the BFL

now, speaking of husbands who are always thinking, and more specifically, husbands who are always thinking about US and what WE like, i have to give long overdue SNAPS to steve today!
(no, he’s not my husband and we weren’t speaking of them, but it’s my blog, right?).

now i’ve talked about steve before, and this story deserves a little background.
you ALL know steve’s wife debbie. yeah, you do—debbieknitter.
oh yeah—her.

ok, so then you all also know that she is probably a handful, and that whoever married her must be a saint, right? and not only that, but when debbie knitted steve some sox with handspun yarn, she turned him into a saint-who-is-now-her-love-slave on a mission to make her life in fiber, well, cushy! and by association, make his own life in socks a little better too.

so steve patiently predrafts hand-dyed fiber for debbie to spin with. he interprets her pattern charts into worded instructions—no, let me tell that right: he wrote a little program to translate that for her. he checks her wheel and makes necessary adjustments that improve her spinning enjoyment.

don’t worry, i’m getting to the part that involves me.

and he shops.
steve and debbie are inveterate internet shoppers, being that they have two small children and ZERO time during business hours to get to the store, among other complicated factors.
so, although debbie is well-equipped to shop on her own,

steve helps her out periodically.

so a few months back i get an IM around 11pm, cuz, what other time would would friends be IMing each other?
debbie: anne, what’s BFL?
me: uh, blue-faced leicester . . . whyyyy?
debbie: oh, nuthin—steve just told me he bought some
(ok, i gotta pause here; next time you make fun of me and MY stash, remember this—people who buy stash they can’t even identify! i am SO not one of them . . . .)
me: uh, really . . . again, whhhyy?
debbie: he thought it would be fun if we each had some.
me: uh, . . . ok?
debbie: is four pounds of BFL a lot?
me: uh, spitting coffee, choke, cough . . . WHAAAT?
debbie: and there’s four more pounds of something else, too—i think it’s columbia? colonial?
me: no! . . .OMG, really? we are SOOO up s**t crick, honey . . .
debbie: it’ll be here in a couple days
me: you mean, it’ll be there in a couple days . . .
both of us: (dissolving into gales of laughter, much gasping and coughing)
me: sigh . . . seriously debbie, what are we gonna do with eight POUNDS of wool!? how many pairs of socks IS that?
debbie: (practically gagging from laughing so hard) . . . steve says . .
me: yeah . . .
debbie: well, he just thought we could have fun dyeing it and stuff, and that if he got both of us some, that would be even better! and he wanted to make sure we had enough.
me: i . . . think. we. DO. (even MORE laughter) . . .deb, we are SUCH nasty creatures . . .
debbie: (now, shrieking) i KNOW! . . . stop! . .
me: please . . .thank . . steve for me . . . (by now i was, literally, ROTFL)

and then it came. we stopped laughing.
for like, a week, i mean.
it was that sobering.

i kept putting off its arrival at my house—not because i didn’t want it, but because i already have such a shameful amount stacked-up everywhere. then one day a couple of weeks ago, the first batch was firmly placed on my entryway floor.

it was as real as could be!
now, as you all know, we have access here in ohio to some awesome fleece, and through fiber shows and various other connections, it’s been pretty easy for me to build up a good-sized stash of beautiful and unusual fiber straight from the farm.
which i spin for knitting, as well as for simply luxuriating in all the glory of its unique, one-of-a-kind-ness.

but when it comes to satisfying my urge for dyeing fleece, what is wanted is something entirely different—stuff that is straight, soft, uniform, white, neat, clean, combed, and well, commercial. at least, at the stage i am at with dyeing, that’s what i want most of the time.

and steve really did hit the nail right on the head here!
this is some very nice BFL top. i dyed some the other day along with the small amount i needed to finish the silk singles. it was dry last night, so i spun it. just a test amount, about three ounces or so.

mmmm, it’s—butta! he did really well.
it’s SO soft! i’ve had BFL before, but this is super soft. the staple length is a little longer than i had before too, and has nice elasticity. it got a bit compacted during the dyeing, so i fluffed and predrafted it. and it spins like a dream. and it’s not heavy once it’s spun (something i’ve noticed with other BFL).
no—it practically spins itself.

me and debbie are gonna have us some fun with this stuff. she’s been really anxious to get into fiber dyeing. a real color addict this one . . .
oh, and did i mention that debbie is color-blind? for real. i know. i’m a magnet for the unusual. pinch me.

steve, you are about to graduate to sock heaven, babe!

so tell me, where’s the rest of it?