Flash Your Fiber Stash

I keep saying I've got nothing to spin. I use this as a lousy excuse to dye up some more fiber (although one needs no excuse for that).

Finnish spinners on ravelry had this thing today, called Flash Your Stash. And then, I had an Epiphany. (Yup, 'tis a pun.)

I can never, ever, ever (Priscilla, anyone?) use that excuse again. Ever. That pile of fiber is what I found in the first 3 bins in my den closet (right before a massive bag of yarn fell on m I gave up). There might be more, but I am frankly terrified of looking for it.

And before you ask, yes, it is my personal stash. There is fiber I couldn't sell to anyone (for various reasons, most important of which is I was afraid I would not get the colors ever again). There are fibers dyed to test new colors and combinations. And finally, there are fibers which remind me of friends and events.

Like this one.

It's merino-bamboo-silk mix (perhaps it is a 50-25-25 mix), there's approximately 3.5 oz. (100g) of it, and when I saw this at Allspunup, I had to have it. I just had to, although the colors are not me per se, but they're so bright and happy, they're like candy! And this is an important braid because it always reminds me of the days in Seattle, when I used to raid my friend Kristin's (of Allspunup) bins for fiber. This was one of them, and I still remember Kristin's face when she saw me holding this precious treasure I dug up. It was quite priceless.

Kristin taught me most of what I know about spinning and fiber, and we used to stir them ol' dye pots together quite regularly for quite some time. Happy times they were. She was gracious enough to let me dye up fibers, practise and experiment. Some of those fibers are still in my stash, along with the ones she gave me. (I was doing the right thing, helping a friend in need. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) And her fibers are so, so pretty. I wish I could mix colors the way she does, her eye for color is uncanny!

Here's a collage of (some of) her fiber in my stash (click to enlarge & see details):

1. merino-silk 7, 2. merino-silk (asu ice cave), 3. bfl 5, 4. asu enchanted, 5. asu polwarth, 6. merino 5, 7. merino-silk 5, 8. merino-bamboo-silk mix 3, 9. merino 4, 10. merino-bamboo-silk mix 2, 11. merino-silk asu ms crabtree, 12. merino-silk 1, 13. merino-bamboo-silk mix 1, 14. merino-alpaca mix 1, 15. asu goldwish wearing a tutu

As mentioned, there are some fibers I dyed to test different color combinations. Some were a success, some fell into the category of dear-lord-what-is-this weren't. Some could not be sold because colors leaked. It happens (especially with very intense colors), and when it does, those tops will never be sold, but end up in my oopsie bin and I am, yet again, stuck with fiber. It is a tragedy, really.

Here are some of the test batches and ones I just had to adopt.

1. bfl-silk 5, 2. sw bfl 2, 3. bfl-silk 4, 4. bfl 6, 5. bfl-mohair, 6. merino-alpaca-silk 3, 7. bfl-silk 3, 8. merino-alpaca-silk 2, 9. sw bfl, 10. bfl 4, 11. bfl 3, 12. merino-alpaca-silk, 13. bfl-silk-bling mix, 14. pigeonroof merino-silk, 15. merino 3, 16. merino-alpaca mix 2, 17. merino-silk 4, 18. merino-silk 3, 19. merino-silk 2, 20. sw merino 1, 21. merino 2, 22. bfl-silk 2, 23. bfl-silk 1, 24. bfl 2, 25. silk top, 26. bfl 1, 27. polwarth 1

And because I have a problem and I keep hogging fibers, I have adopted fibers from other dyers too. (I have merely helped friends, for their stashes have overflowed with fiber and I, though it pains me, will do anything for friends. And I have no stash problems. Tucked away in the closet, no one will notice them.)

1. pigeonroof merino-silk, 2. merino 1, 3. merino-silk 6, 4. sw falkland

If I'm being honest, I have a bit of a problem buying fiber on say, Etsy. The colors can be off by a mile, and after two very, very bad experiences with felted fiber, I've become rather timid when buying fiber online. These have landed in my stash merely after a friend has recommended the seller. And I think the bright, colorful Woolgatherings merino-silk would've landed in my basket even without recommendation. The colors are just perfect!

You can see all of these on Flickr. I'll try to update them onto ravelry as well, but after editing all these pictures, and organizing all this wool, I think I will need to spin now!