Fiber Processing and Dyeing Workshop - Part 1

After the great shearing a couple of weeks ago I decided to hold a workshop to introduce steps in processing and dyeing fiber.  This workshop was held through our Meetup.com group: http://www.meetup.com/The-Art-of-Spinning-from-Sheep-to-Yarn/

We had 7 of us filling the kitchen!  I greeted everyone at the door with their mask to put on since we had already started to mix dye.  We used 5 grams of Jacquard dye with a tsp of citric acid added into 16 oz of very hot water.  White vinegar can be used in place of the citric acid but be aware that the acid odor in your house will be strong!   http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3382162-aa.shtml is a good source for the citric acid as is http://www.amazon.com/Spicy-World-Citric-Acid-5-Pound/dp/B000OZFECU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340547855&sr=8-1&keywords=citric+acid .  Also, it should be available locally through Whole Foods. 

So, with dyes mixed and in squirt bottles (label them with the color) we were ready to start weighing and washing fiber!  Whenever I process a fleece, I like to keep records of my pre-wash and post-wash (dry) weight of each fleece.  Generally you will have about a 30-40% reduction in your post-wash dry weight due to the loss of dirt, farm matter and lanolin that you have scoured out.  Alpaca and Llama do not have lanolin and do not generally require pre-wash before spinning.  I prefer to lightly scour my fiber as I like to spin with a little lanolin left in. 

Once weighed, you are ready to move to the washing bin.  I like to use bins that fit in my sink.  A 16 Qt. bin is about the right size.  Fill it half way with water as hot as you can draw from the tap.  Add about a 1/8 to 1/4 cup of Dawn dish soap (original blue only!) and gently blend in the soap with your gloved hands or a wooden spoon (dedicated to dyeing).  You want to avoid making bubbles.  The mixture is right when your fingers feel slightly slippery when rubbed together. 

At this time, I fill a second bucket with my rinse water (same hot temperature).  That was my rinse water will be the same temperature as the wash water by the time the wool has finished soaking. 

Now you are going to let the fiber take a gentle dunk into the bin.  Push it down until it is completely covered.  Do NOT agitate or it will felt!  At this point set the bin aside and let it soak for 20-30 minutes.  This allows the scales on the fiber to open up and release the dirt.  Do NOT let the water cool to room temperature, however, or you will risk having felt!

  

A word of caution!  Do NOT let fiber go down your drain when you dump out your wash or rinse water!!  You may want to dump the water outside!  If you do use your sink be sure to use the drain traps.

This is a good time to do a little cleanup around your work area.  If you are going to dye the fiber the same day you can get your work area covered with thick layers of newspaper and have a roll of paper towels readily available to clean up any accidental drips! 

If you are not dyeing the same day, go put your feet up and knit or keep them down and spin while you are waiting!  

After you have soaked the fiber for 20-30 minutes inspect it to see if it is as clean as you would like.  Remember that small bits of VM will drop out during carding and spinning.  Do not try to pick them out at this time or you risk felting (see the common theme here with gentle handling?).  Also, remember that you may have a fleece that has suntips that may appear as dirt but are not.  If you are happy with the cleaned fleece, lift it gently from the wash bin and squeeze the dirty water out.  Don't wring the fiber or it will felt!  Transfer the fiber to your rinse bin and let it again soak for 20-30 minutes.  Repeat the rinse if needed until your water is nearly clear.  Subsequent rinses must be done as close to the prior rinse water temperature as possible.  Just remember, you do not want to shock the fiber by going from hot to cold.  That is, unless you want felt!  

Once rinsed, squeeze out the excess water, place in an old towel and gently push on it with your hands or gently step on it to get out the excess water.  Some people like to use the spin cycle in the washing machine but you must watch it because if you forget and let water run into the washer tub you will have felt!  I occasionally use a salad spinner if I am doing a small amount.  

Lay the fiber out on a screen or other surfaces (I've used dedicated cookie racks in cold or rainy weather).  I was able to pick up my 4 screens for free on http://www.freecycle.org/  I rotate my fiber moving it gently (this is not the time to "pull it apart") a couple times during the day.  Depending on the weather it will take from 1 to 3 days to completely dry.  If it feels cool to the touch it is still damp! 

This fiber can then be packaged to prevent moths until you are ready to dye or spin.  Put it into a brown paper bag, roll the top folding the sides with an envelope fold.  Then use duct tape to securely cover all the seams.  Remember to take a small sample of the fiber, put into a small zip lock bag and tape to the outside of the bag.  Write on the bag so you know the type of fiber, amount (I weight before bagging), date and source of fiber.  Packaged this way, your fiber should safely store indefinitely.  But, hopefully you will use it soon!  

My next blog will be on dyeing the fiber, using acid dyes, microwaving the fiber, sun dyeing and kool aid dyeing.  

Happy spinning!

Shearing The Flock

There are some opportunities that you just can't pass up.  One of my new spinners knew of this farmer in Garner, NC who was going to shear and dispose of the fleeces.  Of course, she leaped on the opportunity to pick up a few good fleeces, called me and asked if I could teach her how to skirt and bag as they sheared.  After several cancellations by the shearer the time was finally set for last evening. 

We were so glad that it was a moderately warm day (mid 80's) and not one of the scorchers that June can bring in the south.  After finding the farm and driving the last 1/2 mile on a potholed winding single lane dirt road up to the barn I was delighted to see the flock of sheep waiting in the holding area in the barn.  We had 3 of us to skirt and bag and a few children were there to help label and record the fleeces. 

Some of the sheep had been named by the owners daughter so we carefully recorded those for that "personal touch" to add to the fleece.

The shearers were from a couple hours away north of Winston Salem.  Dad and daughter team did a great job.  The daughter just graduated from High School.  When I asked her what she planned to do now that she had graduated she looked at me like I had 3 eyes and said, "Work the farm!!"   Well, duh, of course!  Silly me! 

 She was amazing in handling the sheep and we had very few second cuts in her fleeces.  Kudos to her! 

The Dad has been shearing 6 or 7 years.  Let me tell you how hard this work is!  The barn was very hot and over the 2 1/4 hours we were there the smells of suint, grease (raw lanolin) and other bodily fluids mingled heavy in the air increasing tenfold by the time we were packed up and ready to go. 

This little lamb lost it's Mom to mastitis shortly after it was born.  They tried to bottle feed but it would not take to the bottle.  It has done well on it's mash and now, at a month and half of age it is still thriving although she is small.  She kept us company in the skirting area of the barn and she was surprisingly pretty friendly.

We used dollar tree shower curtains to do the skirting on. It made a great space to lay out the fleece so we could determine how much needed to be skirted.   I have some video of that which I hope I can figure out how to add soon.  Each fleece was bagged, labeled and named if we knew the name of the sheep.  It's always nice having that personal touch of a name!  Deborah was the new spinner and she had brought her 3 grandchildren along.  They were such a big help recording the bags/names and being the runners to take the bags to the cars. 

This is my favorite.  Black Betty came in from another farm with 2 other sheep to join the shearing.  She is a Dorset yearling.  I bagged this fleece for myself.  I'm looking forward to making a nice sweater if I have enough fiber after processing it. 

Because the weather was not cooperative the night before and dumped tons of rain on the flock their fleeces were damp.  That meant having to take all the fleeces out of the bags when returning home and laying them out in the sunshine to dry before re-bagging and labeling them until they can be washed.  What a job!  I only brought home 3 of the Suffolk fleeces to dry.  Deborah is at camp this week so her friend took home the remaining fleeces to dry them.  Lucky her!

Once we can determine a time to meet I will be teaching Deborah how to process the fiber including washing, dyeing and carding. 

Back up the dusty road to take the drive home.  When returning home the first order of business was to get the fleeces out of their bags.  Then a good hot shower for me.  I think my hands will be soft for a month from all of the lanolin today!  

Needless to say, I didn't have to count sheep to fall asleep last night!

Three Dorset fleeces drying before final bagging

Black Betty drying

 Today I have some time to start washing Black Betty.  I have several projects ahead of spinning her but will probably try a little sample just to know how it will look.  It seems like a pretty soft fleece but if I find it a little coarse once spun she may be blended with some chestnut llama or brown alpaca that I have.  I will post how this goes.  

So, off to the wash bins I go!  Wish me luck!  

And a final BIG word...THANKS, Don, for the opportunity and for the fleeces!  You have a great flock and it was our pleasure to meet you.  We will enjoy many hours of spinning and knitting thanks to you!

Maryland Sheep and Wool 2012

What a weekend!  This was my first time to visit MDSW.  My sister, who is also a spinner, came down from upstate NY to Md. along with her husband, to meet me for a very tiring but fun weekend.  We went loaded down with everything on the Ravelry list that was deemed to be necessary to survive the sun, crowds and to sustain life while we spent the daylight hours there.  I hate to say it but we sort of looked like bag ladies under our load of fannypacks, shoulder bags and extra totes.  Well, we learned a lot about those "lists."

 Crowd looks light?  Look again at the throngs of people behind this little group!!  Up by the buildings it was PACKED shoulder to shoulder by noontime on Saturday.  Sunday was much lighter.

First of all you don't need half of what was listed.  I would recommend the following:cash money,  a bottle of water, sunscreen, handy wipes and maybe a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer, credit card, an extra tote, checkbook, good comfortable footwear, (did I mention money?), a pen (for making notes on where to visit on day 2 when you couldn't get into the booth on day 1 and to write checks), a small snack (we took baby carrots and nut crunch) and money!

The lines for bathrooms (tons of porta potties) and food were not long at all.  Food was great!  We had great lamb kabobs (lamb sausage and veggies doused with mint jelly...yum!) and lamb pita (more mint jelly!).  The lamb dinner Saturday evening was great with lamb prepared 2 ways (no mint jelly ... sad).  

It was HOT and you had to keep hydrated.  At one point in the VERY hot Main Exhibition Hall my sister started quickly fading on me.  I took her outside to lay on the grass and went to get a very large iced tea which she downed in short order. 

The Sheep herding demonstration was over an hour long and absolutely fantastic!  The Border Collies are amazing to watch.  Most of their skill is instinct.  Their personalities really shine through as they try to sneak by the trainer at times to do the chase on their own.  Smart dogs!!

  New Stash

We found everyone to be so nice and I enjoyed chatting with some of the shepherdesses in the barns.  One of my big purchases was a nice 2 1/2 lb bag of BFL roving in this blue/green/white mix from a shepherdess in one of the barns.   I am thinking about blending it with this top and some silk to make a sweater.  Since I have so many raw fleeces right now I decided to splurge on some already prepared fiber and chose some very pretty colors.  It will be fun to see how they spin up.

Spanish Peacock Spindle with BFL, top and Vegan Wool blend

We took Maggie Casey's class on Plying Tips and Tricks.  I was able to perfect my Navaho and Cable plying techniques.  Maggie is great, very laid back and informative!

  Maggie Casey teaching Plying Tricks and Tips

That's me in the black shirt working on Navaho plying!

We were exhausted after day 2.  Back at the motel we met my sister's hubby downstairs in the lobby.  He had been in DC for the day and was equally tired.  We got onto the elevator to ascend to our 3rd floor haven.  After standing there chatting for a good couple minutes, carrying our load of wheels and new fibers, my sister's hubby chuckled and said, "I cannot believe none of us pushed our floor  button!"  We laughed so hard that we were in tears, pushed 3 and yes, indeed, we DID manage to get back to our room!!  

We perused patterns and enjoyed each others projects (yes, we each brought bags of finished projects since we had seen each other last October!).   My sister loved the Hitchhiker I had just finished so it did find the perfect home!!  She plans to wear it to an outing this week!  It's so nice to know that she will enjoy it!

And what's next?  Lot's of dying silk, blending, knitting new projects and...Carolina Fiberfest in less than 2 weeks! 

Using the Kaydessa Picker

I finally decided that I would have to get a picker if I am to continue processing all of these raw fleeces.  As a starter I decided on the Kaydessa Box Picker and purchased it off the etsy site for $136.  Granted it is a lot smaller than most pickers and can only handle small amounts at a time, but I found that it is quite efficient in helping to pick through the locks. 

The picker has a series of 10 penny nails situated in alternating directions.  The lid also has these staggered nails.  As you slide the lid back and forth over a small amount of locks at a time it fluffs them up and lets the VM fall to the base of the picker.

Within a few minutes you have a nice fluffy pile of fiber.  If it is still too compact it goes back through a second and maybe a third time.  You have to take care not to be rough on the fiber as you can break it and really ruin your fleece.  

So the rule of thumb is to put in very small amounts (small handful) at a time and be patient.  There is nothing worse than discovering that you have chopped up your fiber into unusable pieces!  

Also, take care if you are picked a very fine fiber.  Go slowly until you can see how it handles the fiber and be sure you are happy with your end product.  

I love this as an adjunct to hand picking.  

Off to Maryland Sheep and Wool in the morning!  Let's hope I stay on budget!  No promises...

Socks and Locks in a Box!

What a busy and productive week this has been!  I spent a great afternoon at Yarn Tree Studio (LYS) with some wonderful people.  I was able to finish spinning the first bobbin of the red/blue sock yarn that I have pictured below. 




I taught one of our group members how to spindle 2 weeks ago and she is already making a cowl with her very first hand spun yarn!  I'm so proud of her.  Pictures to follow!  I am hoping in June to be able to spend more time teaching others to spindle.  It's a great way to be introduced to hand spun yarn without the expense of a spinning wheel. 




As far as my latest projects go, I've been busy making sneaker socks for summer.  One pair is completed and one is in progress.  They are such a quick knit since I don't have to do a long cuff!  Now if I just had a shorter foot it would be even quicker!

And I am currently spinning up some red alpaca/wool blend with blue/purple/teal Vegan Wool blended in to add strength.  I was asked today what made the wool vegan and I told her that the sheep were vegetarians!  She believed that for a minute and then had that odd look on her face as she realized sheep ARE vegetarians!  Ok, Vegan Wool is really nylon.

This should be a very pretty yarn when I ply the blended colors to the dark red and I am very excited to finish this, wash it to set the twist and knit the next pair of socks!  There is nothing better than a pair of hand knit socks!  I'll post pictures when I finish these.




And then I have had fun with a Jacob and an unknown fleece I got this week.  I have flicked open several of the locks to prep them for spinning.  They are all oriented tip end (and butt end) together.  I then tied them with ribbon into little clouds that are ready for me to take out on the porch where I can sit and spin them while enjoying our beautiful Spring! The box has 50g of fleece. The Jacob is a beautiful fleece with it's tricolor very tight locks and tight crimp.  The white fleece is very lofty and soft.  It was not labeled when given to me so I am not sure what it is.  I did do a test spin and it spins very well into a fine yarn. I think that the Jacob spun along with the white fleece should make a very interesting yarn.

 I love these "Locks in a Box"

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Tonight I dyed some silk into a luscious deep purple to blend with some alpaca that I have.  It's still in the microwave oven cooling so I will rinse and lay it outside on the screen to dry in the morning.  I plan to do a 50/25/25 silk/alpaca/wool blend.  More pictures coming!

Next time I will be including pictures of the finished Hitchhiker that I completed this past week,  

Off to knitting.  Still have an hour of evening left!

Shearing Day

I had the best day yesterday at Paca Pastures in Youngsville, NC.  I had been out to Deb's farm before and SO enjoyed her animals (and the fiber I had purchased!). 

It was a perfect day.   The day was all about shearing the last 10 of her 77 flock.  I learned so much as she explained each step from the type of shears used to how to do the shearing.  The table she used to lay the Alpaca on was certainly a saver for the back!   

Of course, to heighten my experience, as I was positioning to take the best picture I could, this beauty named Corvette decided she had had enough and spat a huge wad at me covering me from head to hips with grass and acidic juices!  How did I know about the acid juices?  Because she timed it perfectly as I gave a big smile!  Need I say more?    .... I know....   ewwwwwww

Into the farmhouse I went to try to clean up as best as possible so I could enjoy the next couple hours.

And the clincher is.  I now own her fleece!!  :)  Sweet revenge!  Someday I will spin it into a nice fine fingering yarn and wear her around my shoulders smiling as I think about the experience!

Project Updates

I spent the afternoon at the Yarn Tree Studio today.  I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon than with good friends, lot's of yarn and great conversation!  I spun one bobbin of the Gulf Coast fiber and knit a few rows on the Hitchhiker. 

This week I spent a little more time researching the Gulf Coast Sheep breed and discovered there are estimated to be only 2000 of these sheep world wide!  The fiber spins up extremely light and fluffy.  It is a little less soft than I would like with a micron count in the high 20's hitting into 30.  I made a shawlette out of a former batch of roving that I purchased from someone in my local Guild.  It is very pretty (warm) and SO light!  

I was hoping buying and processing the raw fleece would result in a little softer product.  I can say, however, that I did not strip it of all of it's lanolin and I am enjoying how easily it spins!  This pound I have will be spun worsted and I want to do a hand painted long gradual color change dyeing to make a cable scarf pattern I have had for awhile. 

I have just ordered 2 more fleeces.  Shearing is in a couple weeks and I will look forward to working with this.

So, here are a few projects I have finished the past couple weeks. 

 This was 12 ounces of worsted weight fine Merino that was a special order from a customer visiting from Canada who came into the Studio a couple weeks ago.  The colors were amazing and it was a fun spin.

This was a quick knit for my Niece's new baby due May 11th.  Yes, it's a boy!

Since I had enough yarn left after making myself a couple pairs of socks I made these for my new nephew!  I love the way they came out and how I was able to match the yarn so that they look alike.

Tomorrow?  More carding!  I'm waiting for my picker to come before working on the Shetland fleece!  

Off to work on the Hitchhiker!

Ready for Knit-along

I've been working on some light brown alpaca/wool mix.  It has a wonderful heathery look.  I took this in natural light but it really is not doing justice to the fiber.  Finally I have 800 yards finished bulky (7-8 wpi).  My sister and I are planning a knit-along with plans to do the Arrowhead Poncho http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/arrowhead-poncho .  We should have them finished for next fall.  I'm just hoping we will get some cooler weather next year so that I can enjoy some of my scarves, cowls, mittens and this poncho. 

I love the way the yarn turned out.  It is SO soft.  Tomorrow I will finish washing the 4 hanks and store it away until we start our project.

Meanwhile, I started the Hitchhiker Shawlette yesterday.  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hitchhiker  I am using Ella Rae Merino Lace out of my stash.  It is an easy knit and I love the clean decisive lines.   It's a great "take with" project. 

And...I finished carding the rest of the Gulf Coast fleece.  I ended up with 18.5 ounces out of the 2 pounds.  There was more waste than I anticipated, or maybe it was not a full 2 pounds when I received it.  Usually I lose about 25% through waste when processing a raw fleece.  At any rate, it is very lofty and I spun a bobbin full (long draw) while at Spinning Group this afternoon.  I don't have a project in mind for this yet, but anticipate I will have around 400-500 yards plyed.

So, I think this was a productive day!  I even managed to clean out litter boxes, vacuum and do laundry!  Too many days the chores seem to be pushed aside in favor of some current project! 

Carding Day

Today was spent carding some very nice Gulf Coast fleece that I washed up earlier this week.  I scoured it lightly to leave a good deal of lanolin on it.  I just enjoy spinning with the fiber not feeling dry.  This fleece has just the right amount and I am looking forward to sitting down with it tomorrow and doing some spinning on the Lendrum. 

I took 2 passes through the carder and it was beautiful!  I'll let the pictures tell the story! 

Then I did a little of the Shetland #2 fleece from my niece's flock of two!!  This one was much cleaner than the first one and is quite a bit darker.  Although it is still gray, it has a lot of black in it and it carded up 3 or 4 shades darker than #1 fleece did.  It still has enough lanolin in it to keep it feeling soft and supple.  The staple length is an incredible 6 inches and a little more on many of the locks!  It was a pleasure to card! 

Dolly was sheared just 3 weeks ago and a week later had this darling little girl lamb!  Looking forward to her fleece next year!  Now the flock has three!! 

More carding to do tomorrow!  And then off to Spinning Group in the afternoon!

The Joy and Stink of Skirting!

In the end we see the reality of the finished product; the beginning is merely a dream.

This has been my belief in my love of life for many years now.  Being able to share that through my love of fiber arts brings me a joy and peace in this world of chaos and stress.  I hope that I can inspire others to grow through experience, to not be afraid to try new things and to reach out to learn from one another.

I look forward to sharing my continuing path through my intention of creations or through those incidental or accidental wonders that sometimes happen. 

So, with that being said...  

I was so lucky to receive 2 wonderful boxes of unskirted Shetland fleece a couple weeks ago.  My niece lives in upstate NY and had her 2 Shetlands sheared, her first experience with this.  So, of course I volunteered to skirt, wash, pick, card, spin and knit!  Well, when the boxes arrived I was beginning to wonder if I was out of my mind offering to skirt! 

My house quickly smelled like, well, let's not go there.  I moved the fleeces to the garage and spread them onto a screen balanced on the back of my car.  Since we are deep into pollen season, gracing everything in sight with bright yellow pollen, I had to do this inside.  

Spreading it out to be able to identify the britch from the neck from the belly was a challenge since it was so mushed together from shipping.  But, after a bit of work the birds were getting a large bag of pickings for their spring nests!

The remaining fleece went into the house for it's wash.  Using Dawn and good hot water I soaked the fleece for 30 minutes.  I didn't want to remove all of the lanolin so only used a small amount of Dawn (10 squirts for my sink sized bucket).  

After 2 hot water rinses (no agitation. mind you!) I placed the fleece on old beach towels, rolled them up and pressed them to get the extra water out.  Then off to the screen to dry!  

And here were a couple of the locks!   It is so easy to see the double coat of the Shetland.  The white undercoat is SO soft. 

This will be wonderful to spin despite the hours of prep that it took.   I have asked my niece to please, please, please COAT the sheep to help keep it cleaner.  Hoping next years fleece won't be as much work!

Off to the wheel!