The last few weeks, and a Hobbledehoy stash explosion!

I'm a huge fan of Liz of Hobbledehoy...a total fan girl. I first started spinning her batts around the time she exploded on the Etsy fiber scene. I consider myself loyal and dedicated. :)

I also have a minor Hobbledehoy addiction. I consider myself a functioning addict, though, because I still go to work and pay my bills. Not too long ago, Liz started consigning with a local yarn shop, Cloverhill Yarn in Catonsville, MD. I was THRILLED because that yarn shop is almost exactly halfway between my work and my house. So to celebrate her lovely batts being available at Cloverhill, she had a super spinning event there a few weeks ago. 

We all sat in a circle with our wheels, talked about our favorite TV shows and other fiber artists we loooove. I love seeing so many different kinds of wheels! I developed wheel-envy, because there were so many wheels so much nicer than mine. But hey, mine spins and doesn't make that embarrassing wheel-squeak, so that's just fine!

That's my Kromski and part of a Hobbledehoy Battling in the process of being spun. By the way, I LOVE Hobbledehoy's battlings. They are mini-batts, and oh-so manageable. I actually picked up a classic batt, an art batt, and two bags of matching battlings. 

Mmm my bag of goodies. Since the battlings were so manageable, I started with those at the spin-in. They were very purple-y, so I didn't really worry about color repeats or color positioning...I just spun one battling after the other, until I had a 4 oz bobbin full. 

I loved this color way, because there were bits of sari-silk and other texture pieces that made the resulting yarn FUN. I spun pretty thin, but not lace thin. Here's another angle of the almost-full bobbin. 

I was really happy with the results. I still have to soak, whack and dry...but I suspect this will be a really fun yarn to play with. 

Not too long ago, I also bought her "Uncle Cackel" color way of 50/50 merino/tencel hand painted roving. This member of her "Adam's Family" line was  super soft and spun up like butter. Now, the colors on my computer screen were darker than reality, but that's ok because it's still so beautiful. 

Again....6 oz of 50/50 merino/tencel. To handle this much fiber. I literally folded the unbraided roving in half and tore it into two equal-ish 3 oz pieces of roving. The repeats of color were fairly large, so I decided to spin in color-chunks and then n-ply to keep the stripes. Here is what I had winded on my ball-winder. 

The colors striped perfectly! Now on an offhand note...I've been working on my technique. I've always liked to ply from a ball because it's easier to handle. I don't know what possessed me to do that, because 75% of the time I end up with a tangle and high blood pressure. Lately I've started plying the way I SHOULD be plying - from a Lazy Kate. The second half of this roving will be plied from my Lazy Kate, because this was a PAIN to ply from a ball. I've learned my lesson for good.