It is colder than usual this year, not as cold as some places I know, but colder for a longer stretch of days than we are used to here in East TN. That means that I have been able to have the wood stove going full tilt 24/7! The way my house is put together, the high for the day needs to be really low to use the wood stove. It can't get above 40 degrees outside or the stove blasts us out of the house.
Burning the wood stove warms you several times, when you chop the wood, when you carry and stack the wood, when you bring the wood into the house and finally when you burn it in the wood stove. I love the look and feel of the fire in the wood stove, but it does dry the air out something fierce. (fly aways and static shocks abound) It helps to moisten the air if have a kettle on the wood stove, but I am always afraid that I will forget to keep it full of water, so I don't have a kettle on mine. I am convinced that the safest most effective way to humidify the air is to wash some fleece and have it drying in the same room as the stove.
I have many fleeces that I have on hand that need washing, so I see it as killing 2 birds with one stone. First up, this week, is the Cormo X fleece that I picked up at SAFF last year. This was a beautiful fleece in the bag, but when I poured it out of the bag I found that this fleece had very, very muddy tips. I took special precautions, and I think I managed to get most of the tips clean without felting the fleece.
This fleece is incredibly fine and it will spin up to be a very springy lace weight yarn that I will weave on the floor loom. It is the palest of grey with stained tips that will probably blend right in as I comb the fleece.
I have a tub half full of locks that have already been washed over the last week and are now dry. I don't know when I will comb and spin this fleece but it is not going to be right away.
The Jacobs fleeces are my real focus for the next coming months, I intend to get all the fleeces washed and several spun into yarn to use on blankets before sheep shearing begins all over again this spring.
Speaking of Jacobs fleeces, this is Jacobs fleece #15, it is what is called a lilac fleece, grey from light to black. The tips are brown, but many times that disappears while I comb or card the fleece.
I have the fleece separated into 6 portions and the first batch is soaking now in it's first wash. In fact, the timer just went off, time to spin the first wash water out and fill the washer for the second wash.
Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina
Burning the wood stove warms you several times, when you chop the wood, when you carry and stack the wood, when you bring the wood into the house and finally when you burn it in the wood stove. I love the look and feel of the fire in the wood stove, but it does dry the air out something fierce. (fly aways and static shocks abound) It helps to moisten the air if have a kettle on the wood stove, but I am always afraid that I will forget to keep it full of water, so I don't have a kettle on mine. I am convinced that the safest most effective way to humidify the air is to wash some fleece and have it drying in the same room as the stove.
I have many fleeces that I have on hand that need washing, so I see it as killing 2 birds with one stone. First up, this week, is the Cormo X fleece that I picked up at SAFF last year. This was a beautiful fleece in the bag, but when I poured it out of the bag I found that this fleece had very, very muddy tips. I took special precautions, and I think I managed to get most of the tips clean without felting the fleece.
This fleece is incredibly fine and it will spin up to be a very springy lace weight yarn that I will weave on the floor loom. It is the palest of grey with stained tips that will probably blend right in as I comb the fleece.
I have a tub half full of locks that have already been washed over the last week and are now dry. I don't know when I will comb and spin this fleece but it is not going to be right away.
The Jacobs fleeces are my real focus for the next coming months, I intend to get all the fleeces washed and several spun into yarn to use on blankets before sheep shearing begins all over again this spring.
Speaking of Jacobs fleeces, this is Jacobs fleece #15, it is what is called a lilac fleece, grey from light to black. The tips are brown, but many times that disappears while I comb or card the fleece.
I have the fleece separated into 6 portions and the first batch is soaking now in it's first wash. In fact, the timer just went off, time to spin the first wash water out and fill the washer for the second wash.
Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina
1 comment:
I had to take a closer look at the lilac fleece....what a beauty! That could be some lovely stripes in a wool blanket!
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