reeeeeeeal wool

Well today I am working on making a nice shawl, possibly for a coverup with a strapless dress I have. I like the dress a lot, but as its getting colder, I would like something to throw over it so that I can still wear it and not freeze my shoulders off.

I went to a Scottish festival in Wyoming and lo and behold! they had a yard tent. I went a little crazy in there, looking at all the beautiful handspun yarn they had there! Alpaca, wool, merino, cashmere...I was in heaven! Of course I couldnt afford half of them, my main choice being alpaca, so I chose a nice 100% twill wool that was handdyed. They were 9 bucks a pop, for about 272 yards, and I bought one in a nice greeny-blue and one in a greyish-brown. The shawl I am currently making is whipped up in the greeny-blue, and man! I tell you what. After working with acrylic yarn since I have started crocheting, there is NOTHING like real wool! It's soft, its plaiable, and it looks GREAT. The funny thing is? I know its real, because there are still bits of hay stuck in the wool. Now that may bother some people, but as I have raised sheep before, I know how much of a PAIN IN THE ASS it is to pick the hay out of a fleece that has been shorn. As a matter of fact, I use to show my sheeps wool at the fair, and they actually won champion a few times. But man! You have to get all the shit out that accumlates in that wool for the entire winter season, and if you wash it too much it loses the lanolin that makes it so nice in the first place.

So now! I want to get a house with some land, and get sheep again. And I would like to try my hand at spinning my own wool. Maybe I could sell it on the side? I want to raise sheep again anyways, because I think its a great experience and when I have kids, I want them to get to have the 4-H experience also.

Anyways....I guess I'm turning my blog inot a craft blog, much like my Mom has turned hers into a recipe blog.

So keep checking back, I will post my crochet patterns, pictures, and anything else I can think of! :) :)

sincerely,
Kailey