i found myself in late Spring. i was closet-diving, searching for some Summer-appropriate yarns for the months ahead, when i came across a couple bags of this.
then guilt got the best of me, so i took them out and convinced myself that i would put them to good use.
me: i am not allowed to buy an fleece this year until i get the contents of these two bags detangled and spun.
myself: that is a really good plan.
and, just like that, the carrot was hung on the stick, and i was on my way.
it was actually fun... at first. i grabbed my flicker (a small tool resembling a pet brush), and i got detangling. notice the difference before (right) and after (left).
i got approximately three-quarters of the way through the planned detangling, before deciding that i needed to shove that to one side for a bit, while i got totally caught up in some other thing.
me: but... but... we agreed that you were going to do this.
myself: so?
me: we said you could buy a fleece as soon as you get this all spun. it's the carrot on the stick... remember?
myself: oh well. too bad. i didn't want your carrot anyway.
pretty much.
and then i followed that up by harassing some sheep people until one of them sold me a Targhee fleece... which i will get around to washing one of these days... just as soon as i finish bringing a bit of order to this space.
oh, and, while i was digging around in my stash, looking for that BFL yarn, i came across this bag of dyed fiber. so now i get to also feel guilty about all the fiber i have that has already been dyed, and is waiting patiently for me to get back around to doing some spinning. i thought hobbies were supposed to help reduce stress.
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