Variegated Wool Scrap Yarn

Here is some more variegated yarn made from felted wool scraps. This is time consuming to do, and produces a yarn that is tightly spun. This time its just white and pinks, similar to the first variegated scrap yarn I made.

variegated yarn made from felted wool scraps

I made this yarn to test my new poplar drop spindle my father-in-law made for me. I quickly made it into a 5 petal flower to see the result straight away. I'm keeping all my wool scraps separate from other scraps so I can always make my own variegated yarn if I want.

a simple flower made from variegated wool scrap yarn

Poplar Drop Spindle

My father-in-law has made me a second drop spindle, this time its smaller than the first and is made from a raw piece of poplar from his property. The raw natural bark is left on t he spindle creating a rustic look.

drop spindle made from raw poplar wood

I love this new drop spindle, as soon as I found a hook for it I put it straight to work! I had a go spinning some felted wool scraps into variegated yarn. This smaller spindle actually took me more time to get used to than the first drop spindle, which is larger.

detail of the spindle hook and natural poplar bark

The Drop Spindle Pa Murphy made

When we recently went to Stanthorpe to visit my husband's father Brian and his wife, this hand-made drop spindle was waiting for me!

home-made drop spindle by Pa Murphy

I'm very keen to learn how to spin my own fibre, I've tried spinning plarn, which is made from recycled plastic bags. I had a go making some plarn while still there so we could see how well it worked. We then shortened the dowel and put a notch in the round weight so the yarn can be secured as you spin. It worked quite well then, and I'm really looking forward to doing some more spinning. This is hopefully what I'll use if our attempt at growing potted cotton is successful.

here is Pa Murphy in the garden wearing the green beanie I made for him

Brian loves gardening, and he needed a beanie to wear when he was out in the cold. This green gardening beanie I made for his birthday was perfect! I followed the divine hat pattern which is available free from Rheatheylia.

Small Cream and Wine Pentagon Lap Rug

I'm not sure how useful this item I finished yesterday will turn out to be, it's very small due to the amount of this wool I had. But it was so nice to make, I had to use it all up to make this small rug. It could be used as a baby rug, or maybe a small lap rug.

star shaped lap rug in cream and wine coloured acrylic

I've known for a while, I'd really prefer to make items using yarn that is locally grown, spun and dyed. This way, you can reduce your carbon footprint - its better for the environment if we use products sourced locally. Before I saw this yarn, any attempt to source something like that was way over priced in my opinion. But I found some assorted blends that were on special in Lincraft, which were from the Wangaratta Mill Shop. This may include synthetic fibres, so they are blended with local wool, but spun locally. I even found a local spinners site that sells drop spindles if I ever buy some raw local fibre.I've already made a beanie for Thomas using a sea green yarn from the same Wangaratta package.

the star lap rug is the perfect size and shape for our rocking chair

This thick yarn has a nice, soft feel and it was a pleasure to make this small rug. But it is a bit small to be very useful, as I only had 3 balls of this type. I used a 7mm hook to make the stitches large and the rug quick to make up.

In other news, I sold my first item on ebay today, my old queen size mattress! We got a new mattress after Thomas was born, and my old mattress has been taking up room and had to go so I started bidding at .50c hoping someone would come and get it, and they did! The experience was a positive one, so I hope to sell a few other things from around the home that need to go. Who knows, maybe I can sell some crochet projects as well?!