A very slippery slope I'm on........I started learning to spin last November. Within a month, I was a multi-wheel owner. Now I own a drum carder (love it) and today worked on processing my first raw fleece. I never thought I'd be washing and carding raw fleece........ but I have photos to prove that I did!
The fleece is from Susan at Windy Wool. She's a member of my local fiber guild, the Piedmont Fiber Guild. Recently, at one of our gatherings, she brought some of her fleeces. I bought about 2# of this Montadale fleece. Here it is in it's raw form.
A while back I bought some of these mesh bags at the dollar store. There were 3 or 4 in each package. I might go buy some more. Remember I mentioned my husband built an outdoor studio space for me, complete with hot and cold water? Maybe he knew I'd be washing fleece and figured he'd better get this hooked up before we had sheep fleeces on the kitchen counter. Smart man.
It's been unusually cool with relatively low humidity for the Carolinas in the summertime, so I spread the washed fleece outside in the sun to dry. I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to blend the fleece as I card it, or keep the browns and grays separate. I'm thinking separate right now, and then maybe knit something stripey from it, but we'll see when I actually start carding. This photo show more color contrast than there really is. I need to learn more about my camera settings......
After it was all dry, I ran some through my new (to me - thanks Sandra!) Strauch Finest Drum Carder to make this small rolag.
Here's the 2 ply Montadale wool yarn from my first skein - about 90 yards - enough to knit some swatches and see what the yarn might like to become.
Oh, and I had good company outside while I was doing this today. Here's Blu, the Australian Cattle Dog mix we rescued from the animal shelter last month. Isn't she a sweetie? She's still going through heartworm treatment, so we have to restrict her activity, but she enjoyed laying on the cool concrete floor outside today while I was playing with fiber.
A very slippery slope indeed..........
2 comments:
A fabulous slippery slope, as a spinner and dyer of 3 years this month I know the slope well, I've just bought a loom to add to the collection! I will look forward to more of your journey!
Stay on this slope. It's a winner. Have never heard of this breed. Will look it up. Gorgeous dog. I'm a sucker for a rescued dog.
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