There is still very little spinning
Day two: Once we’d washed up our fiber on Day 1, it was time to talk about prep. There are two ways we addressed prep in class: 1. Flicking: Be careful. The flicker will bite you if you aren’t paying attention! 2. Carding This is the queen of woolen prep. I’m a woolen spinner by default so I had a really good time seeing how Leslie carded vs. how I was doing it, and watching all the other women in the class (we happened to all be women). While I liked Leslie’s method, I feel like my method works better with some super short fibers – I’m looking at...
read moreEverything’s coming up wooly
After what feels like a very long time, my life has turned back to the fibery side. I’d been very down about the way Spin-U turned out, so much so that I wasn’t really looking forward to what the future held for my personal spinning. I had signed up for Olds College Master Spinner Level 1, to be held in (fairly) nearby Smithtown. Completing either the Master Spinner courses, or a COE (Handweaver’s Guild of America’s Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning) has long been on my bucket list. When I saw the Master Spinner Level 1 course being offered less than an hour...
read moreThis is the way we wash our wool…
I wanted to detail how I washed this wool a little more, and since I took photos and video of the process now’s the time. I plucked out locks of wool, prime wool from the center back of the fleece and tucked them into tulle packets. Each of the locks was arranged in the same direction, with the brown tips facing up. I folded the tulle down over the top, then up from the bottom in a little envelope. I didn’t bother to seal the ends. I was out of safety pins, and knew that since I was only washing a few packets that it really didn’t matter. I filled the roasting pan with water...
read moreHow to choose a fleece
I think I may have mentioned that I brought home an 11lb fleece from MD Sheep and Wool festival. I’m going to use this fleece as an opportunity to talk about how I choose, scour, process, and spin this fleece. I want to make sure that I mention that this is just how I pick my fleeces. You may pick a fleece based on different criteria, and in fact this is just how I pick a fine to medium fine wool fleece. This wool is destined to be a sweater for me, and a matching sweater for my daughter. It’s 11lbs of wool, so it’s probably going to be several other articles of clothing...
read more