The Days Are a Spinning!
This weekend was a BIG weekend in the world of spinning for me. Firstly, I finally got over my fear of spinning in front of DH (I haven’t touched my wheel on the weekends or evenings since DH’s not so kind comments when I first got my wheel)! I spun up a sample of merino/tussah roving (I suspect it is Ashland Bay, but I’m not positive) early Saturday afternoon while DH sat NEXT to me and watched every move I made. I was focusing on working on my worsted draw and I think I have it down. It still is a bit of a fight for me to keep the twist from entering the space between my hands, but I keep it out longer and when it does creep in I’m able to deal with it better than before. This worsted spun is on the Magpie niddy noddy in the front and is roughly 32 yds. At first I was trying to figure out what in the heck I’d do with 32 yds. I love it and an idea has popped into my head that I think 32 yds will enough for. So, stay tuned this week to see what that idea is! 
Then, later Saturday afternoon was a bit of a “card party.” A three of us spinners from SnB got together and carded some fleece on a drum carder. Boy, was that a learning experience. The biggest lesson? Don’t buy dyed, unprepared wool from Ebay when it is really cheap. Chances are the person selling it to you had no clue about spinning and just thought they’d cash in. Two of the three fleeces we worked with on Saturday were disgustingly dirty and full of second cuts! The one fleece that we carded completely ended up at only about 1/2 of it’s original weight in bats. However, now I’ll be a more educated consumer when it comes to looking at fleeces and such at the wool market next year (and perhaps SOAR in November).
So, on the PVC niddy noddy is one bat of Cotswold that I spun and plied on yesterday. This was the very first bat that we put through the carder so it is not very even and had a fair bit of noils in it. But, it was fun to spin, even if it isn’t terribly even. It comes out at roughly 42 yds.
Both are now washed and blocking with a fan on them to help the process along a bit. If I’m lucky they will be dry enough for me to bring along to SnB this evening. Though I have to leave early for a chiropractic appointment (nearly next door to Catalyst) at 4:20. So, we’ll have to see. Well, back to the kitchen and cleaning for me…
http://www.ewephoria.net There is a Romeldale fleece for sale at that site. Click on Fleeces and scroll to the very bottom. You can also contact Myrtle Dow using the link on my site. Feel free to tell her I sent you. She’s wonderful.
Comment by Lizzy B — 8/30/2005 @ 6:41 am
isn’t it ironic sometimes that they neither knit nor spin, but they do knoe how to comment? *G*
nope, my DH hasn’t been unkind, he just stares, and he watched the kromski video with me. he was intrigued, i guess…
Comment by delia — 8/30/2005 @ 3:54 pm