What I've Been Up to Lately ....

I dyed up several pounds of fiber this weekend. I played with some different colors than I usually use. I actually used both turquoise and yellow which I never do unless I'm mixing them into something else. I'm pretty happy with the results. I also dyed some 8 oz braids and then split them in two. This way I actually have several matching sets. I listed them together on Etsy so if a listing says there are two available they are actually a matching set.

Here is my first attempt at dyeing mohair. This is Texas Yearling Mohair Top and it is a blast to dye. I know some people love this fiber and others hate it with a passion. I just hope I am able to sell it because I want to order a lot more of it.





And here is a sampling of the Falkland Wool Top I dyed up. This fiber is very nice. It is next-to-the-skin soft but not quite as soft as Merino. It is great for felting too.





And then there was a wee bit of seawool pencil roving ...

My Little Rocket Helpers

This is the first time I let the boys dye their own fiber. They had a blast with it.
I think we might be on to something here. Now Houston wants to spin his on his new spinning wheel. (more on that later) I'm actually thinking of ordering them a bunch of superwash wool roving that they can dye up and I'll list it in the shop. All the money they make will go to their college fund. Don't know if anyone would buy it but I'm looking forward to spinning some of it up into a nice fat singles yarn.



I think it turned out pretty good for a two and four year old. What do you think? "Little Rocket Roving"????

Did She Say SIDEWAYS?????

So if you haven't read or heard about the Yarn Harlot's post and have no idea what I'm talking about ... go here first. Then come back and see me. :)

So I've always fed my fiber into the drum carder tip first. In thinking back, I'm not exactly sure why but I do know I've thought about feeding it in sideways. It's just that when I thought about it I was sure it would make a big tangled mess. Oh boy how wrong was I!?!?!? A sideways fed batt is a beautifully wonderful thing indeed. It's so lofty and squishy and yummy!



See anything different about these two batts? The longer skinnier batt was created with the fiber being sent into the drum carder tip first. The shorter loftier looking batt was created with the fiber sent in sideways. Both batts are the same amount of the same fiber. They were both carded by the same person (that's me) on the exact same drum carder. Interesting, no? It makes total sense if you think about it though. I could get all scientific here (and don't think I haven't thought about it) with diagrams and all but I'll spare you that for now. I can tell you that I have spun both types of batts and I am amazed at how much more pleasant the sideways batt is to spin. It makes a very lofty woolen type yarn. Look for more on this in the shop.

One more thing to note here, this applies more to people (like myself) that card already processed fiber. I tend to use roving/top/sliver because it is easy for me to deal with handling and dyeing it. I've spun some batts from fiber artists that start with raw fleece and their batts tend to resemble my sideways fed batts due to the nature of the fiber being processed commercially versus being processed by hand. Also, feeding processed fiber sideways is essentially creating a woolen preparation, meaning the fibers are not all lined up parallel to each other. Those of you that prefer to spin top (fibers are lined up parallel) over a batt or true roving may not like this preparation as much. Either way, it's definitely something to try out so you know which way you prefer.

I'm creating listings that contain one 1-1/8 ounce batt of each type. It's not a big amount of fiber, just more of an experiment you can try out without making much of an investment. If you are interested in this experiment and want a certain type, color or amount of fiber ... please email me (celena@rocketyarn.com) and I'll let you know what I have available.

New Item Updates & Shipping

Sock Batts

I've had some snafus with some of the fiber I have so I've been spending a lot of time in the R&D phase of things. I want to make sure my customers are happy with what they purchase from me. My merino/nylon blend is turning out great so I finally got a batch of those sock batts up in the shop. They are 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon. The weight came out a little lower than planned so the price reflects this. I have more to list sometime this week (maybe even tonight) that turned out really great.

Handspun Yarn

I've decided to offer some of my handspun yarn in the shop. Most of this yarn has been spun from fiber I dyed myself. I've spent a lot of time on this yarn and the price reflects this. I can promise you will not be dissappointed in any of my handspun yarn. I am very picky about what I've decided is worth enough to list. I went through all 20+ skeins of handspun and found four that are truly worthy of the Rocket Spun tag. :)




Shipping Changes

Due to economic changes I've made the decision to start offering international shipping on Rocket Yarn purchases.

Shop Update

All are 4 ounces of imported British Blue-Faced Leicester (BFL). Yummy soft!