Well, the postal strike may make this pointless...

But I have more pretty fluff! For those who know me, Waterloo locals, you're welcome to inquire about any of the below. If you're distant, let me know if anything catches your eye, and we'll figure out what to do - hold, courier, guerilla mail... we'll figure something out.

Thanks to Waterloo Wools' generosity letting me tag along on orders, LoftyFibres is experimenting with some new and patriotic fibre lines - Lofty Canadiana. We have a supplier for 100% Canadian breed-specific wools - raised, sheared, milled and of course dyed entirely in Canada. My first few experiments follow. All are $20/braid if purchased off the blog, please email loftyfibres AT Gmail dot com if interested at all.

Lofty Canadiana 100% Corriedale wool braids: 4-oz/~ 11o gram braids. This is a lofty, woollen and sproingy fibre, but still drafts nicely and could be spun moderately fine. Right now, supply is small depending on how it takes, so each braid is unique.

Corriedale 1: 3-Way Stop (red, red, and more red!)

Corriedale 2: Dark Heart - Red, Indigo, and violet-purple
Corriedale 3: Copper Rainbow - everything muted, but a range from orange to red-violet is tucked in here somewhere.
Corriedale 4: Copper Roses - a semisolid pot/kettle dye, the rosey-brown coordinates with the previous braid. They would be lovely spun together.

The next breed I tried out is California Red. Despite "California" in the breed name, also from sheep raised 100% in Western Canada. This wool is a little coarser, and has a natural light tan colour that mutes the dyes a little. There is a small amount of kemp fibre - longer guard hairs that don't take dye as well, so you will find a few black or brown-black fibres - this isn't stray pet hair, it's part of the wool! This fibre is even more woollen type than the Corriedale and won't spin as fine, but will be VERY warm, snug and bouncy. While I wouldn't suggest it for next-to-skin projects like a dainty lace cowl, it would make a heck of a winter sweater, toque, or mittens (thrummed, maybe!) for outdoor wear.

Cali Red 1: Seawater - a medium blue with the slightest greenish tone.

Cali Red 2: Dusky. Think late sunset, just before full dark. A hint of mauve-pink still in the sky, fading to midnight blue and deep purples. The lighter blues coordinate with Seawater.
Cali Red 3: Not Quite Ripe: Raspberry pink the day before they're really ready!
Cali Red 4: Berry Blend - take the Raspberry, add some Cherry, totally ripe Strawberry, and a touch of Blueberry, toss a Blackberry in the blend.

And, of course, everyone's stand-by fave, I can't keep this fibre around much. Seawool!

Seawool 1: Deep Teal - This was actually a handpaint experiment in blues and greens that melded beautifully, so it looks much more semisolid.

Seawool 2: Nature Dyed! From a 2nd soaking of Logwood bark that I had on the go. It produced a medium-pale, but very distinct purple semisolid. The photo grays it a little, but it is definitely lavender-purple.
Seawool 3: 3-Way Stop: Same dye lot/handpaint as the Corriedale of the same name, but the dye strike is very different on the different fibres. The Seacell keeps its sheen and takes less dye than the Merino, for a paler/brighter colour.
Seawool 4: Nature Dyed too! This time from a 2nd soaking of Cochineal powder, which produced this beautiful shell pink. Please keep in mind for the nature dyes: while I use materials and mordants that are moderately light- and wash-fast, nature dyes WILL fade slightly in time. If cared for well, this won't be a concern over the life of your end product.

There's your fluff du jour! There are actually quite a few lovely new yarns ready as well, I hope to blog those before departing, or possibly while on the road.

How I Spent The Rapture

In addition to being the Victoria Day Holiday weekend, and a rather bizarre circus in the weather department, this weekend was SUPPOSED to be some big event, according to west-coast radio preacher Harold Camping. Well, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to bodily ascend into the arms of Jesus anyway, and if everyone else did, well, I might need some more yarn to keep me entertained while waiting for the End of Days. So... on we went to the dyepots.

Here's my little, quick-snappish, not incredibly well lit slideshow. Tell ya what I'll work for ya this time. All my available stock has to go to a class with me on Saturday, and a small show in Burlington (Halton Waldorf School's MayFair, if you're around those parts) on Sunday. But, until Friday, if there's anything here you'd like to scoop, send me a note to LoftyFibres AT Gmail dot you know the rest. Tell me what you'd like & I'll set it aside and we'll discuss how to get it to you.

First up: Some batty-ness. These are Juniper Moon Cormo, an absolutely divine fibre from the 2009 CSA share. There was a mishap that resulted in the top felting on me - still not sure what it was. So, they've been carefully combed back out and carded into batts. This make the fibre a little more "woollen" in character than it was, but it is still yummy and you could spin a nice semi-worsted. Batts are all ~ 50 grams, $10/each.

Something new I am playing with, thanks to Flanneberry Fibres (who is marketing it) and WaterlooWools for letting me get in on an order - Lofty Fibres Canadiana. All-Canadian specific breed wools. These ones are ~ 100 gm each of Canadian raised, sheared, milled and now dyed Corriedale wool. They are each unique dye lots, but the pairs are complementary. Each braid is ~ 4oz/100+ grams, $20

Everybody's favourite, a 4-in-1 shot: The Seawool! As usual - 100 gram or 4 oz approx. The pink is Cochineal dyed, the purple is Logwood, the red is a handpaint of 3 different reds, and the blue-green is a semisolid pot dyed. Seawool is $22 for this week.

LoftySocks BFL Yarn: 100 gm skeins, 387 m/420 yards approx. This is the last of a lovely, tightly spun, British-raised BFL sock yarn I have. It is "light fingering" weight and makes a fine sock, or excellent lace. I've dyed some of it in pairs, so same dye lot, to accomodate lace knitters. $25/skein.

1) dye lot matched

2) not same dye lot, same dyes - coordinated:

Finally, LoftySocks+ Merino/nylon blend, a really "boingy" sock yarn with lots of loft. Socks, light accessories, or lace too, if you want a warmer, springier fabric. $20/skein, each is ~ 387 m/420 yards also.

1) Single red handpaint

2) Dye lot matched, very similar to the wine colour in the BFL above.

3) One-off handpaint, but coordinates with the wine colour

4) And, these two skeins match the Seawools in pink and purple above. Pink is cochineal, purple is logwood.

Stay tuned a bit later this week for the 2nd dye day (because there was no rapture, I was bored) and check out the California Red roving, and some more BFL pairs in lace-sufficient quantities. I'll post 'em when dry.

A little bit of uploading...

I'm procrastinating for "School" just now and decided I should get my butt into better gear about business. So, if you peek over there on the right, the Etsy mini has a whole heap of new fibre. Everything I presently have dyed and ready to go (in fibre) is now listed.

Here are a few more things coming up, that will be heading for the shop shortly. However, I've yet to label and name, so... you like? Let's do a you buy it, you name it discount, until this weekend (ends Friday, midnight). Just count down from the top, I've added number labels for ease. Email me, loftyfibres AT gmail dotcom, first come first serve.

First: Twisted Pairs yarn/fibre braids. $30 no tax no shipping, so a little savings off the retail. The ones you see below are a half-braid (2 ounces) of BFL top, accompanied by and absolutely yummy hank of LoftySocks Luxe cashmere-merino sock yarn.

Pair-luxe-1

Pair-luxe-2

Here are a few from a previous lot, 2 oz BFL fibre paired with a dye-lot-matched skein of LoftySocks BFL sock yarn. I did in fact name these few, but hey, buy before listing and rename if you like!

Pair-bfl-1

Pair-bfl-2

Pair-bfl-3

Next up, for you sock/glove/shawl/babystuff knitters - Some re-runs from the last post, as I still haven't named them. LoftySocks+ Superwash Merino/Nylon yarn. I haven't listed too much of this yet as it's a newer base - $20 if you take it off my hands before I name it! I apologize for the blue cast of the photos - they need to be re-shot, it was a dusky late winter afternoon.

plus-1 (there are two in this dye lot, and that gold colour is quite a bright orange!)

Plus-2

Plus-3

Plus-4 (also two in this dye lot)

Plus-5

Plus-6 (2 in the dye lot, this is not as flat and brown as it looks - it's a dark copperish colour, and there are miniscule flecks of precipitated dye - kinda neat I think, but be aware if you don't like the effect)