The Drum Carder, the Diz and Me

 I have an old Pat Green Drum Carder,  It isn't anywhere on this site, they don't make them anymore.  I got it from a friend whose mother in law was a spinner,  The drive band was so old it wouldn't move.  The plastic cracked and broke.

Our relationship was uneasy,  new drive band, lots of oil,  it didn't seem to work the way I thought it should and I was never sure if it was me or it.

 I took some classes, watched some experts, It realized it might be replaced and started to work with me.

Suddenly I could not only blend lovely batts but I could diz roving off the carder as well as nice batts.

This fibre is 1/3 alpaca and 2/3 Romney, dyed by me.  It was supposed to be orange and it's a warm, soft peach, such are the perils of casual dyeing.

This is the Diz, only it's not a diz,   It's Kale Stripper Unfortunately I don't know any gorgeous people named Kale.  And I haven't tried it on the garden kale but it's a great diz




Below are more roving nests

Progress and Dyeing Project

Two more ounces towards my 20 lb challenge,  this is a bobbin clearing, one bobbin of a fancy wool silk glitter mix and plied with dark gray Icelandic.

It is unique and so a problem to use, but the dark grey Icelandic 2 ply could used.

Now I have to find a sweater pattern for these gorgeous skeins.  Icelandic light and dark gray, some plied as a solid and some barber pole, then about half dyed navy blue.  So 2 colours and 3 tones, 32 oz.

Lovely fibre from local supplier and local sheep.  I love this kind of colour/tone combination starting with a coloured fleece.

Four lbs done and more

   I set myself a goal of spinning 20 lbs by the middle of June next year, that seemed like a lot, but if a person spins 3.5 hours watching the Tour everyday, and 3 to 4 hours watching football, that is a lot of spinning.  It's to hot to knit.

This is 4 lbs of fibre spun and washed.  Five different projects in the planning and spinning stage.

Two L'envelopes one in orange and one in greys.

The skein at the end is a 3 ply made from a lot of bits on bobbins, Now I have empty bobbins and some yarn for mitts.  Done in 3 ply to produce a balanced yarn despite variety of singles,  It worked.








This peach dye project is alpaca and wool intended to be orange,  Isn't.

20 lb challenge

    Back to blogging after a long gap, a basement destroying flood and a year long major illness will do that to a person,  My basement studio is back better than ever, and I'm fine.

    Just got back from Olds Fibre Week, missed last year.  Wonderful.  As usual I went a bit crazy at the Merchant Mall  BUT I did keep to my resolution. Only fibre, no yarn.

     But piled on the hotel room bed is roughly 20 lbs of glorious fibre, so now I have a new resolution, before next year, before I allow myself to purchase any more fibre, I have to spin 20 lbs.

Not the same 20 lbs, fibre from the stash counts but 20 lbs.

     I thought about resolving to knit 20 lbs but that might be a bridge to far.

    It's very hot here and spinning is cooler than knitting, plus the Tour De France is on, my favorite spinning entertainment so I have made a good start.

Started with these 1 lbs bags from a great and local supplier, the sheep are all raised close by.

Two colours of Icelandic, Shetland, Romney and far right a Jacob.

Pin Drafted Cotswold utterly lovely
 from a mill no longer in business