Catching Up

So I missed a few days.

Here is a picture of some lovely roving from the Unique Sheep.

It is Cultivated Silk and Merino Wool in a 50/50 blend in the color Everlasting Evergreen.  I am spinning it up into a lace weight yarn and knitting the Silver Bells and Cockleshells  shawl pattern by Melissa Lemmons. 

Here is a picture of the yarn spun, plied, washed, thwacked, and dried.

This is the first 56 yards, I am still working on the first of 4 oz of roving.  

And here is today's picture: a bloom from my Louis Philippe Rose.

This a bourbon type rose.

Here is the description from the Antique Rose Emporium, which sells this and many other Antique Roses:  "The flowers are double, deep crimson with a touch of blush at the center and like all old Chinas exhibits an occasional white streak through the petals. This rose is often confused with ‘Cramoisi Superieur’. The only differences we can detect is that ‘Louis Philippe’ is more compact and the color varies. A Texas statesman, Lorenzo de Zavala, collected this rose during his 1834 stint as Minister to France and planted it at his home in Lynchburg."

An Antique Rose is defined as any rose bred before 1850 when the first hybrid tea rose La France was bred.  They tend to be more vigorous, and disease resistant than modern roses.  This one also has a fantastic classic rose scent as well.