really old style living?

mardatha

The farmer at the back of me is a grumpy old sod, I wouldn't ask him the time of day. But yes, I do know of some people who know some people etc and I might "make enquiries". And yes, I know how to dye.
Some of this is because I like O/S stuff, some of it is to have skills & knowledge that is becoming lost, but some of it is to keep me from getting bored. I never go out ever- apart from the bank & the shop.
My colours are black, purple and forest green . Lovely .!

Gigervamp

ginnyknit wrote: »

Im trying not to be true to type - if you saw how many balls of black wool I have but I do accept that every one isnt a goth like me and wears other colours :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I'm a goth, but I wear other colours! Mind you, if you saw me, you wouldn't think I was goth unless I was dressed up to go clubbing, which is very rarely these days. I tend to live in jeans and t-shirts now, much more practical when living in the sticks.

I might actually be going clubbing this weekend. :j It's industrial night at Inquo and I fancy having a bit of a dance.
Better see what clothes still fit!

Broomstick

Mardatha,

Projects for you while you wait for your group in August and have found that you can't actually catch the pink sheep... (Apologies about the length of this post but M sounds as if she needs to be kept busy:rotfl:)

Collect wool from the fences and hedges - should be heaps around - but bear in mind that wool differs depending on where on the sheep's body it's come from. Wool on the sheep's- back can often be quite coarse so don't expect to end up with a pair of comfy woolly mittens at the end of it (hair shirt maybe!). The first clippings of a sheep make the softest stuff - bit like baby hair - and some sheep's wool is really good for carpets because it is so hard wearing but would be horrible to wear next to the skin.

You need to wash the wool at some stage. If you want you can spin raw fleece which is full of lanolin (unless it's on the bits of the sheep that get the full force of the weather eg the back and then it tends to be a bit drier). Spinning raw fleece leaves your hands feeling lovely but it also means that you are handling all the other muck in the fleece. I prefer to spin the clean stuff, or more recently, have just bought ready washed and carded tops which is the easy way of doing it. If you buy a whole raw fleece you will need to sort it according to the quality of wool and you will probably discard quite a lot (add it to the compost heap). It's years since I've tackled a whole fleece and it's a pretty mucky job!

If you wash the wool before spinning, as I would, use mild detergent or soap in warm water and - absolutely essential - do it very gently. Otherwise you will end up making felt which is a whole other story. I know very little about feltmaking (there's lots of help on the internet though) but with the quantities of wool you will be collecting and the fact that you know how to dye wool, felting might be a really sensible option. You could make little purses and other smaller things like that, dyed with whatever free-stuff you could find and fastened with wooden buttons made by you... freebie designer Christmas prezzies from the hedgerows? Another way to make felt is to knit up a garment/object bigger than you want it and to stick the finished thing in a hot wash in the machine and stretch it back to (shrunken) shape when it's done. I made a pair of slippers last year like this and it worked really well.

The length of fibres of the wool also determine the type and style of thread you can make - you won't have much choice with stuff pulled out the hedgerows, but, in order to spin whatever you find, you will have to straighten the fibres by carding them. Dried teasles would be OS in the extreme, but unfortunately people who have tried using them say they are impossible, but an old comb should do the trick. Just comb the hairs bit by bit and get them as straight as you can. (If you spin raw fleece directly from a whole one you can get away without carding just by pulling out one lock of fleece (staple) at a time and spinning that since it will be fairly untangled in that condition.

You can make a drop spindle from a stick with a notch or hook at one end and a weight at the other. You are supposed to be able to do this with a little potato spiked on a stick. I've not managed to get it to work comfortably - not symmetrical enough - you need a spindle that won't wobble around too much. The size of weight you use limits how fine the wool can be spun. Something the size of a baking potato will be too heavy for fine thread!

There are lots of films on youtube which show you how to use a drop spindle. The American ones I've looked at all seem to use them with the weight at the top, winding the wool underneath. I was taught to drop-spindle spin with the weight at the bottom of the stick. Maybe it's a cultural difference. Always spin a single thread in the same direction. Then if you get enough wool you can always ply two lots together by using your drop spindle to spin them back on each other in the opposite direction. Two ply wool is stronger and thicker (therefore quicker to knit up!).

HTH - now, I really must get on with some work!

B x

Wee_Jo

ceridwen wrote: »

Errr...Mardatha....don't forget its possible to make your own dyes as well. Might as well go the whole hog whilst you're on a roll.....

A hog???? I thought Mardatha was just stalking sheep!!! :rotfl:I've heard hog are harder to unravel...but they do love having their hair dyed

ginnyknit

Think we need to re-name this thread - place for the certifiably crazy to congregate:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I love it here :j:j:j

Its a refuge from the world and full of fab ideas.

So now Mardatha has got the Scottish maf ia (it won't let me type the word in - why????) searching out fleeces? -:cool:' I know some one etc" ! :cool:I know what you mean about keeping yourself busy cos you don't go out much, I stay home 90% of the time thats why my stocking up on craft stuff over the years has been so useful. I am eternally grateful to this site for all the ideas on how to use stuff - especially the sock knitting lessons via Mardatha .

Marmalade came out fandabbydozy just the leftover peel that Dh leaves too long in his bedroom bin until it smells like penecillin an odd grapefruit and a squirt of lemon juice. My goodness it was almost free! Now I need a new project until I go shopping tomorrow.

hex2

Really helpful post Broomstick. Plenty of sheep in fields round here so something else to forage. I like the idea of felt making though as I am a bit useless at knitting.

The second attempt at the no knead slow rise bread was so bad we fed it to the birds. Not sure what we did wrong.

aplaceinthesun

ginnyknit - love your name suggestion for this thread ! I only came across it this morning but just had to sit here and read it all !

mardatha

Shove jam and custard on it, hex ! Thanks very much Broomstick, I have spent all morning on youtube and Ravelry asking gormless questions and watching videos. I think buying tops is the best way, carding looks a bit of a faff. The sheep up here are all Blackface, pure bred and crosses. Too tough for clothes really. But collecting the wisps would be great fun to play with & experiment. I have worked in a woollen mill as a spinner so am used to the smell, dont mind it at all.
Also found some ladies who teach spinning FREE in Edinburgh, and one of them lives on the next farm up the road small world !

Broomstick

Hadn't realised you'd worked as a spinner mardatha, sorry for some of the obvious then! That's brilliant about your neighbour and the free classes.

I agree, carding is a faff, even with proper hand carders. Drum carders (which you operate by turning a handle) are a lot more civilised but I prefer my fleece ready carded and clean nowadays:).

The other thing I've just remembered (and maybe mad enough for this bit of the forum) is that some people spin hair shed from their pets. Mostly the hair's too short but if you are spinning wool you can apparently put a pile of cat/dog/rabbit etc hair on your lap and catch it into the longer haired sheep/goat wool you are working with as you twist it. Probably easier to do that with a wheel than a drop spindle.

One side of my ancestry were Yorkshire wool-trade, the other were Welsh sheep farmers, I'm now living in Cotswold country... Hadn't made those connections before...

B x

betony

Pheww! Bit of a relief to hear Mardatha's sheep aren't suitable for her to use - would hate her to be shot for sheep-worrying!