Sheep To Sweater

Ugh. Bad couple of weeks

2009-07-07T11:10:00.005-04:00

I have had a few weeks directly from hell. Mostly health problems, but, luckily, all the tests came back fine. Other than my cholesterol. The test says its 294! WTH! I've started eating healthier, so we'll see what happens.

I have mostly been crocheting still. I am working on the Goddess Afghan. If you belong to Ravelry, you can find the pattern here. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/goddess-afghan-2. I fell in love with it. But, I haven't done Tunisian crochet in years. But, I finally got the hang of it. I guess its like riding a bike! LOL

I am also going to be making some amigurumi's for some Yule presents. I adore Delicious Crochet's patterns. Her patterns are here http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5162369. Her patterns are amazing! So cute! My DD and DS each picked one out.

Speking of kids, they are on summer break. :( Yuck. They don't understand that my vacay doesn't start again until they are back in school!

Post more soon!

Market Bag

2009-06-10T08:36:00.003-04:00

Isn't it adorable? I found the pattern on Michael's website. It took me probably about 6 hours. And its super easy! You can't ask for more than that. I am going to make a bunch of these. I think these will be perfect for the farmers market, kayaking and swimming to hold wet stuff. Just about everything.

I changed the water in my cold water wash last night. It supposed to rain almost all week until Saturday. So, Saturday I will pull it out, rinse it out, and put it on a sheet in my backyard to dry. I just hope its not too windy and my wool doesn't end up in my neighbor's pool! LOL

Cold Water Wash...

2009-06-09T10:55:00.005-04:00

is my friend! It is amazing! Right now I have 2 X-large rubbermaid containers with lids in my backyard. They have Romney in them. I found the directions in Spin Off Fall 2008.

I have been spinning alot lately. Plus, crocheting and knitting a bit. Oh, and I went kayaking for the first time last Friday. I love it! Looks like I have another hobby! :) So, I will apologize for not blogging for the last week!

I am also going to have a major stash purge pretty soon. I want to get a jumbo flyer and a couple of bobbins for my Traveller.

Productive Weekend....

2009-05-26T11:06:00.003-04:00

Well, I got almost all the Icelandic carded up. Plus, I got a whole bobbin spun up. I am quite happy. It is coming out looking tweedy. I put alot of extra twist in it. I don't want it to fall apart after I ply it....

I also got my garden put in. I look like a boiled lobster! LOL My poor husband looks alot worse than I do though. Poor thing.

This week, I really need to get back to my Romney. It just seems like I will never be done with that. Oh well! With 11 pounds what do I expect! ;)

Ok....

2009-05-21T11:11:00.002-04:00

I admit it! I took a break from carding and washing! From both the Icelandic and the Romney. I have been spinning the last couple of days. I have missed it! I have only had my wheel since the end of February, but I adore spinning. I actually enjoy the whole process. Washing, carding, spinning. But, I enjoy spinning the most. I admit it!

This weekend we are having a garage sale. So, while my 2 kids, ages 14 and 12, help their dad with it, I am going to be carding. SIGH.... I need to invest in a drum carder.

Maybe I will card for a while, then spin as my reward. Maybe thats what I need to do. Card for X amount of time then, as a "reward" for carding, I get to spin. After all, you know what they say. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy! Any suggestions???

Icelandic Take 2...

2009-05-18T13:02:00.004-04:00

I finished washing up the Icelandic this morning. It is so pretty! its as soft and fluffy as a cloud!! I also hand carded up the part I washed last week. It is a very pretty gun metal gray. Steve, my husband, chose this fleece for me to make him something out of it. He saw the carded fiber and said "I want one of those helmet liner thingies." LOL Well, I gotta give him credit for knowing it was called a helmet liner! I live in Buffalo, NY. It gets cold here! We are known for our snow. I think this will be great for when he is snow blowing. Once this batch dries, I will card it up and get spinning. I am going to go back to the Romney very soon. I have a ton left! Love ya Mary! ;)

Here is the pic of the rolags. I just cannot capture the depth of color. No matter what I do. Oh well! Thats why God gave us an imagination!

Icelandic Fleece....

2009-05-15T15:23:00.004-04:00

I took a break from the Romney. I washed up a little bit of a gorgeous gray Icelandic fleece. It is a lamb's fleece, with black and brown highlights. It is so pretty! It went from this:

To this gorgeous gray with the longer brown and black..

I am really happy with my results! I didn't even felt it! LOL :) I did the same washing procedure with the Icelandic that I did with the Romney. It worked perfectly!!!

Eventful Day...

2009-05-12T14:18:00.002-04:00

I finally finished washing the other half of the Romney today. Its done and drying now. I feel like I actually accomplished something today! Now I need to pull out the other half of the unwashed fleece and get that washed up. I think I will work on that project tomorrow. I'm pooped! :)

Started The Carding...

2009-05-10T20:34:00.004-04:00

Well, I started carding up some of the washed Romney today. I had 18 teeth pulled on Friday, so I was down and out! LOL Anyway, since I was feeling so-so today, I picked up my carders and my diz. I got 6 rolags done! I am quite happy! Only a million left! LOL When I am feeling better, probably Wednesday, I am going to wash up the other half from earlier.

Here is a pic of the rolags....

You can't really tell, but the rolags have a depth of color that is amazing! There is dark brown, black, light brown, and even some silvery white in them. It is so pretty!

Another huge thank you to Mary, for making this experience amazing for me!!

2nd Time...

2009-05-07T08:26:00.007-04:00

...was the charm! I re-washed about half of what I started yesterday. It came out perfect!! It was a definite learning curve. What I learned....

1~ Smaller batches are best! Lets the fleece move.
2~ Don't let the water cool down too much. Let's the lanolin redeposit in the fleece. 10 minutes for the smaller batches.
3~ After each rinse, pick apart locks to allow the hot water to work.
4~ Screaming hot water is my friend!
4~ FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!

This is the way it worked for me....

6-8 oz. per batch.

1~ Hot water soak. It helped loosen the dirt and lanolin. 10 minutes.
2~ Dawn hot water soak. I used about a tablespoon in a 32 cup Tupperware bowl. 10 minutes.
3~ Vinegar hot water soak. I used about 1/4 cup. 10 minutes.
4~ Hot water soak. 10 minutes
5~ Hot water soak. 10 minutes.

My friend, Mary, has been the best asset to me. She is amazingly good natured, and patient. Wow, is she ever patient. I was wrong about her directions. I was putting WAY too much soap in! Oh well! I am learning. Here is a pic of my washed Romney. Isn't it gorgeous??

The Raw Romney.....Take 2

2009-05-06T14:18:00.003-04:00

Well, this has been an experience. I need to re-wash all the wool. It still has a ton of lanolin in it and it feels sticky. So, I am washing it in about 8 oz. pieces in my sink. Not so much soap this time, and a vinegar rinse BEFORE the clear water rinse. Hopefully, 2nd time is the charm!!

The Raw Romney

2009-05-06T08:40:00.005-04:00

Well, I pulled out half of my dark chocolate raw Romney. The picture looks super dark. It is so pretty! This is how it looks straight out of the bag.

I decided to go with Mary's advice. I am soaking it in screaming hot water for 20 minutes at a time in enough Dawn to turn the water a light blue. Its in its first soak now. Mary did a great job skirting it. I only found around a handful and a half of larger debris that I had to pull out. The weather here in Buffalo is being unpredictable, which is normal for Spring here. So, I have to wash it up in batches so I can dry it in my house.

This is the great staple length. Just over 4".

First Posting.....

2009-05-04T19:52:00.002-04:00

This is my 1st posting for my sheep to sweater project. BIG thanks to my friend, Mary, she sent my 11 lbs of unwashed, raw Romney fleece, that is begging to become an oversized, chunky cabled sweater. 5 lbs. of a gorgeous dark chocolate color and 6 lbs. of a beautiful dark gray. Before I wash the 1st batch of the Romney, I will post pictures of the raw wool! Wish me luck!!!