make do and mend for tougher times

kidcat

Accidental hose pipe error smoosh?

Popperwell

Belated Birthday Wishes for your daughter Fuddle, Hope she's/you are all having a good time.

fuddle

She has her friends coming over in 25 minutes pops... to sleep! :eek:

She might be having fun, but you can bet I won't be :rotfl:

Val, Mar any spinners out there!? I'm doing some research into sheep fleece. Erm, how do you get from the (sorry sheep, I'll have to be [STRIKE]blunt[/STRIKE] rude) straggly dirty clump into a state where you can begin to spin? :eek: I cannae fathom.

Pooky

I'm pretty sure there are sadistic table tennis bats involved in fleece/wool carding. That's what I used to call them anyway.:D

HM pizza bases in the oven to cook off for later, all the toppings chopped and in the fridge.....I was so tempted to order a takeaway but I resisted. I need a gold star.

boultdj

Pooky wrote: »

I'm pretty sure there are sadistic table tennis bats involved in fleece/wool carding. That's what I used to call them anyway.:D

HM pizza bases in the oven to cook off for later, all the toppings chopped and in the fridge.....I was so tempted to order a takeaway but I resisted. I need a gold star.

Not got a gold star Pooky, will a green one do?:starmod: or would you prefer :T instead?

kidcat

Fuddle - good luck, having survived many sleepovers, I find copious amounts of coffee and chocolate are a major requirement!!

mardatha

I'm not a spinner but I think you have to cut off the worst bits, wash the fleece, then card it (the spiky pingpong bat bit) - extreme combing Then what you're left with is lovely clean wisps. Ask ValkScot shes an expert.
WCS and Fuddle - if all the nice sensitive deep thinkers leave the forum then the whole thing goes downhill fast, don't go!!
I want to ask a Q re cooking.I was reading the "Eating for Victory" cookbook, the One-Pot Meals section. It says how to cook the whole meal in one pot which is probly a pressure cooker, with two cocoa tins. So I can understand it in general but would you put lids on the cocoa tins (aka pudding basins) and on the main big pot?
I love how it gives you the menu, the recipes, and even the timings for each step. Great if you're a truly terrible cook like me.

kidcat

That sounds like the sort of book I need for OH.

Had surreal moment today, am laid up still on sofa and DH was shouting and moaning about stuff, DD and I were just confused, the DS14 pipes u p with a translation of why he is upset - he could relate

My parents took DD6 for her stuff for the trip this week, they bought far too much and spent way too much too, a pineapple velour pink hoody jacket:eek::eek: like there is any way she takes that on a muddy residential!! :rotfl: But she did really enjoy it and we all got some peace from her constant noise and attention seeking. My parents regularly defend her when I mention how wearing it is - they came home after four hours non-stop and collapsed into my sofa :rotfl::rotfl: She apparently had a telling off on my occassions for "disappearing" in shops.
Maybe they wont be so quick to judge when I tell her off now.

I am wicked:D but it gets old being judged as a bad parent when I tell her off for interrupting etc I appreciate its hard for her, but she will not be popular in the real world with this level of demanding behaviour.

My dad struck again with food today, I asked DD to check date on mince in fridge and he volunteered as he was in there anyway, came back with "I have thrown it away - it was not pink all over" yes but what date was on it - oh tomorrows!!!! Must have seen my horror because he replaced it with fresh later! :rotfl:

I think I am doing things wrong with DS14, I am overcompensating and treating him with kid gloves, I can see me doing it, know its wrong but cant stop myself, every time he looks like getting upset I am stepping in. In my head all I can hear is his words - I want to die. I really need to get a grip of myself.

OH collected our old cooker today, my friend had it when we moved in her garage, as she was due to move and didnt know if she needed a cooker or not. She then moved in with friends and put her stuff into storage (almost a year ago). We have seen less and less of her to be honest, and she bought a new flat weeks ago but has yet to move in - but this morning I got a voicemail demanding OH collected cooker from flat as its in the way.

Oh went round and she still hasnt moved in, she is taking bit by bit from storage. am a little put out over it, surely she could have left it in the storage and took the stuff she needed first giving me a call and a few days notice. I would have sold it last year if she hadnt been panicking she may end up with no cooker. So now have a spare cooker sat in middle of kitchen and a very unhappy OH.

Sorry for the essay - havent spoken to anyone other than OH in days now - I dont count begging the lovely dentist lady for help

Smoosh

kidcat wrote: »

Accidental hose pipe error smoosh?

:rotfl:


Need to tidy the house *grumble grumble*

valk_scot

fuddle wrote: »

Val, Mar any spinners out there!? I'm doing some research into sheep fleece. Erm, how do you get from the (sorry sheep, I'll have to be [STRIKE]blunt[/STRIKE] rude) straggly dirty clump into a state where you can begin to spin? :eek: I cannae fathom.

First you lay the whole fleece out flat and pull off all the nasty dirty belly and bottom fleece and discard it into the compost bin. Then you take about a carrier bag full, give it a cold soak for half an hour (gets out all the grit) then dunk it gently into a bucket of hot water + detergent...washing up liqwuid or Value shampoo is fine. Ten minute soak, lift out, drain then put it into a second bucket of the same. Then two rinses at the same water temperature, drain (I have an old pillowslip to squeeze out the water) then pop it in the washing machine on spin ONLY to get out the excess water then spread it on a drying rack or the radiator to dry completely. The important bits here are not to rub or mash the fibres around, and to keep the water a consistant temperature. Otherwise you'll get felt.

Then you've got to comb or card it to get the fibres loose and fluffy. Carders look like big cat slickers or you can use a dog comb or actual cat slicker. There are lots of variations of this prepping stage, it depends what kind of yarn you want at the end. It's an important stage and there's a bit of a learning curve here. Ultimately though you end up with clean, floofy fibre that isn't clumped together with grease or dirt. Then you can spin it.

You can dye the fibre at this point or after you've spun the yarn. IMHO it's easier to dye yarn, you can use food colouring + vinegar to set it or special acid dyes made for wool fibre.