A few weeks ago a very large parcel arrived from Griffiths Spinning Mill. The package contained spun yarn produced from fleeces of our small flock of coloured Shetland sheep. There are a few more shades than last year ranging from black, brown, greys, fawn and white.
Back in June I completely forgot to take any photos of the sheep shearing process. However, my nice neighbour Gail happened to be passing and took these photos of the sheep with their new hair cuts. I 'borrowed' the images from Gail's Bouncing Bertie's Blog, about life seen from the perspective of her wire-haired fox terrier.
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| Image: Courtesy of Bouncing Bertie's Blog |
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| Image: Courtesy of Bouncing Bertie's Blog |
The yarn has a further wash to remove any remaining grease and dirt. I'm tackling this process in batches due to the number of skeins to be washed and the rainy conditions currently being experienced in the Highlands.
Recently I invested in a skein winder/holder for this next process and it's definitely helped speed up the task of winding the yarn into these 'cake' style balls.
Due to the amount of time spent washing, drying, and winding the yarn I haven't had that much time to knit with it. I have though managed to test the yarn out using the Stellar pattern which I wrote about previously. This version was made for Mr Hand Knitted, who likes the hat but not being photographed.
The idea for the display rack came after seeing this image on Tolt Yarn and Wool Facebook page. (A carpenter friend very kindly made this one for me). Currently my Shetland yarn is on display and available to purchase from the Loch Torridon Centre Gallery.
