"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Baa Baa Pink Sheep, with Spots !

~Time for another spot on wool...you know, the stuff that my spotted sheep produce . Well, to get the wool to make all the woolly stuff , like yarn, felt, rugs.....well, I start with these. (below) My spotted, Jacob sheep. They're kind of cute aren't they ?~I am going to show you how I combine fibers to make batts of wool for spinning into yarn or felting. I start with the gray wool, shown below. The gray wool is the black and white wool of my sheep, combined . You know, black and white mixed make...gray ! I dyed some of my gray wool pink. I will be carding ( combing or brushing ) the dyed pink wool with some Angora fiber. The Angora is from a goat, a very pretty, long haired goat. Here you can see the original gray fleece, next to some of the pink fleece and some white Angora. ~Here are batts of dyed pink wool,(the pink rolls of fiber that look like cotton candy) sitting next to my little drum carder. The carder will comb or brush together the Angora and the pink wool. ~Close up of the wool being rolled through the carder. I laid strands of the Angora on top of the pink wool and rolled them together through my drum carder. It is fun. I still think it is like magic to take the wool from my spotted sheep and turn it into amazing batts , just waiting for me to create yarns and rugs and woven fabrics.
~See the flat batt of wool I have loosened from the back of the carder ?~
~I roll the batts of wool off at the back. Look at the batts of wool piled up beside the drum carder. The possibilities are as limited as my imagination...and that is not too limited. I have ideas and plans for this pink wool. ~Pink and lustrous and just waiting for me. This wool calls me from afar. The Angora adds the luster that the Jacob alone does not have. ~I felted a bit of this wool tonight. This is my first time felting and I will write more about that process at a later date. Then, I began to spin my pink wool.....I think after I spin up a bit of it I will weave it into a funky, pretty fabric that I have planned to make into..... ~.....more little purses! Won't they be nice ? I already have some Chinese fabric for lining, and beads and buttons to decorate the purses. ~ I am so happy and blessed to have the opportunity to create things using the wool of my sheep. Do you have outlets for your creativity ? Does your heart sing when you are happily busy expressing yourself in some special way unique to you ? Cooking, sewing, knitting, writing, gardening, painting, photography ? "Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of one's chosen form." Stephen Nachmanovitch

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

The sheep are very cute indeed! What wonderful ideas you have for the pretty pink fleece. It must be so fulfilling to create art from the fleece of your lovely sheep. When I was younger, I enjoyed counted cross-stitch and it was rewarding to see the design come to life on blank fabric. Please share photos of your finished projects.

Paula said...

Oh Kathy, I love it when you post about your beautiful sheep, but this post was just too much!!! *gush*
You actually showed us what you do with all that gorgeous fleece... I'm in Heaven!
I want a drum carder now, and a spinning wheel, and....
Do you think Santa is listening? LOL

shadow mountain jacobs farm said...

Kathy, beautuful yarn indeed. It looks so yummy. You are very talented and it's wonderful to see your creations. I have a carder but no spinning wheel yet.

Santa, if you bring farm chick paula one can you bring me one too?
PLEASE

LindaSue said...

Kathy - I admire your artisanship and craft skills - I have none but can totally appreciate yours! The pink is definitely fabulous - and dear Santa - for those women who would use spinning wheels and drum carders - please let them be thrilled for Christmas. For me - losing 15 pounds would be just fantastic - Thank you, signed - the chubby one who barely sews buttons on!

Lanny said...

When you are ready to card a very different color, say white or yellow, how do you get all the little bits of pink out of that incredibly prickly carding cloth on the drums?

Rick, Eric's dad, was out for gathering last night and was admiring Steph's spinning wheel, it is living here while she gets her boys a little farther from insatiable curiosity, he commented that he wanted to build one. He is a master craftsman with wood. I told him he should check out your wheels too. But mostly I told him that we, Rebecca, Steph, Bet and I need a lovely community carder!

Connie said...

Very much like magic, I agree! That was very interesting, Kathy. I always seem to learn something from your blog. :D

Anonymous said...

I had no idea this is how it was done, I thought there were pink sheep! Ha! What an informative post!

Patchworkfibers said...

Thanks for the post. I really enjoy seeing posts on how people are preparing their fiber!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Lovely dye job on beautiful fleece; you're doing very nice work and I'm curious to see what you'll make. Or is it for sale?
sigh.
It's SO hard for me to make and then sell "whatever"...I just want to use it myself!
Thanks for visiting Thistle Cove Farm; please come back when you've got a moment or two.
God's blessings on you, yours and the work of your hands and heart.
Sandra @ Thistle Cove Farm
appalmtngal at gmail dot com
thistlecovefarm.blogspot.com

A. Joy said...

Love the pink color! Might need to borrow some for halloween next year ... KN wants to be cotton candy.
Still ... nothing beats a Suffolk!

KathyB. said...

Thank-you Mildred. Do you still do needlework ?

Farm Chick Paula,I hope Santa is listening. Although I worked hard for the money for the drum carder...I raised and sold a litter of AKC Labs a few years ago. I know puppies are fun, but a large litter is a lot of work. After I paid all puppy raising expenses and a few bills, Hubby and I decided I could get a drum carder. Those little things are spendy !But well worth it!

Shadow Mountain Jacobs...come to spinning in Eatonville Monday Night ! Alice has a lot of used and affordable new wheels for sale...plus, we could visit !Just google Reflection Farm in Eatonville, or e-mail me !

Linda Sue, thank-you ! I am not a 'pink person', but once in awhile the clouds of pink wool are so , so....well, "yummy "is the word that always comes to me when I see lots of pink !You only have 15 pounds to lose...awww, that's just more to love, right ?I bet by the time you're done installing your tub and decorating for the holidays you'll have dropped some weight. That's a lot of work.

Lanny, I use a cat grooming brush and brush the wool backwards and peel it off. The carder comes with a tool that looks like an ice pick to poke down and lift up the fleece from under the little carding bristles. Oh yes, have Rick build a BIG carder !

Thank-you Daisy, I will eat my cake tomorrow....via your Dancing With Daisy Blog award !

Thank-you Noble Pig and Linda B. I like working with my wool, a lot.

Thank-you Sandra for visiting. Thistle Cove Farm is one of my favorite places to visit....I first visited a year or more ago and yours was probably the first blog I ever saw, but still did not understand about blogging. Just loved your site ! I will visit again. And , the fleece will be spun up and some felted for projects to be sold and given as gifts...

A.Joy,your youngest daughter already plopped it on her head, then Poppa's head....she thinks it looks funny and teased us about it !

Anonymous said...

That was really neat to see the wool on the sheep and follow it through the process. I would love to have a carder because it looks like so much fun!

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