Tricia's Wool & Fiber Spinning Escapades...
Here is my story ... and all of the escapades that go along with my fibers and their preparation ;) Just be careful what you wish or pray for ... because you might just get it!!
My sister Tracey put me up to sharing all of my wool washing and spinning escapades - so here it is Tracey ... for you, and the whole world to see.
It all started when Tracey and I went antique store shopping together. She is a very baaahhh-d influence!! *wink* I was on the hunt for a certain knitting machine and she kept pointing out old spinning wheels to me saying the wheels were way better! I told her yeah, yeah ... in time ... "maybe someday down the road" ha!
Well!! In using the knitting machines and finding out how much good wool yarn costs ... and unraveling a few thrift store sweaters for the wool - I started thinking maybe spinning isn't really such a bad idea ... so I got a drop spindle and some Cotswold wool roving as a kit online (Nistock Farms are awesome to deal with btw!) So my spindle came and I started to spin ... and oh isn't this fun!! And amazing AND soothing!! And wow is this ever therapeutic. It was just what I needed and I didn't even know it!!
I had to find out more about spinning so I started learning all that I could about the different types of spinning wheels available! Hey! Drop Spinning is fun, but wouldn't a wheel produce more yarn in less time? So on the hunt I went ... and got a fabulous deal on a used spinning wheel!! I put a "wanted" ad on craigslist and before you knew it, I was offered a fleece for FREE and then soon after someone else emailed me with this wheel that they had for sale!! I asked, and I sure got it!!
Here is my Ashford Traveller Mark II mfg. in New Zealand. It's needing a little work, such as a brake band put on and new drive band, and some finishing polish but isn't it beautiful!! It's a castle type wheel ... where the flyer is on top of the wheel and it's a single treadle which can be changed over to a double treadle by purchasing a kit. I am slowly getting used to using the treadle. Once I get the remaining parts I ordered, I will be on my way to spinning some yarn. ;)
As for the free wool I got ... it is supposedly 30 lbs. of Black Leicester sheep wool - the first cutting on the sheep and from a two year growth. Wow was it ever!! Here below are some photo's of the wool exactly how we got it. In a ball, with a sheet tied around it.
I laid it out on a sunny day on our driveway and did my best to skirt this fleece. Skirting meaning removing all of the dung tags (sheep poopies) and undesirables ... I removed the nasties and sorted the best I could figure out ... and yes, I wore long yellow rubber gloves!! I'm still a city girl at heart that's for sure!!
So then I proceeded to put the wool in tall kitchen plastic bags for washing later. Wow!! 7 bags full!!
My dilemma was where to store the wool prior to cleaning? Look what hubby did for me!! He's so supportive he made me a hanging rod out in the garage!
And on to washing / "scouring" this wool ...
There are two methods to washing wool, the first is using a colander and bowl and doing this in your kitchen sink. The second method which I prefer is by using mesh laundry bags and washing in the washing machine. Both methods work just the same ... however with the later, you don't have to scrub your kitchen down with bleach afterwards. ;) I picked out most of the twigs and grasses that I could and into the colander and bags it went ...
Here's the first method ... basically get your water HOT, HOT, hot - straight from the faucet is fine if your water heater can get it to about 160 degrees. Fill the bowl with the water and a Dawn dishwashing liquid to a nice blue color ...
s.l.o.w.l.y lower your colander with the wool into the wash water. Here is where you don't want to fuss with the wool ... no agitating and no playing!! Maybe just squish the wool down with a wooden spoon (ahem ... don't want to ever use that spoon or bowl, or colander for cooking ever again!!) Just lower it and walk away from the wool!!
After 10-15 minutes slowly lift the colander out of the dirty greasy lanolin water and set aside to drain ... yuck ... tell me about it. :) It doesn't smell that great either, trust me!!
I then clean out the bowl and refill the bowl with more clean hot hot hot rinse water, no soap this time. I do this at least 3 times ... this sheep was seriously dirty folks!!
onto Method 2 ... my now preferred method. I fill the washer with hot, hot, hot water and put some Dawn dishwashing soap in ... the washer is stopped/turned off and not agitating!! That would be very baahh-d for the wool! Agitating, or friction of any sort will make felt. That's not exactly what I am wanting. I want wool to spin on the wheel ... light, clean, fluffy wool.
gently and slowly I lower the mesh laundry bags filled with the wool and ever so slowly push them down into the water with the handy wooden spoon. This doesn't look so bad, yet!!
After letting it sit for 10-15 minutes I set the washer to spin only. It would be very bad for the wool to have it rinse and spin (that durn felt thing again!) I just spin the yuck away. Doesn't that water look yucky? whew ... !!
And now the same thing again ... this time again, no soap .... just a rinse bath. However ... I remove the bags while the washer fills and gently lower the bags back in again, and push then down lightly with the spoon. Only a few rinses to go in this same manner ......
and now this batch of wool has all been washed, rinsed and spun ... including the wool I had washed in the kitchen sink. I put that in there along with ... why not?
All I have left to do now is let it dry ... Wool takes a few days like this to dry ... I got these wire baskets at the dollar store. Can't beat these for a $1 !! I set the wool inside and placed the baskets on an old towel on top of my fridge.
here's what it looks like clean and closer up ... I did this batch yesterday and was pretty much on the fence as to whether or not continue with this "escapade" ;) after touching the wool and feeling how soft (and clean smelling!) I decided to quit being such a baby about it and continue on. Only 6-1/2 more bags to go ... guess I'll be going back to Target for more mesh laundry bags to do a bit larger sized batches in my washing machine. :) yes, there is grass and stuff still in it ... it will come out when I card /comb the wool before spinning ...
for the guests that come over and are faint of heart, I can place this mesh over it ... but this was the best and warmest place I could think of to put all of this. Also ... I don't think my cat would climb on top of the fridge. She doesn't care much for duck down ... (don't ask how I know) and so am keeping the wool far away from her!!
I've ordered wool combs to card this wool ... (that's spinners talk for getting it combed and fluffed up and ready for spinning) I am sure I might take more pics of that progress ... but for now Tracey and all ... I have things to knit on my knitting machine !! LOL!! This wool has a few days to dry anyway. If I want to ... I can always go stand on a chair in my kitchen and touch the wool and feel how soft and clean it is.
And now continued ...
I finally got it in gear and got the remainder of the wool washed. I got smart and quit using the washing machine and sink indoors and had recruited my son Ricky to help me with hooking up the hose from inside the garage (hot water line) and I went out in the back yard with a HUGE plastic storage tub that I got at the Target. Filled a BIG mesh laundry bag with wool and was able to scour the wool that way in half the time! Right now the last little bit is on the porch drying ...
I also gave away 3 bags away to another spinner. I still ended up with plenty of wool to spin!!
These are the Indigo wool combs and really they aren't as
scary as I initially thought ... a little medieval looking perhaps!! ;)
and here the combs are loaded (and not really all that hard to use!) with the Leicester wool ... amazing how fluffy the wool looks on the combs!! I can pull the wool off the comb using a diz into a roving or top and roll into a little ball like the one shown below to later take over to the wheel to spin into yarn. The second cuts and shorter pieces I'll be using to felt ........
btw Tracey ... you and your ideas!! Love you sis!!! Keeps me outta the pool halls I spose. x0x to all who took the time to read this .................... Tricia ;)