Fiber Monday - Like a hole in the head

That would be exactly how much I needed the things I'm about to show you.

First would be this spinning wheel I found for sale in the area. I got a very good deal on it. 


This is a like new Country Craftsman spinning wheel. They were hand made up until the mid-90's, though I don't know when this one was made. It is a double drive which is one type of way the wheel turns the bobbin and flyer. (If you want more explanation let me know. It's about at this point I can see my audience's eyes glaze over, so I tend to stick to generalities.) What it means is that it can be a very fast wheel. This style is as also know as a flax wheel because it can be used to spin flax into linen, which explains...


the distaff. (Which is the part which holds the fiber supply.) Because this wheel was for show where it lived before, it came with a loaded distaff. It's the cone part you see and that is flax. (Another large amount of flax also came with it.)


In addition, there was a matching spinning stool which is also signed by the wheel maker. I wasn't do sure it would be comfortable, but it actually is. This also means that my chair can now permanently live in the sewing alcove and I don't have to keep moving it around. 


In addition to all of that there is also a matching lazy Kate for holding bobbins to ply from. 


But wait, that's not all. There was also over a pound of fiber, including this amazing merino blend. Right now I'm just getting to know it by spinning the other fiber that came with it. (It's in the basket next to the stool up above.) I'm not worrying about consistency, but just spinning to get used to the wheel. It is a very easy wheel to spin on. 

Now I can have two different projects going at once. Because I go by what I feel like working on at a particular moment, I like having lots of options.

The other thing I got but didn't need was another raw fleece. The Cotswold sheep at the living history farm had these amazing long fleeces. Then I learned the visitor center had one fleece left and it was a crazy low price. So...


Do you see the sheen on it? That luster will stay there even after washing it. It's a longer wool, so good for outerwear. One of the things I read called it one of the most amazing breeds for spinning that is rarely worked with. Evidently washing it can be... challenging. I figure it can't be worse than the CVM fleece I've had to wash multiple times. 

I was going to skirt it today. (That would be taking off the particularly nasty nuts or the short cuts from the fleece before washing.) But instead I spent a couple of hours hunting and gathering a prescription for H. that involved too many phone calls and too much driving all because both the pharmacy and the doctor's office dropped the ball, but in different ways. It was frustrating. (This happens to be a bit of an understatement.)

Let's go back to looking at the pretty fleece, shall we?


There, that's better.

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