Snail Spirals

I made a decision today. I can no longer live with my fiber closet looking like this:



It's not just like this because of moving. My fiber closet in the last two places I lived looked virtually the same, though even more crowded becasue the closets were smaller. After five years, I decided to do something about it.

A trip to the Empire of Evil (aka Wal-Mart) and $15 gave me this:



It's amazing what just getting rid of the boxes does to make it look better. Now I can actually see what I have, and am able to access it without unstacking all the boxes and rummaging through each one when I'm trying to find something. I even labelled all the different pillowcases of wool, so I will know what's in each without opening it. How very organized of me.....

The spinning wheel will not be perched there on top permanently, as I'm going to try and sell it (love my Schacht!), and the same with the rigid heddle loom that is tucked in the corner behind the shelves. I'm not a multiple wheel/loom kind of person.

I had fun going through all the boxes and seeing what's in the stash. I did discover, though, that I have way too much wool. I know- is that possible? But, yes. I don't really like having a big stash. I have four whole fleeces (two wool, two alpaca), and a bunch of bits and pieces, each around a pound of fiber or less, and all very nice things I will enjoy working with. I need to card up some of these so I can spin them, rather than just have them sitting in the closet. The two wool fleeces need another wash before they can be carded, though. I didn't get all the grease out the first time and they still feel a bit sticky. I also have a whole pile of handspun that's waiting to be made into several somethings. Most of the yarn I have is handspun, which actually surprised me (I don't know why, though, since I've been doing so much spinning the last two years!)

I'll leave you with a cutie-pie picture. Remember the hand spun handknit sweater I made last year? Well, I found it in the box of entries from the Fair, and Emma had to try it on right away. It's still a bit big, but with the sleeves rolled up once, it's not too bad. I'd forgotten how yummy the yarn feels. Love that Ashland Bay top!