You might wonder what happens to the yarn that spin while I am demonstrating the art at the "Museum of Appalachia", everybody that comes to see me does, they always ask "what is it going to be?" The answer for the last couple of years has been that it is going to be a blanket for the shepherd.
The shepherd gives me the fleeces on "Sheep Shearing Day" and I usually make something out of them to give back to him. One year it was a vest, another year it was a hat, this year I made him a rug out of a couple of the fleeces. All the while though, I have been spinning and spinning, sometimes a little, like when the schools come thru and we are only there for an hour or two. Sometimes a lot, like during the larger celebrations like "Pioneer Days" or the "Homecoming". It was during Pioneer days that I bought my Wee Great Wheel and began to spin with a lot more audience participation. Over that 2 day event and the 3 day event that is the Homecoming, I had spun enough yarn to make another good sized skein.
Here are a few of the "cops" that I removed from the wheel, I was already almost finished plying the skein when I thought to take a picture. I plied straight from these cops, and it was not as easy as I would like, the strands tend to get tangled and it can be slow going.
When I am at home I use my clock reel to reel the singles yarn off of the spindle, into a singles skein. I would have made a couple of skeins on the clock reel adding to the skeins when the spindle got full, and then I would transfer those skeins to the squirrel cage distaff to ply, but I have not been in the habit of taking the reel with me to the museum. It sure makes plying the yarn easier, and it is definitely what would have been done in the old days, so I may have to consider it.
Since I had a lot of help from the public spinning this yarn this time around, it is not nearly as even as if I had done it on my own, but I believe that I will have to make that a design element, since I am determined to use it in the blanket.
This skein is as soft and springy as can be and I am mighty pleased with it.
Once it is dry it will join the other skeins earmarked for this blanket project.
The darker skein that you see at the top of this picture is one that I have been holding on to for a long time. I have been hoping that another fleece like it would come to Sheep Shearing day, but I think that after so long it may not happen after all, and so I will add this skein to the project as well.
I have some darker brown Museum fleeces that I may spin at home to add interest and speed this project along. I hope to have enough by January to get it on the loom and off of the loom before winter is over and another sheep shearing day rolls around.
I will be sure to post about it.
Until next time, Happy Spinning, Tina
The shepherd gives me the fleeces on "Sheep Shearing Day" and I usually make something out of them to give back to him. One year it was a vest, another year it was a hat, this year I made him a rug out of a couple of the fleeces. All the while though, I have been spinning and spinning, sometimes a little, like when the schools come thru and we are only there for an hour or two. Sometimes a lot, like during the larger celebrations like "Pioneer Days" or the "Homecoming". It was during Pioneer days that I bought my Wee Great Wheel and began to spin with a lot more audience participation. Over that 2 day event and the 3 day event that is the Homecoming, I had spun enough yarn to make another good sized skein.
Here are a few of the "cops" that I removed from the wheel, I was already almost finished plying the skein when I thought to take a picture. I plied straight from these cops, and it was not as easy as I would like, the strands tend to get tangled and it can be slow going.
When I am at home I use my clock reel to reel the singles yarn off of the spindle, into a singles skein. I would have made a couple of skeins on the clock reel adding to the skeins when the spindle got full, and then I would transfer those skeins to the squirrel cage distaff to ply, but I have not been in the habit of taking the reel with me to the museum. It sure makes plying the yarn easier, and it is definitely what would have been done in the old days, so I may have to consider it.
Since I had a lot of help from the public spinning this yarn this time around, it is not nearly as even as if I had done it on my own, but I believe that I will have to make that a design element, since I am determined to use it in the blanket.
This skein is as soft and springy as can be and I am mighty pleased with it.
Once it is dry it will join the other skeins earmarked for this blanket project.
The darker skein that you see at the top of this picture is one that I have been holding on to for a long time. I have been hoping that another fleece like it would come to Sheep Shearing day, but I think that after so long it may not happen after all, and so I will add this skein to the project as well.
I have some darker brown Museum fleeces that I may spin at home to add interest and speed this project along. I hope to have enough by January to get it on the loom and off of the loom before winter is over and another sheep shearing day rolls around.
I will be sure to post about it.
Until next time, Happy Spinning, Tina
