So now I'm spinning again after all these years of not spinning. First, I spun a spool of the pink wool and then a spool of the natural colored wool that I picked up at SAFF. Then I had a blast spinning all the samples that came in my Phat Fiber box. You cannot even begin to get an idea of how cool these fiber bits were from these pics or from this yarn. They were gorgeous and spinning them was a treat - lots of different fiber types and blends and differnt put ups too. It was a mini education in itself. I learned some things I liked and some things I did not like.
After I spun them all up, I plied the sample spool with the natural spool. I did a very bad job of it - not nearly enough twist, but it's still yarn. I ended up with about 120 yards of yarn and I plan to make myself a hat out of it. I will supplement with the pink yarn if need be to make it loose like I want it.
Then I spun the rest of the pink wool onto a second spool - there was less on the second spool. I plied them together and when I got to the end of the shorter spool, I used a paper towel tube as a nostepinne and made a center pull ball. I had to gently help the yarn pull from the center and had to turn the tube to keep the outer yarn from tangling so it went slowly, but I got it done. It made a pretty nice hank of yarn. Not sure what I will do with it now.
In all this spinning, I was deliberately trying to make a thicker yarn than I usually do, and I was pretty successful.
Then this stuff came out of the bag. It's a little sample - probably about a half ounce - of 'domestic top' that
Silverstah of
Feeling Sheepish sent in with an order I placed with her. When I pm'd her, she said this sample was her 'domestic top'. It was an absolute dream to spin - almost spun itself. I spun it fine because that's what it seemed to want to do and it did it beautifully. Its fibers slipped along each other like they were sliding on a polished floor and the colors (which are hard to see in this pic) were gorgeous going by - a burgundy color with a fair amount of blue and a bit of turquoise. I really loved spinning this stuff and I will definitely order more as soon as I can afford to - lots more!
I ordered some of her hand dyed Corriedale wool roving in a color called Mossy Glen which I haven't spun yet. The sample was something she threw in the box because she forgot my box at home - and I'm so glad she did. It didn't matter in the least because the box came the morning after the girl and I got home, and would have been no use to me before that anyway.
So next I spin Mossy Glen . . . .
Remember those socks I designed? The ones that won the contest? Well, I've worked on the pattern and all I need to do is add pics and it's ready to publish. Should be available tomorrow sometime if all goes well.
Here are the socks I'm knitting for the sock-a-long. They are a little big around the foot, but not too much and I am not planning to rip them back again. Haven't figured out a pattern for them yet but I figured we'd add that to the cuff and leave the foot plain . . . . also need to figure out what kind of heel we want to do. Do you want to try one you haven't done before?
So now I'm spinning again after all these years of not spinning. First, I spun a spool of the pink wool and then a spool of the natural colored wool that I picked up at SAFF. Then I had a blast spinning all the samples that came in my Phat Fiber box. You cannot even begin to get an idea of how cool these fiber bits were from these pics or from this yarn. They were gorgeous and spinning them was a treat - lots of different fiber types and blends and differnt put ups too. It was a mini education in itself. I learned some things I liked and some things I did not like.
After I spun them all up, I plied the sample spool with the natural spool. I did a very bad job of it - not nearly enough twist, but it's still yarn. I ended up with about 120 yards of yarn and I plan to make myself a hat out of it. I will supplement with the pink yarn if need be to make it loose like I want it.
Then I spun the rest of the pink wool onto a second spool - there was less on the second spool. I plied them together and when I got to the end of the shorter spool, I used a paper towel tube as a nostepinne and made a center pull ball. I had to gently help the yarn pull from the center and had to turn the tube to keep the outer yarn from tangling so it went slowly, but I got it done. It made a pretty nice hank of yarn. Not sure what I will do with it now.
So now that I have figured it out, I've gone plumb spinning crazy! I started with this pink roving and spun all of it - probably about 5 ounces. Then I spun 4 ounces of natural white wenslydale that I bought at SAFF - still have 3 more 4 oz balls of roving to spin. Then I spun all the small samples I got in the Phat Fiber box and a few that I had before that. Then I plied the samples and the white wensleydale together (it's drying now - pics of it tomorrow). I'm going to knit a hat with it so that I can have something from my first decent handspun. 
This is the South Residence Hall (1805) which houses the office of the Dean and classrooms.
The Single Sisters House (1785) the oldest building on campus - houses the Admissions office. It was renovated in 2007, but still has the old floors, stairs, doors, windows and many of the old walls.
There are more gardens and lovely sposts to sit and think on this campus than on any of the others we visited. The old buildings retain much of the antiquity - including stained glass windows in many classrooms and halls. 
(1817) An alumna House.
(1888) This used to be the president's house but is now used for social occasions (including weddings) and occasionally as a guest house for visiting alumna or parents.
(1854) The back of the main hall (Dean's office & classrooms).
Development office (1930).
The May Dell - an outdoor amphitheater where commencement and performances and various activities are held.
The organ in the theater.
The morovian graves - they are broken into groups of Single Sisters, Single Brothers and Married Brothers & Sisters.
The athletic complex includes a gym, indoor pool, student center and grille.
A bulletin board for the students and part of the alumna house.
The outside of the girls' dorms, a sitting area in the dorm house and a typical dorm room. These dorm rooms also have a sink in the room which is very nice and not common in many of the dorms we looked at.
The honors house - only those girls with a high enough GPA are allowed to live here - it's right in the center of the campus, convenient to everything.
The current President's House - down the street a couple of doors, very near the library.
Odd sculptures near campus.
The side yard, looking down the driveway.
The front of the house - the bushes are overgrown and there's a tree with branches down all over the yard.
This shed is where Dad's Japanese Tea House used to be - wonder if it's just the tea house closed in? The ponds seem to be gone as do the gardens.
The parking pad is still there and that was how I was sure I spotted it. The land that used to be wooded next door is now a street with houses.
Dena might recognize her old high school. We went by Linkhorne Elementary and the Middle School across the parking lot - where I went to school. I was afraid the teachers and students would think I was a boogie man if I started taking a bunch of pics of the elementary school, so I refrained.
