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Monday, 21 January 2013

Sex, fleece & rock n roll!

Allie - It's soooo hot!
The matings and spit-offs continue in earnest...poor Eclipse is stuffed!  The other girls were sheared on the weekend and good timing, as the weather has heated up again, everything is looking very dry!  I will post the before/after photos of the girls (like a weight-loss advertisement...look I lost 2 kilos in one day!!). 


Having read so many blogs, sites and watched lots of you-tube's...I really wanted to try my drop-spindle that husband gave me for Xmas.

Now...I need help!!  I have no experience, and no-one to show me...so please help me if you can...

I washed Hamish' fleece on the flyscreens as directed...Then I hand-carded it...


The I read the drop-spindle instructions (and then got daughter to read it too), and then I gave it a go with the black Alpaca fleece that the spindle came with...


Hmmm... the 'yarn' is twisted, but when I let go it twists further into a twist and is very hard to straighten, is that right? The yarn is also very hard, not soft at all!

If I can get this right, I can get a spinning wheel LOL!

Daughter and I have washed some of Sherman's fleece and then felted it with a needle (for AGES) to make a little felted alpaca (sorry no photo, Daughter gave it away!!!!).

These experiments take place in a very stringent time-frame...I get one and a half hours whilst 2y.o has a nap! Meanwhile 15y.o is practicing on his electric organ, wearing his Bob Marley beanie, and every now and again the jack for his headphones becomes loose and I get a blast of 'rock n roll' JOY!!

Anyway...questions I need answered...am I using too much fleece? Should I aim for thinner 'yarn'?  I have just started spinning Hamish's fleece and that is going much better (I think it is better as it his first shear and his fleece is very soft), but how do I stop the yarn from unwinding when I am finished?

Oh, joining the fleece bits together from my 'cloud' of Hamish, is like on the movie Avatar when the characters join their hair to the horse LOL.
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4 comments:

  1. Rosemary22 January 2013 at 06:32

    Wish I could help - but sorry, I can't! I am still trying to get to grips with my spinning wheel and also have a problem with that getting into a hard twisted lump!
    The fleece looks a gorgeous colour!

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    1. A Country Chicken22 January 2013 at 11:56

      Thanks Rosemary :) LOL, at least I'm not the only one with twisted lumps!!

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  2. Shirley23 January 2013 at 12:25

    Might be overspun Lisa - is the spindle going too fast? Lots of UK spinners use Australian spinning wheels - Ashfords. Usually very good 2nd hand ones around (from frustrated would be spinners probably) and not too expensive. Also - have you tried the internet - you might find a demo film or advice on drop spinning somewhere there. Good luck. Shirley & Robbie

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    Replies
    1. A Country Chicken23 January 2013 at 23:17

      Thanks for your advice Shirley - much appreciated! I will start looking into the Ashfords, and yes, I think I am over-spinning. I am going to try hand twisting it on the spindle, until I can get the right 'twist'. In the meantime I have been busy felting (much more success in this area!).

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