Sunday, July 26, 2009

a shetland saga

There is an area in my garden- where there grows a small collection of plants that have been gifts from friends of mine who are spinners. Wandering down to that section yesterday, I finally caught a glimpse of the first bloom from a daylily that Cathy gave me last fall. I had missed the first bloom, the second had fallen off in a bad storm, and this third bloom was worth waiting for. Beautiful!

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Cathy has been generous in sharing other things with me... fiber type things, Shetland things...for which I am very grateful.

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Over a period of a year or more, I have worked with these samples...on and off..when time allows.... It has been a wonderful education for me. There are so many nuances within this breed.. the samples show the differences of color, texture, crimp, staple length and structure...I could go on.

So, in my hands, a wealth of information passes over and between my fingertips. Knowledge for my fingers to absorb, and retain. There is much to be gained by an exercise like this.

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It has also been fun to read what Cathy and Leigh have written about the same fibers. Time spent reading their archives, adds to my experience. Their notations and thoughts about a sample are always insightful. For example: in 2007, Cathy had this to say about "Korny"...and Leigh writes and photographs her notes on the same "Korny"

I'm spinning Korny now...two years later! I save a little bit of each sample lock, and a few yards of spun yarn...I tuck them together on a tag with my notes to save for future use.

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The sample skeins are starting to collect. I haven't had time to organize my photographs and notes, and I'm in awe of Leigh's talent in this area.

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What will become of these samples...I wonder...(the saga continues)

9 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Cathy's daylily is indeed worth waiting for. It is gorgeous.

I also love seeing these samples. They look like great inspiration for a project of some sort.

Leigh said...

Your samples are gorgeous! I feel like I know them personally. :) As usual, great photos.

Anne P said...

Isn't that fun?!? Cathy IS very generous. You were lucky to get so many nice fleece samples to work with too!

Judy said...

Beautiful samples. Reading your blog always makes me want to go spin. However, I have black raspberry jam to make and then a kids annual check up. Sigh...maybe tonight.

Judy said...

Beautiful samples. Reading your blog always makes me want to go spin. However, I have black raspberry jam to make and then a kids annual check up. Sigh...maybe tonight.

Valerie said...

such beautiful yarn! Hmmm...I have a collection of shetland rovings upstairs. Maybe their "time" will be coming soon...

Cathy said...

It's great knowing 1st hand what you are spinning with the Shetland. I am savoring Sax. I look forward to seeing how you keep your samples.

The daylily is a stunner... I've been so busy this summer I haven't noticed if the one I kept has bloomed yet. Probably not.

Leslie Shelor said...

I agree about Cathy's generosity! Beautiful photos and i love how the sample skeins look together!

Cathy said...

Ruffled Ruby is the name of that daylily - it's one of my favorites.

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