I’m insane

But we all knew that.

I’ve been bitten hard by the spinning bug. I wonder if there’s a technical term for it. Spindlitis? Who knows. I guess it’s like being bitten by a vampyre or werewolf. There’s no going back.

I purchased a fine wool fleece (a fine wool is defined as a wool which has more than, say, 10 crimps or waves per inch) at Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival last month. While I probably “got what I paid for”, I’m rather disappointed about how much waste the fleece is producing. A lot of it is damaged, and not worth spinning. I’m about half way (I hope) through processing it. I need to spread the remaining portion out and pick through it well to chuck the stuff I don’t want to bother washing up.

I’ve also been dyeing. So far, I’ve used my full arsenal of Kool Aid, Wilton’s Icing Dye, and Jacquard Acid Dye. The Jacquard is definitely not food safe, so until I acquire and designate enough equipment for doing that, I’ll stick to the food safe dyes. They work pretty darned well. I just finished carding an ounce or two of Emily’s fleece (a silver & black Cotswold ewe lamb) that I dyed into a beautiful assortment of plum and wine colors (all in one dyebath, too).

I’m trying out as many fibers that I can afford to. So far, I have “that fleece from OFFF”, Cotswold (sheep), Icelandic (sheep), Blue Faced Leicester, (sheep), Gotland (sheep) Mohair (goat), Silk (worm spit), Llama (camelid), and some other unknowns from factory seconds which are fine wools. I have some alpaca, shetland (sheep), Wensleydale (sheep) rovings due soon, so I’ll get to play with them, too.

If my friends and family aren’t sick of hearing about my yearnings for a spinning wheel, they will be soon. Consider this a public, official HINT for a birthday gift. Hehe.

There are quite a few spinning wheel manufacturers out there, ranging from PVC tube construction to hand-turned hardwoods. What I need/want is about in the middle of that. The wheel I’ve been looking at is the folding double-treadle Lendrum. They are very popular amongst the spinning world, especially amongst the younger set. The “complete” package comes with the extras needed to expand with the spinner’s skills. The Ashford Joy is also popular, but is not as flexible as the Lendrum and is more expensive. Oh, and it’s all in the “upright” style these days. Apartment living pretty much demands a compact wheel. I’ve also considered a Kromski Minstrel. It’s much prettier than the Lendrum, but it’s not as versitile (on outward specs), so it’s pretty much a toss up. The trick is finding the right package deal, as quite a few vendors, especially on eBay have extra goodies thrown in (like niddy noddies, fiber, etc.)

Then again, I wouldn’t mind a Golding Drop Spindle. Those are amazing – and I’m drawn to the simple solid wood ones, not the fussy cut outs or painted numbers either. Hehe.

Papa has been helping me work on a pair of wool combs, as purchasing a commercially made set is a very expensive proposition. They run between $75 and $400, depending on the degree of craftsmanship and style. I enjoy doing small woodworking projects, and with his help, I think I can have some pretty nice fiber tools. Those wool combs are needed for long wool and double coated fleeces, as well as the llama blankets I have. Just no better way to get all the fiber in order. Our medieval ancestors had amazing ingenuity when it came to basic tools.

I made a yarn swift over the last two days, but due to lack of experience in woodworking (chosing the right hardwood and tools, etc), it’s a bit rough around the edges. However, it does function as needed, and I was able to wind up two skeins of Cascade 220 in about half the time it takes to wind one skein with out a swift. I’ll be remaking it with better wood and better tools soon (it’s a pretty quick project), so I won’t be embarrassed to share pictures. I’ll also probably not use the metal bolt and go “all wood” for a nicer finished look.

I picked up the knitting needles last weekend, and I’m half way through a Feather & Fan lace scarf out of KP’s Andean Treasure. Sure is soft stuff, but all the guard hair is a bit of a turn off. It will take some time to pick all of that out.

Speaking of Knit Picks, that site is dangerous! New yarns, very affordable prices, awesome colors. *whines* Oh, and they have a line of dye-it-yourself yarns which are so tempting. I want to get some of the wool/viscose blend for a simple tank top, and some of their new needles (again, high quality and affordable – two things rarely found together, it seems).