Beautiful Things

Last week I received an amazing box in the mail.  It was full of softness. 

Several weeks ago, I finally got off my butt and gathered together all the angora fur in the house.  It totalled a little less than 3 pounds -- which is quite a lot of angora.  Much more than I would ever spin on my own, considering that I don't spin all that much.  So, I decided to send it to a mill for processing.  Annette had sent her angora fiber to Stone Hedge Fiber Mill   in Michigan and recommended them.  So, I contacted Deb and sent her my angora plus about  3 pounds of washed but uncarded white alpaca I had sitting around in my basement. I figured she could blend the alpaca with the angora and add some merino for bounce. Fortunately,  Deb took the initiative to save me from myself.  She called and said the alpaca would be lovely on its own and would be wasted in an angora blend -- so we made it 50/50 angora/ merino and spun the alpaca on its own.  

Grey angora/merino

The end result was 5 pounds of three-ply sport weight angora/merino blend yarn and 3 pounds of three-ply sport weight white alpaca yarn.  The angora blend turned out to be a soft grey color.  I was really pleased with the results.  I can't wait to knit with it!!!

White alpaca

After scouring the Internet, I was able to order and add an Apothecary Rose to my collection.  This is one of the most ancient of roses and has been documented prior to the 7th century.  It was carried to Europe from Persia with the returning crusaders and became the symbol for the English house of Lancaster.  It was the red rose in the War of the Roses.  It's called Apothecary Rose due to its medicinal uses and a bush planted outside a shop indicated that a druggist's services could be obtained there.  For example, dried rose petals in wine were supposed to be a cure for hangovers.  With my love of history, I thought this rose would be perfect addition to my garden and it's already had two blooms!