Loom

This is my new (to me) rigid heddle loom. It is a LeClerc Bergere that a neighbor had. I gave it a little scrubbing, a fresh coat of varnish, and voila! A beautiful addition to my yarn yearnings!


A beginner project...cotton hand towels in plain weave.

A Room With A View....Of Yarn

Most people would call this a retreat, a master suite, even a nursery or study area. Not me. It's become MY room! The place where all my favorite fiber friends reside.



Spinning Wheel, Loom, Sewing Machine, Baskets full of Yarn, Cabinets full of Fabric - It's my own personal craft store, and a little piece of paradise!

Getting a Little Warped

Learning about warp and weft, clearing the shed, and weaving loose ends.... It's all very relaxing and somehow, focusing for the self. This is a closeup of my own handspun yarn (Romney sheep wool and Bamboo silk blend) on the loom, as I attempt a looser weave. I hope to make 3 or 4 triangles, stitch them together, and have a large shawl.



A quick project - store-bought boucle yarn in fun colors for an accent piece or kid's scarf.

Weavings

Between the ideas sparked at the fiber fair and my own adventures in spinning yarn, I guess it was inevitable that I would take an interest in weaving. With some scrap lumber, 250 panel nails, and a little help from David, I had a new triangular loom!



This weaving is done in a continuous strand, starting at one corner, and weaving both sides simultaneously to meet in the middle.



The finished piece is 3 feet across, and with a little fringe, ready to pop off the loom.



Wonderfully soft and warm, it's a perfect scarf, shoulder drape, or child-size shawl! Not bad for my first attempt!

Fiber Fair Souvenir

Of course, every great day deserves a souvenir. The Marshfield Fiber Fair memento for me was......

Ollie! He's a one-year-old dwarf angora bunny - a Jersey Woolie. Very sweet, and super soft, I've already harvested a small bag of fur just brushing him daily! Now, if I can just work up the nerve to shear him!

One of the highlights of the Marshfield Fiber Fair was the demonstration of sheep shearing. Sheep wranglers use electric clippers and a lot of muscle to get these girls ready for summer.

Now then, for a willing participant...



A firm grip and quick flip puts the ewe in position.



Even sheep run out of patience, so work fast!




And it's back to the pen - a newer, cooler ewe.



The complete fleece, ready to be skirted and scoured, then prepped for spinning!

Marshfield Fiber Fair 2010

The month of May is harvest time - for fiber-lovers, that is! Sheep need to be sheared before the heat of summer sets in, and a host of other creatures look to shed their winter coats. What a perfect time for an outdoor fair, like this one in Marshfield, Missouri, celebrating all things Fiber!



Vendors set up beneath the pavilions, offering bins and baskets of raw, cleaned, and prepared fibers. Sheep's wool, llama, alpaca, angora, mohair, and even silk, were among the choices. Several booths had various breeds of rabbits for sale, for those who want to try their hand at harvesting angora fur.





Many area groups, such as the Lacemaking Guild from Springfield, were on hand to give demonstrations of their art.



There were speed spinning competitions, a fashion show, workshops, animal exhibits, food, and lots of ideas on display - I even took first place in the speed crochet contest!



This man had a number of large angora rabbits - like Big Boy here.



All in all, it was a great fair. Though small, it's definitely worth the trip!

The Water Garden

Our waterfall garden is finally finished! We used a pump and liner that Mom had, hauled rocks from the local creek, and topped it off with a few shrubs transplanted from the old house. The sound of the water is so soothing, and it adds a bit of mystery to know that somewhere beneath the rocks are 4 goldfish waiting to dart out and surprise you.



David fixed up some lights so we would have a nighttime feature too. It's so beautiful!

Spring Has Officially Arrived!

I just wanted to put it on record that Spring has officially arrived. Sunny days, gentle showers, borning babies, and dated calendars don't mean a thing until the flowers come up!
Here are a few of my tulips - the first at our new home! When I planted them last fall, I wasn't sure if they would survive the hungry creatures that share the dirt, but they came up beautifully. More are ready to bloom any day, along with the jonquils, weeping cherry, flowering crabapple, and almond bushes around the house.
NOW, it's Spring!

Indoor Sheep Farm

I may not have a real flock of sheep to feed my fiber fetish, but this little crew is too cute to put out in the cold. I decided to make some mini-sheep as samples of the fleece I've been working with, instead of sticking locks to some drab notecard. Here's the line-up....



These tiny ewes are made on a skeleton frame of clothespins and wire, with painted legs, then wool wrapped around the body and head and needle-felted. The needle is particularly sharp with miniscule barbs along the shaft that fuse the wool fibers together. You only have to stab it between 400 to 480 times to get the right shape. It's lots of fun...and releases a ton of frustration!






An Icelandic curly-top!






Everyone needs a black sheep in the family. Here's a Romney.






Some dye-jobs are always hanging around in the background!

Snow-tastic!

It snowed for days, dropped to -10 degrees, and David's been out of work for weeks...BUT when life gives you snow, you build snowmen!

Spinning A Yarn

Here are my first attempts at spinning...



This is the first spinning on a hand spindle.



A Merino and Corriedale marled yarn - the first ever on my Ashford Traditional.



My lovely spinning wheel.



A blend of leftover wool from a dye class.



"Kendra's Yarn" - a circus blend of primary colors.



Romney Wool and Bamboo Silk spun to sock-weight.

Coming Soon...Icelandic Wool (which is like trying to spin the cotton out of the Tylenol bottle!)

Dyeing To Spin

One thing always leads to another. First you want to crochet, or knit. Then you want to make your own yarn, so you learn to spin. Next comes the desire to make yarn with custom colors. I even secretly want to raise my own wool - but David draws the line at live sheep. (Not to worry...I'll wear him down like water on limestone.) But for now, I enjoy the fruits of other people's sheep - scouring, rinsing, carding, spinning, and sometimes dyeing. Here's a little sample and tips on how I go about it.



This is raw fleece from an Icelandic sheep. It has dirt, grass, and poo caught in the locks, but has a lovely soft texture and springy curls. It must be teased apart with a little shake to get the finer particles out, then washed in a bath with shampoo. No agitating, or it will felt (fuse) together!



The fleece has been washed, rinsed, and spread out on a towel overnight to dry. It is now a lovely frothy white, and even softer!



Grab a good handful of wool and drop it in the pot! You need a good size stock pot, filled with 2 inches of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and heated to a simmer.



Press the wool into the water, making sure the water never comes to a boil. (You've heard of a boiled wool coat? That's not what we're making here.)



Sprinkle the dye over the wool and press lightly into the water. Don't forget to wear gloves, or you'll be wearing your new colors for a few days. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. You can carefully press the wool down into the water occasionally to ensure total saturation.



Now you can add another layer of wool, enough water to cover, and a sprinkle of dye. You can use the same color, or a different one.



Press the wool into the water, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Repeat this process until you have dyed all the wool you want, or the pot is full. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. (This can be left to sit overnight.)



You can now drain the pot (on a gravel driveway is good - just not over a septic tank or garden area). Fill a bathtub with a few inches of lukewarm water and place the wool into it. Let it soak for a few minutes, drain the tub, and repeat until the water is reasonably clear. Carefully press the wool to squeeze out excess water and lay out on a towel or rack to dry.



Here's the finished wool! A gorgeous Apricot and Rose variegated color - ready to card and spin!



And another attempt - this time in Deep Violet, Bahama Blue, and Sky Blue.

Farmville Addiction

I know, I know. I sneered and scoffed and threatened to end my FaceBook account if I ever saw another blip about Farmville. But then Kendra wanted to play. I let her use my I.D. and away she went, happily plowing and sowing and reaping and collecting animals. I didn't pay much attention other than to make sure it was all safe, until one day she ran into a glitch. In my efforts to help, I got hooked myself! Of course, she wouldn't give up her farm on my account, so I had to confiscate David's I.D. and start my own farm there! Now I'm figuring my maximum return on soybeans, estimating the time until it's time to harvest the latest crop, and praying for someone to send me a cow! It's especially ridiculous since I almost never play games that don't come in a box with dice and pawns and a board. The upside is that we're all learning how to choose the most profitable investment, having some fun with layouts and measurement, and of course, looking for a golden chicken!