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Fibery Goodness Module Three Yarn

Fibery Goodness Module Three Yarn

Posted on by Melisa

Mod 3 yarn. Hmmmm… What can I say? I was on a roll and spun up mod 2 and rolled right into Mod 3. Module 2 was about Trials and Tribulations but I swear Mod 3 should have been the trials and tribulations!!

Mod 3 Yarn Attempt 1 and 2

I was going for a gimp spiral yarn as on page 118 of the Spinners book of yarn designs by Sarah Anderson. Did I succeed? You tell me.

 

Same commercial prep combed top 15.5 micron merino. Pure white. Yarn on left is first attempt. Yarn on right second attempt.

 

I spun a super fine single. More fine than I have ever done in my life. Probably not terribly even and too much twist as I wasn’t even in the ballpark of comfort zone!! Spun a bobbin of single that was supposed to be twice as thick probably was more like 3-4 times. Had way too much twist in it. Bobbin wasn’t taking up properly. Thought it might be OK when I plied.

Mod 3 Yarn Attempt 1 and 2

Tried plying on my new CS2. Didn’t go well. Came off bobbin like a rubber band hung around the door knob and snapping back in your face!! That’s the left yarn. It seems like a cross between a super coil and a core spun and an angry rubber band. And it feel like I spun it out of a Brillo pad. Looks cool. Not even close to what I was going for.

 

Attempt 2: When my big single bobbin ran out, my thin single bobbin was still half there so went and spun up a new thick single with very little twist in it but again probably a whole lot more than just half bigger than thin one. Tried to keep it even. I plied on my CS2 again. Got half way through the 2 bobbins when I realized I was plying to the right the same way both singles had been spun. Crap!!! Cut the yarn and wound off bobbin back onto my left hand until I got to beginning. Had a lot there and being over energized it was tight as well as unruly. Thought if I just started it back at beginning and doubled plyed to left it would untwist the wrong bit and re twist it up right. It did. Sort of. Tangled it in knots. Had yarn everywhere. Had hubby waiting on me to do something but me not able to put ti down as it was a tangled mess on my left hand when trying to re ply and untangle with both hands at same time. I obviously didn’t think this one through!!! Eventually got it sorted. Than joined on with the last half of bobbins, join didn’t take the best so will have to be careful of that bit when I weave with it but got it going.

Mod 3 Yarn Attempt 1 and 2 Close Up

 

It is easy enough to do when you do it right from the start!!! I believe it is a nice soft relatively even medium weight spiral, but is it a gimp spiral???

 

I do love my second version even if it is not a gimp spiral yarn and may have a new best favorite yarn. Thoughts??

Fibery Goodness Module One Yarn

Fibery Goodness Module One Yarn

Posted on by Melisa

I got my Fibery Goodness Module One Yarn done quite a while ago but never managed to post it or photos up here.  I used a 15.5 micron combed top of white merino.  I have it for sale in the shop in 2, 4, 8 and 16 ounce lots.  I included a link above directly to the 8 ounce listing.  It was a pure dream to spin and I have not allowed myself to spin it until this course.

Mod 1 Yarn with twist set

 

I enjoyed it so much that I decided to spin all the modules using the same combed prepared top and see how it goes doing 7 different yarns with the same fiber and prep.  I am going out of my comfort zone on this particular course to spin with direction and precision and learn new techniques rather than spin my easy go to yarns.

 

 

Mod 1 Yarn with twist NOT set

Having said all that, the first module’s task was to spin your “go to yarn,” so I did.  For me that “go to yarn” is a 2 ply that has some thick and thin qualities but is mostly balanced.  I pre draft the combed top into manageable lengths and widths by separating the combed top.  I spin it in a short forward draw on my Majacraft Little Gem 1.  I don’t ply too heavily with my Country Spinner 2 and still managed to give it some woolen characteristics instead of it being a straight worsted yarn.  The prep is worsted and supposedly short forward draw is a worsted spinning technique but my yarn always comes out semi woolen.  I have no idea how I do it but there you go.

The resulting yarn is very soft, squishy and a joy to touch.  I think that I will be weaving a scarf, hat and maybe shawl for myself out of these module yarns as I no longer have anything that is pure white.  Everything I made from white fiber in the past has sold in the shop.

Yvonne Roedema of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Yvonne Roedema of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Posted on by Melisa

I have been planning this blog posting now for ages but time, weather and other assorted things got the best of me.  I know that this is long time in coming, Yvonne knows that, you however did not know this so sit back and enjoy this treat.  I am very excited to share this artist and these two wonderful felted creations with you.

Dress 2 closeup

Yvonne bought some of my 15.5 micron Merino from the Alba Ranch Shop Online.  I include a hand written note on the receipt always and usually ask  they send photos of what they create as I just love to see.  Sadly most buyers do not send photos of their creations.  Yvonne did. and WOW were they great.  I asked her if I could write about her two creations and show photos and she said yes.  The photographs were taken by Ky Von Burg, Yvonne’s youngest son.

The second dress was made with the same materials as Dress 1 but she used a small amount of colored stretched merino to create the subtle color at the front.

 

Dress 2

 

Back of Dress 2

Yvonne’s process of how she creates is similar in what I have seen and read about wet felting.  She does one thing that I had not seen personally before which was using a template from a well fitting dress.  Duh that just makes wonderful sense.  How smart she is!

For both dresses she used a bubble wrap template which she loosely based on a well fitting dress and then enlarged by 50 percent. She laid the wool top on the template very thinly, in all directions with some overhanging on the outsides. She then wet the wool with soapy lukewarm water and then laid the silk fabric on. Because the fabric is larger then the template it folds and crunches. She then turned it over and did the same. She folded the overhanging bits over to create a whole.

Closeup Dress 1

She started felting by putting some netting over the top and rubbing both sides. When it starts to felt, she starts rolling it. When it shrinks, she takes the template out, roll it more and finish off with extra felting where she wants to shape it more.  She probably used between 150 and 200 grams of wool top for each dress.

I think it is amazing that she created these beautiful dresses using such a small amount of fiber.  I, for some reason, thought felting like this took so much more fiber.  That may explain why my first attempt at a scarf created something that I use for a table runner on my grand piano!

Dress 1

The first dress was made using paj silk and the 15.5 micron merino wool top she bought from us. The dress was then eco printed with eucalyptus leaves.

 

You can visit Yvonne’s shop online and see more of her wonderful creations.

 

Michigan Update

Posted on by Melisa

Update on our move to Michigan.  We have been overwhelmed with getting things done, unpacking, getting the property secure for the goats and llamas.  Several of our plans have changed such as our building project will have to be postponed until next year as that entire budget will now be shot on taking down trees.  We have numerous old poplar, white birch and scotch pine that are dying, dropping and falling and need to be cleared to ensure the safety of the buildings.

Gazebo

I had a tree fall on the lean to a few weeks ago.  Thankfully it did not crush the lean to as that is where the VW bus is housed and Charlie would have been crushed had his bus been crushed.

To date we have had about 30 trees taken down.  The house is secure for now and the trees that were tangled in our power lines are now down as well.  Since we won’t be doing our building projects until next year, we didn’t really have a location to unpack our last semi to.  We ended up buying a 53 ft long white semi trailer to park in the drive and unpack our things to.  Wow is that looking very redneck.  I did not want to do this and told Charlie is it only temporary as it is NOT staying and had an expiration date.  It was the most economical way to store the last load as the storage fees that we were paying would have been half the building fund for next year.  It is logical.  I know that.  I do NOT have to like it.

The trees around the semi that were dangerous are already down as well. More trees will be coming down in another month or so.

Raised bed with blueberries

Charlie has the front gates up and has started on the fencing.  He is starting on the hay barn tomorrow as we need a place for storing hay that is more than just 40 bales.

We have also done a fair amount of gardening and planted about 20 trees, 25+ bushes and various other loads of plants.  Our garden is coming along and we are slowly fixing many small things that need doing.

I have finally unpacked the fiber store mostly and am getting ready to so some spinning and some dyeing in the next week or so.  Stay tuned for photos of fiber fun.

Pretty Flowers

In the mean time, you can enjoy some of the photos that I took out in the garden and gazebo area today.  Isn’t it looking marvelous?