Fibre inventory, or: "Hey, I completely forgot I had that!"

I have somewhat of a wool problem... I see something I love, and I absolutely have to buy it. A few weeks ago, wool and yarn was spilling out of my wardrobe and I had to swap the wool to the bigger compartment, and my clothes to the smaller one. That's right, wool takes up more room than my clothes do. Oh. I've definitely had those moments where I have to forbid myself from even looking at any remotely fibre-related websites, knowing full well that I can't currently afford to buy any more. It's not that yarn and fibre makes me poor, it's that all my money is tied up in (soft and fluffy) assets.



The aim is to spin all of this fibre this year (and much more, knowing my buying habits!) It's mainly from Fondant Fibre and Nunoco, though I am part of the Wildcraft spindle and fibre club and will be receiving the January installment very soon. One thing I must do this year is spin some Countess Ablaze fibre - so far I've only bought yarn and pencil roving, but I've had a go with the little samples I've received and they're phenomenal.

Fondant Fibre Mixed Finn and Silk in Natural

Finn is one of my favourite wools to use, it's lovely and squooshy (totally a word), but also fairly durable. Mixed with silk, it's really incredibly soft, and the natural colours are a heathered mix of beiges and browns.

Fondant Fibre Kent Romney in Kingfisher

I've not yet spun any Kent Romney, so I'm quite looking forward to how this will turn out. The braid feels semi-soft, but not at all scratchy. Despite not being a huge fan of brights, these are just toeing into jewel territory, which makes everything alright. I'm toying with the idea of plying it with the natural Finn and silk to make the colours really pop.

Fondant Fibre Merino, BFL, firestar and bamboo punis in Geraldine

I received these punis as part of the Fondant Fibre Secret Santa swap from a lovely Raveller all the way in Texas - my puni spinning is pretty rubbish, so I'm hesistant to start spinning these in case I really cock it up and ruin all this gorgeous fibre. The firestar gives it a hint of sparkle, and the mix of greens, golds and oranges will no doubt spin into a beautiful yarn.

Fondant Fibre Polwarth, extra fine Merino and soy silk in New Orleans

I took part in the Jazz Club from Fondant Fibre towards the end of 2014 - stunning exclusive colourways in various silk mixes. New Orleans was the last instalment, and though not my colours, will make a great scarf or hat for someone. The extra fine Merino makes it really fluffy and soft, and I'm excited to spin it up.

Fondant Fibre Falkland nests in Moonshine

I could kiss the person who decided to sell wool nests. I really, really hate drafting. I find it tedious and I'd rather be spinning than prepping fibre. These are all done! Ta-dah! Just pick up, find the end, and spin. I've already spun up 100g of these nests, and I've another 100g to go. Previously, I spun very fine and chain plied - when two-plied, the colours end up a dreary and not-so-sexy 50 shades of grey. I think I'll go for something similar again, but maybe at an aran weight.

Fondant Fibre Organic Merino nests in Smokescreen

Praise the nest! I've had a quick go with a couple of the nests before, and the colours mix into this beautiful dreamy blue/lilac/pink, like an evening winter sky. Maybe they would work well with New Orleans?

Nunoco Stonecrop batts: Merino, honey Tussah silk and silk noil

One of my favourite thing to do with nunoco batts is to slide them from the packaging, and slowly unroll the layers to see what's hiding inside. A layer of grey hides inside the Stonecrop, with whites and yellows resting on the surface, as well as a layer of silk noil to give texture to thespun yarn.

Nunoco The King of Hearts batts: Merino

Part of the Unbirthday range, an Alice in Wonderland themed wool bonanza, King of Hearts is a deep burgundy that fades to a rusty red and finally into a chartreuse strip towards the end.

Nunoco Hen batts: Merino and Tussah silk

A delicate honey brown batt, fading from a warm mid-brown to a light beige, and flecked with white and gold.

Nunoco Rooster batts: Merino and Tussah silk

The Hen's mister - a beautiful batt that ranges from orange through to teal and navy, with strips of yellow and black. Very tempted to spin Hen and Rooster and ply them together - the Hen should hopefully mute some of the brightness of the Rooster, but still have really great colour variances. Nunoco has recently been creating little boxes of woolly goodness: Secret Smorglings. Unexpected and unannounced shop updates mean you never really know when they'll be available; when you can see that they are, you morph into a complete wool piggy and buy as many as you can for the rainy days ahead. They're made up of a mini batt, a mini batt dropping, six fibre samples, and two merino colour packs. The boxes are random, so you've no idea what you'll get, but everything inside is perfectly matched. I’m not keen on pink, but this box totally changed my mind. The pinks are lovely and soft and mixed with greens and purples, just gorgeous. A Bilberry Zest batt with a sparkly pink and green batt dropping. Samples in Dogwood, Autumn Sky, Potion, Mock Turtle, Gooseberry Fool, Shadow. Merino packs in Crunchy Leaves and Plush. The blue: Bayou batt, with blue, green and pink sparkly batt dropping. Samples in Whirlpool, Mock Turtle, Marina, Muddy Waters, Bayou, Cyclone. Merino packs in Twilight and Bayou. A few things to be excited over this coming year: Nunoco's Smorgasboxes, Countess Ablaze's Odyssey Trail collection, and probably any other wool updates I see, if I'm completely honest. Wool piggy.