Moth Heaven: Personal Shopper

So what is a girl to do the weekend of the Maine Fiber Frolic when she has to stand in her garden both days identifying plant material and explaining the division of labour that is required in the maintenance of such a garden as mine? I'm not complaining about that part, mind you, because the sharing of one's garden is a very special and enjoyable event that thankfully only has to happen once every decade or so. But the unhappy coincidence of the tour with the one fiber-related event I wanted to go to all summer was enough to make me consider--for rather a long time--the option of just blowing off the tour so I could go buy batts. Yeah, it's that bad. But my noble spinning friend Kathy, who knows my favorite colours and such, and with whom I would trust my cash, offered to do some shopping for me, and this is what she brung me!
horn_o_plenty
What you are looking at, clockwise starting with the white stuff is a variety of fibers including soy silk, a tencel and merino blend, corn silk, dark brown Yak, two beautiful batts from not-quite-local fiber celebrity Linda Diak, some lovely rovings from forgotten vendors, and that fabulous batt at the top from Indigo Moon Farm. I am so unworthy of such Richesse! Especially since I have not yet admitted to you that I have indeed acquired a wheel, and it's an Ashford Joy should you need to know. In the interests of full disclosure, but mostly because I know Teresa is going to want me to say this, I bought it at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival, in her company at that. And she did nothing to stop me! But to my great shame, I have not yet sat down with it to spin anything. This is mostly because I am still contemplating the mittens I want to knit out of the yarn I made as my first effort, and I feel a little overwhelmed with all the everything I want to knit. I may be in need of intervention. But not yet.

thrilling_progress So while I'm being honest, here's what I started the other night when I couldn't sleep. That's correct. It's the front of the linen drape sweater. You know what that means, don't you. That's correct. I think I am in love. I think this because I find myself choosing it over every other thing I have in process at the moment. It still splits, mind you. But the material is so drapey and elegant, I can't wait to wear it. So I changed my mind. I admit it. It was a well-considered change of heart, but this is my story now, and I'm sticking with it.