spinning tales and weaving yarns

I plan on spinning some Romney to make more yarn that looks more or less like this. One pply is pure Romney, the other ply is 2 ounces of roving I dyed sometime ago and have no more of. But, I do have some recently dyed roving that is similar and should make a lovely ply. I plan to use it with the llama 3 ply I finished last week...when I learn to weave better?




I began a weaving class last night: Rigid Heddle for Knitters. Plain weave. I plan the use the yarns below. My warp is across the top.

Rainy Day Fiber

It is a rainy, snainy day. In my family, growing up in perennially cloudy upstate New York, that mixture of rain and snow was call snain, a snide sounding contraction that perfectly expresses the unpleasantness.

Completed yarn

The wild batt 2-ply yarn and the llama 3-ply yarn, over 450 yards each. The llama weighs a lot! The wild batt yarn is light and lofty. The batts were spun on the Roberta Electronic Spinner and the llama on the Ashford DT Traveler. Now I am spinning a bit of leftover pink and peach merino and some more batts.

Fleecey goodness and snow flurries

Today was a studio day...no gallery work. I drew, I ran to the library and a drove across town to pick up some artwork. And I washed fleece! Some lovely Lincoln locks and mystery wool. I got some almost free mystery fleeces last year. Really they are lovely. There is not much VM, not even much dirt and grease. The locks are long and glossy. When washed and pulled apart they burst open into a soft lustrous cloud. I will dye the wool for Shepherd's Harvest. I am hoping to set up a Wild and Wooly Batt Station there. I have not figured out all the specifics...but this row of lovely additives will be part of it: firestar sparklies, faux cashmere, sari silk, silk noil...other stuff. (By the way, the Spin Dryer is GREAT!)

Processing fleece in the basement

Once you go down these un-level stairs, holding onto the wall and the plumbing-pipe-banister, you enter the maw of fleece processing!

I don't like cleaning and laundry.....but cleaning fleece? That I like. I even like the smell of it, really! Now I don't have to do it every day, so it is not a burden. I don't have to live with the smell everyday, so my house does not reek of the barnyard. But that sheepy smell is associated with fibery goodness for me.
I got this Rubbermaid tub at a used good store for $3. I cut a hole in it and inserted a tap and attached an outlet hose. I fill it with hot water from the laundry tub and from the BIG Mr. Coffee. I use Unicorn Wool wash and lots of smallish net bags which I loosely fill with fleece. Soak, rinse, repeat, as they say. Very little agitation, just enough manipulation to make sure that all the wool gets soaked. I cover the tub with a large tray to keep in the heat. Drain after 15-20 minutes.
When I was washing the grimy mohair the other day, for the second time, I spun the bags in the spin dryer between rinses to get out the muddy water. Two rinses later I had the lovely white mohair I showed you yesterday.

When the fleece is dry it is dyed and dried again and then, more than likely, put through my Patrick Green Triple Picker, my most favorite tool after my Roberta Spinner. It is a little scary, but not too hard to manage safely. I wear leather gloves, an apron if my clothes are at all loose and never do it with people around. It's a tool you want to use with the minimum distraction.
After picking the wool is often ready to spin...it is light and pretty airy...making a kind of wild yarn with lots of halo. But it could, rarely, go on to be combed or, more often, go through my PG Deb's Deluxe Drum Carder. Currently I am a fan of wild batts.

Investigating the Basement Studio

Dying and spinning happen on the second floor of my building. But the washing, spinning, drying, carding and sorting happen in the deep, dark basement. This building is a wonky, nearly 100 year old stucco number. The stairways are steep and uneven with shockingly low ceilings at every turn of the staircase! I am short, so I have no problem. But, if you are taller than about 5'2", you will not navigate my basement studio easily. Pipes lurk, awaiting the bonk of your head!
I am the proud owner of a spin dryer, 2 days old. The interior is a very shiny, smooth stainless steel. It spins wet wool at an unbelievable speed, extracting the water directly to my floor drain. It is not very heavy and will hold close to a whole fleece. The fleece comes out fluffy! Like the colored wool in the picture. It is ready to use in less than 24 hours. The mohair is denser, but far improved from my old "rolled in a towel days." It is taking maybe 2 days to dry, compared to a former 2 weeks! Stay tuned for more basement wanderings.

felt and books

I occasionally make felt and I occasionally make very fine handmade paper. When the two come together, a book happens! Journals covered in felt are occasionally available in my wool festival booths.