Promised Photos

I was finally able to get back upstairs and work on sorting out the studio this week.  I combined sorting with wool prep, so it may have taken a bit more time to do both of them, but I enjoyed the process a lot more while I was doing it.
What you can see in the picture to the right are the last 2 fleeces that need to be washed.  The Corriedale in the blue bag really just needs one more wash but the fleece in the box hasn't been touched yet.

 Moving clockwise around the room I have 2 shelving units that hold all the spinning and knitting books, plus the prepped spinning fiber.  Then on the far wall there are the boxes of clean fiber that I am in the process of combing or carding.  You may be able to see the wooden ironing board I am using as a carding station, with the drum carder and hand cards on top.  I saw that tip on Ravelry!







The contents of each tub is marked on the outside, I can generally get a full fleece in 1 tub once it is prepped.  One of the few things I indulge in is commercially dyed and prepped fiber.  Especially if it is a breed of sheep I haven't tried yet.  I have some BFL, Finn sheep, Polwarth and even some silk in there. Since I normally work with natural colored fibers, the occasional snap of color is very welcome.

 Again, going clockwise around the room, I have the Leclerc rigid heddle on a folding table ready to go, and another shelving unit with some of my fabric stash.

 Going around the next corner I have several tubs stacked with knitting and weaving yarns and behind the wheels you can get an idea of a developing sewing corner.

This is going to be the next pile of stuff I go thru.  It was everything that I took out of the 2 dressers that were taken from this room.  There are also a few things on the rolling cart that need sorting, but I feel like I have finally gotten to a place where I can breath again.

Saturday, while I was working on organizing all this fiber, I decided to make a list of all the different batches of fiber that still needed to be prepped.


I was shocked to find that I had 13 different batches of fiber that need me to do something to make them spinnable!  13!!!  True some of them are small batches of 4 to 8oz, but the majority (6!) are full fleeces!
I had previously started carding several fleeces that I had already in progress, but left undone for whatever reason.  Once I had finished those 2 or 3, I began working with the smaller projects, so that I could see progress more quickly.  (I am now down to 10!)


 On the roster for today was 8oz of white Cormo that I had purchased sometime last year.  It is full of vegetable matter, and a little sticky to boot.
Cormo is a very delicate wool and must be handled with care or you will get little snarls all through it.  That is something I do not want! ( My drum carder would not be a good option here, so my extra fine Valkyrie combs will do the trick.)
Since this fleece is fine and sticky too, I misted the  wool with water that has just a touch of hair conditioner in it.  This will help control static cling and make it easier to comb as well.



Once the spray had been absorbed, (sort thru stuff in the room while waiting) I pulled the tip of each lock thru the hand carders before I loaded it onto the comb, to open the dirty tips and remove the worst of the vm.

I did 2 complete passes with the combs, and this batch is ready to pull off  with a diz.  It is hard to believe that the nest you see below is the same fiber that is in that hot mess of fleece above and to the left here!  It takes time and patience, like all good things, don't you think?

Now that the studios are in better shape, maybe next week I will get some weaving done!  (There is that placemat challenge!)

Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting and Weaving, Tina