Double The Fun

Day 209: I had a little problem a while back when I tried to close the cedar chest. It was so full of wool and handspun that I had to sit on the lid and then weight it with a couple of boxes to keep it down. A phrase I use often when I'm down to the last of something came to mind, and I said aloud, "Why am I archiving this?" and thus the seeds of several new projects were sown. First of all, I pulled out a couple of bags of bamboo fiber and set to spinning it into fingering weight yarn. Next, I grabbed three differently coloured bags of wool top and my blending board for spinning a heathered worsted weight. You'd have thought the diminution might have put a dent in the stockpile, but it merely gave it room to expand. I was going to have to take desperate measures in order to reduce the bulk. But what? The brainstorm hit a few nights ago: weave a wool throw using 8/2 cotton warp and the "double-width" technique on my table loom. I checked my inventory (I record fiber, yards and weight, and calculate yards per ounce on a spreadsheet) and found that I had more than enough "cinnamon twist" for a lap robe. This one is likely destined to be a donation to my favourite environmental group's annual auction, but there's another huge bag of grey Gotland wool waiting in the wings.

Sheep In The Shower

 

Day 176: There will be more botanical bits coming up, but first I think I'd better 'splain 'bout the sheep in the shower. Y'see, when I started playing with cotton and the tahkli, it kicked my spinning urge into high gear. As soon as I felt I was getting sloppy with the tahkli and my cotton thread began exhibiting lumps and thin spots, I'd lay it aside and pull the Louët over to my chair so I could resume working on the "cinnamon-twist" yarn I started a year or so ago. Working with wool is a whole different ball game, one which most spinners will tell you is substantially easier than cotton. Right now, I'd agree with them, but I think once I've mastered the nuances of short fibers, I might even find it more restful than working with long-staple wool. But for now, shifting off to spinning wool relaxes me. After an hour or so, I'll be ready to pick up the tahkli again. So...'nuff said. Let's talk about the sheep. The white strand is Corriedale top: soft and silky, and came to me already prepared to go directly on the wheel. The brown was something I purchased at a bazaar, two pounds still in the grease. I washed it, teased it out, carded it and spun it separately. Then I plied the two strands, cinnamon and sugar together. The next step was soaking it in tepid water, and hanging it (weighted) in order to set the twist. Since our nights are still dipping below freezing, the "sheep" has to be moved from its clothesline pasture to a safe shelter before bedtime. The shower serves as the "barn." This makes bathing a bit tricky, for obvious reasons. The "cinnamon-twist" is a beautiful yarn, if I do say so myself, and now that I've reached the end of the bag, I have enough for a sweater/jumper. While these are hanging to dry, I'm working on some silver Gotland, a happy spinster at the wheel.