Studio 49 Retreat 2017 Challenge

I got this lovely creamy white Polwarth from the Studio 49 Retreat 2016 goodie bag. Two oz. of fiber. The challenge rules state that we can add up to 50% of other fiber if we want. I have this super soft natural grey BFL (Bluefaced Leiciester) roving that I am going to pair with the Polwarth. One ply of each, spun woolen with long draw. I haven't done a lot of long draw spinning so I thought I'd brush up my skills.

This bundle of fiber is for my sister who does not spin but does knit. And instead of fighting a deadline like I did for the 2016 retreat, I got started right away on spinning. 

The singles spun clockwise long draw.

And the finished yarn. Two ply, 334 yards, 4 oz. Still needs wet finishing.

For myself, I have 6 oz. of Polwarth to spin. The 2 oz. from the goodie bag and another 4 oz. I purchased. I may or may not add the BFL. The creamy white Polwarth is so pretty on it's own. I haven't decided yet what to do for my own bundle of fiber.

I have sampled different plies. Left to right, 4-ply cable, 3-ply (two plies of Polwarth and one of BFL), 2-ply (one ply each BFL and Polwarth), 2 ply both Polwarth.

Now I have to decide.

Weaving Demo

Ian's 4th grade teacher is teaching the class how to weave on a cardboard loom. It's part of a section on Native American studies they are learning about.

I volunteered to demo weaving on my Cricket loom. That's me showing samples. After showing the kids what I do, they got to weave on the loom themselves.

These are the finished samples. Each kid got to weave 2 picks of weft. The red sample is from Ian's Green team and the blue sample is from the Blue team.

I'm weaving off the rest of the warp and plan to felt the fabric to make coasters.