A bunch of batts

ETA: The batts have landed! Apparently I jumped the gun by a few hours, but now that Yvette has received these, she's helped me out with the names. I've also remembered a few more blending details, which I've added below.


A while ago, I did a trade of sorts with Yvette. She wanted to make dresses for Daisy, so I offered some batts in return. The thing with me and trades is...well, it takes me a little while (and by this I mean a LONG while.) Anyway, once I started carding, these were very fun to do. Sparky and Max helped me out with the cranking, and it was cool to see these come together.

It took me until late last week to get these into the mail, but they should have gotten to France by now, so I am free to show them to you here! (I am a little shaky on the names [see above note in italics], as I didn't photograph the tags I made out for each batt, so Yvette, correct me if I'm wrong...)

"Girl's Night Out" Merino, Sari Silk, purple Firestar




"Tidepool Shimmer" Merino, pale blue Bamboo and turquoise Firestar




"Raspberry Coulis" Merino, gold Glitz. This was made by first blending medium pink with pale pink, and then separately medium pink with red. I then carded those two blended batts in stripes, so that, when spun, it'll be gentle, heathered, coordinating stripes.




"Woodland Brook" Merino and Angora




"Rose Colored Glasses" Wool blend, Merino, Mohair, Gold Glitz, Silk Noil. This bat is unique in this set in that it's sturdier than the others; a heartier blend. I wanted to play with the halo and shine of Mohair, and the strength of plain, honest wool, along with blending colors that might seem to not initially make sense together -- burgundy Wool blend, white Merino, orange Mohair (from A Little Quacky's [now defunct?] Etsy shop), a dash of dark pink Merino. On this batt's last trip through the carder, I threw in some eye-popping bright orangey-pink silk nepps (thanks, Alke!!) and a handful of shiny gold glitz for fun.



This was a total experiment, and I wasn't even sure if I'd like it enough to send it to Yvette, but upon completion, I feel like the result is more than the sum of it's parts. Even though it wasn't the softest blend, I found myself holding it in my hands, petting it again and again, relishing in the sturdy qualities, and the way the subtle heathering is shot through with pink...the silk neps reminding me of juicy pomegranate seeds, and the gold glitz catching the light, promising fun times...in the end, I had a hard time letting this one go.

I love soft squishyness just as much as the next person, but sometimes there's just nothing like a lovely, low-twist yarn in strong, lustrous honest-to-goodness plain wool. (Or at least that's how I'd spin it. In fact, I think I just might have to go card me up a similar one of these right now. Right. Now.)

Last but not least: "Best Friend Batts: Grape & Turquoise" Natural black Alpaca, cornflower blue Merino, Sari Silk, and either grape or turquoise Corriedale



Those last two were the most interesting of the blending experiments, colorwise. The only difference in the two batts was to change the color of Corriedale in the mix. Fun!

Here are the two dresses that Yvette sent for Daisy:












Daisy's favorite part of the two dresses are the pockets! They're adorable and simple with a vintage charm, and nice and breezy for the hot summer to come. Thank you Yvette!!