Currently I am immersed in Folklorama at the Scandinavian Pavilion, so it seemed a good time to get serious about spinning local wool and alpaca for the Pembina Fibre Shed One Year One Outfit Challenge (2022 edition) and the Great Canadian Wool-a-Long. Meanwhile, we’re also preparing for the Manitoba Fibre Festival returning to the Red River Exhibition grounds – under one roof – as we celebrate 10 years of gathering together!
Two weeks ago all my wheels were empty and now I’m half done a cable-plied yarn, finished plying some local Dorset wool, and have 3 bobbins of local Icelandic wool ready to ply. There’s also black alpaca on a spindle and more Dorset on another spindle.
A fresh Shetland wool fleece (Jackson from Leafhaven Shetlands) also came home with me recently. While I do enjoy the process of working with a raw fleece, there are also times I am grateful to have it washed and prepared to spin by someone else – like this local Icelandic wool (Freya from Last Dance Ranch) – and this mohair roving (from Prairie’s Edge Wool Farm) that I dyed with juniper sprigs and marigolds (in the jar).
I don’t fully know what each will become yet. I tend to let the wool tell me how it shall be spun and then let the yarn decide on the finished project. In the meantime, I’m busy dancing like every day is a midsummer celebration this week, with my two youngests and a vibrant group of dancers of all ages. (Pictured here at the 2022 Swedish Midsommar celebration at the Vasa Lund Estates in Winnipeg.)
Mandyz Moon Knits 