Mama in a spin

I've been doing a lot more spinning lately - yay. It kind of got forgotten for a while, other things to do or just tiredness and various members of the family recovering from colds, etc.

Some Dorset Horn (otherwise known as Poll Dorset) skeins washed and ready to use, wind into balls or maybe a bit of dyeing?

2 washed skeins of Dorset Horn

and below with one to be washed

An Alpaca skein ready to be washed.

Alpaca skein

Some Jacobs brown/black fleece separated and spun, a few more rolags to spin and then this will be ready to ply. I haven't separated the colours before as I like how they blend together, but just thought I'd a bobbin or two like this.

Jacobs bobbins singles ready to ply

At my evening lesson I go to, I have recently been experimenting with blending colours (just hand plied) and fibres and have spun some synthetics which are quite different to spin - need to put more spin in them as they have little or no crimp.

Colour blending - spun on wheel, plied by hand

Synthetics - some mixed, some mixed with wool (to left of the bobbin)

I much prefer working with natural fibres though. Speaking of which, next week at my next lesson I shall be having a go at spinning some flax. I recently watched another member of the Guild spinning flax and was talking to Alex (my spinning teacher) about it and she offered to do that next time, so can't wait for Monday evening to have a go - hmmm what to make with some lovely handspun linen? I think some weaving project is forming in my head.