The last few weeks of fiber time have been devoted to spinning up some of the batts that I carded last month. I've been experimenting with plying the batts with handpainted rovings and with natural colored fibers. So far, I am really happy with the results, and I can't wait to see how the sample skeins knit up.

Last week I finished three knitting/crochet projects, including a crocheted hexagon baby blanket that had been hibernating since 2010. I also finished a hat out of my handspun yarn that I started last summer (no picture, sorry!), and a baby sweater out of hand dyed superfine merino wool. The pattern for the baby sweater is called Henry's Sweater by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. I love shawl collars in general, so this sweater really won me over. And it was quick to knit - just a couple of weekends.

I've been having a great time over the past few weeks carding batts on my Fancy Kitty Kitten drum carder. I suppose you could consider these to be "kitchen sink" batts, because I am throwing in a bit of many different types of fibers. I've been using a variety of handpainted and natural colors of wool and silk fibers that I have in my stash. And to liven up the batts I have been adding a hint of sparkle with some angelina fibers. My goal is to make batts that create a heathered yarn, and after two or three passes through the carder the colors are well-blended, but not so much so that you can't discern the original colors upon careful inspection. The spun singles are beautifully heathered, and I can't wait to ply them up and start knitting.

Now that I have a dedicated studio space, my looms and spinning wheels have some breathing room. I've been enjoying a few minutes of spinning in my studio nearly every day for the past three weeks. My fascination with plying two different colorways together continues, and in just a couple of week I had spun and plied enough yarn to wind a 3-yard warp out of the reddish-pink hued yarns. The weft yarn that I am using is one of my handspun yarns in purples, periwinkles, and greens. So far, I am loving the results!