fiber prep (#2 of the series) draft

Previous post 

When I was given the lb of shetland fleece by +Petra Cosgrove-Tremblay, I researched how to wash it and posted about it here and there on livejournal.  ("there" has a link to flickr).

My preferred method of fleece washing features a sifting kitty litter pan, dawn dish soap, and the bathtub.  The 4 bags of sheepy stuff having been 4 days frozen, (I didn't have the soap yesterday).  While I was waiting for the fiber to "ripen" or finish killing any bugs, I read a bit on fleece washing.  Several sites recommended an initial soak in cold water with no soap of any kind to loosen the vegetable matter (both pre-and post sheep).

Sheepy stuff - washed and not washed

Soak the first, sheepy stuff and water

First I pulled the 4 gallon bags of fleece from the freezer and assembled everything at the side of the tub.  Cold water in the assembled kitty litter pan and I ran into my first snag, only 2 of the 4 bags fit into the pan.  I put two in the tray to soak and put two aside for the second washing.

My goodness the water came out dirty.  This is the first water, 3/4 of an hour to soak, then the wool (in the straining tray) was taken out and let trip dry.  Well, it got shaken too, I think I want a salad spinner for this step.   After this soaking the water was opaque and the wool is heavy.  Some people use their washing machine to spin the water out, but our washing machine is 2 floors away and I didn't have enough wool to justify using it.  I'm trying to do this by hand, time enough for automating/scaling up if I want to do this more..

Sheepy stuff in wash water the second
Still ooky

Wash water the first, post sheepy
ooky

So,

Next, water as hot as I can make it, a squirt (or ten) of dish soap, smoosh a bit (don't agitate the sheepy stuff, it'll felt), pull the sifting tray out, shake, decide the water is still too ooky to justify rinsing just yet, and besides, the soap is making a little crust of bubbles and suds on the top bit of the fleece,  I also spent some time picking twigs and straws and burrs out of the sheepy stuff.

Wash water the third, post sheepy
it doesn'l look less ooky, but it is

Three times loading the tray with hot water and soap, dousing the fleece, shaking it free of the worst of the soap and water, and pouring the water off.  the difference doesn't appear apparent, but the water did get less laden with ook as the washes happened.  After the third washing, (I also turned the sheepy stuff over in the tray, so that different bits would be on the bottom), I decided the soap and hot water had done as much as it could, and I started working on getting the soap out with just hot water.

That took 4 pans full, more picking out vegetable matter, more swooshing of sheepy stuff and finally pulling it out, rolling it into a towel to start drying.

To be bought yet, a package of cheese cloth.  Someone described building a "cheesecloth hammock" for fiber drying.   I have an attic that's relatively climate controlled, I can build one up there, and toss the damp fiber in to dry in a more climate controlled environment.

Future washes (the 2nd pair of bags is up doing its cold soak as I type), may need to use smaller batches of fiber.  The litter pan has almost 1.4 lbs of pre-washed sheepy stuff when I put both bags in, and the sifting tray is almost packed full of fleece, and it may not have enough water flowing through to let enough dirt get loose.

fiber prep (#1 of the series) draft

This will be edited and have pictures eventually, but I didn't think to take any while I was doing it.

I took the partial bag and dumped it out last Sunday, gallon ziplock bags at the ready, and stuffed the bags full.  The partial bag was one fleece by itself, leaving me hopes that the full bag is 2 fleeces.  It took 12 bag to empty out the bag, though I confess I tossed a bit of "post sheep vegetable matter and some fleecy bits.

4 bags went into the freezer Sunday evening, 8 stayed in the garage.  72 hours of freezing to make sure that anything that's living in it doesn't get lively,

I bought another box of gallon ziplock bags, hopefully 24 or 25 of them will hold the other bag of fleece/fleeces.

next post

I was recently offered a free Dorset fleece from a woman who saw me carding some shetland wool (good timing, I'd almost run out of fleece). She owns some sheep of that breed, and the alternative to giving the fleece away is throwing it out, or giving it to someone to use for insulation. She'd like to think it's being used productively, I think. Naturally, I accept.

All that is left of the Shetland

I have enjoyed taking the Shetland from a bag full of “stuff off the sheep, complete with pre- and post-sheep vegetable matter” to “so much fluffy stuff!!!” It has gone up in volume, but I have enjoyed every bit, since it came home from Rhinebeck.

Having agreed and given her my email address, I returned to playing with cards, shetland, and talking with the public about how much effort went into making the clothes on their back (cue the 1:10 ratio lecture going from the cloth to the sheep) in the pre-Industrial Age, and how an important portion of yearly wages could be the clothes on your back.

Here begins a month long story that went eventually to low farce. It took her a couple of weeks to locate the fleece. Then she had to put them in her truck. The email address I'd given her is not one I check as often as I should. We exchanged phone numbers, but I didn't notice when she called. Thank heavens for voicemail.

Thursday I actually left work on time, but she had headed home early because of bad weather. We talked, and I gave her my address with the assurance that if the weather was good, she could leave the fleece on the porch, and my husband could bring in. I went to work as normal, got out at “normal for me” getting home to no fleece on the porch, and none in the house (other than what is already there). It looked like she hadn't dropped it off on her way to South Jersey as I had thought she would, based on the phone call. Another missed connection, and I chalked it up to such, checking email for a chunk of the evening.

Then the phone rang. I looked down, recognized the number and tried to pick up before it went to voicemail. I didn't, but went down to turn on the outside light and stick my head out. A strange truck was outside. It turns out she had found the road, but the house numbers weren't visible. It turns out she's a biologist, which at least explains why her workday was cut short by bad weather.

full bag in back

She explained that the fleece was in the garbage bags in the back of her truck and went to get them.

She wasn't kidding about the garbage bags. One, full to almost to overflowing, the second half full. I thanked her profusely, and she headed for home after getting directions back to the main highway. I took my loot and put it away.

It's currently on the enclosed porch, subject to being stored in the garage to freeze any kind of critters that might have hitched a ride

This morning I started researching Dorset sheep and came to the following conclusions:

1. Dorset sheep produce about 5-7 lbs of wool a year. This has got to be the wool off of more than one sheep. I think this has got to be at least the product of at least 5-10 sheep. It's a very light gray/just off white color, but that might be because it hasn't been washed yet.  Full bag seems to have 15-20 lbs, not full bag seems to have about 10 lbs in it
2. I should wash “the stuff off the sheep” in 1-2 lb lots. In a sifting kitty litter pan. This is more than one lot of sheep stuff, and I have to scrub down the pan before I use it. A lot.   Either that, or I need to go looking for a local wool processing mill.  (Done.  I cannot afford that, even if I drive the stuff to the mill myself.)
3. It feels very nice, and smells like sheep. I'm looking forward to processing it.

4. 

   The fluffy mass of Shetland

   I need to check what I did and what I used when I washed the Shetland fleece.  (Done, it's over on Livejournal, here and there.  There are also pictures.)
5. I need to spread out the Shetland and take pictures of it. The last time I tied, the battery on the phone was almost dead.  (Accomplished, see right)
6. I need to buy more shampoo/ivory soap/dawn dish soap. I'm sure I don't have enough.
7. I'm not jealous of anyone who got to go or plans to go to Rhinebeck.  I have enough fiber to keep me busy for the next couple of years.

Anyone want some smelly sheep stuff?

A Project Holder (part 1 through 4)

follow up to this posting with pictures of the process this time, and a prototype.

The first attempt,  I think I got ... 4 rows done

I have gotten tired of losing the needles out of a particular sock project (JM Jones socks ... I am fighting cast on #4 until I have gotten something to hold it all together.  I keep grabbing one needle to pull it out of the bag, and it's always a "live needle".

With fine wool and really small needles, pulling the needle out means "rip it out and start again you idiot."  After the last time, (in July/August) I put it aside until I had something to protect it.  I didn't need the frustration.

I knew what I wanted, something like what a friend had to hold double pointed knitting needles.  She used cigar tubes, but when a camp-mate got me one, it was about ... 4" too short to hold the needles.  I did try cutting the slot, but the plastic was too flimsy and the tube, meant to hold a cigarillo, was laughably too small to hold even the size 1 needles I was using.

Cue a run to Home Depot, and the purchase of a 2' length of 3/4" PVC pipe.  It might not be the most graceful of material, but I knew it would be sturdy enough.

I cut it to 8" lengths, after checking that it would be longer than the needles I have, and so I'd have 3 chances to get it right.  I couldn't get much longer than that, as my saw/miter setup won't cut anything much wider than that.  If I need to make anything 12" long, I'm horked, or need to figure out something else.

Making the first cut

Next up, 2 cuts down the length of the pipe (this was the reason for the 8" length.  After thinking about it for a while, I came up with some bracing to hold the pipe for the first cut.  It is sturdy pipe, which n this instance meant for a long time cutting.  It also meant for some careful cutting as I reached the end of the cut, I didn't want to cut the pipe entirely in half, I wanted a slot.

Making the second cut.

Once the first cut was made, I re-jiggered the bracing and put a spare saw blade into the cut, so I could hold it steady while I made the second cut.  This was also a lengthy cut, made longer by the need to not have the cuts turn into spirals, or to jump all over the pipe.

I did get the pipe cut, and went in search at the local hardware store for something like caps to hold the ends in, and some kind of slider so that the project won't fall out once I've got it in.

Testing the concept

a finer project is also held securely

A 3/4" gasket served the second purpose, but I couldn't find caps that fit on the outside of the pipe, only inside.  I only bought one gasket, so I made use of a hair tie for the second, and tested the concept that the gasket or some kind of rubber band could hold a project in place.  The first  test was with a very sturdy project (my third attempt at colorwork, a pair of socks for a co-worker's 9 year old daughter.)  I want to look into using some kind of slide along the length of the holder, but I was still at the "proof of concept" stage.

Tips are still vulnerable.  Need caps

I don't need the holder for this type of project so much.  When a needle comes out of this, the stitches are sturdy enough to pick back up with the needle.  I'm sorry to say that I've had to test that far too often.

It also held a finer project, but I still needed to get caps to hold the non-working needle in.  Although the craft stores would be happy to sell me as many sets of needles as I could afford, I'd rather not have to buy them.  I did find caps that would fit inside the pipe.

I finished the other two sections of pipe, and this time went to Home Depot, which did have pvc caps to fit over the outside of the ends of the pipe, although they don't stay on.  Either need to use tape to increase the size of the pipe just a little, or pvc glue/cement to hold it on.  Will try the tape first.