Different view:
Observations: unmercerized cotton, much softer after hot wash and dryer, and huck motifs clearer. 15 epi is probably a bi crude for lace, though.
Wed 30 Nov 11
Spinning – Llama Alpaca Romney Mix
Purchased as roving:
Compared to Opal and the entrelac scarf, in which both were included:
Observations: Lydia the Alpaca added a lot of warmth to the browns in the scarf. Don’t find spinning of roving as satisfying as spinning my own prep.
Mon 28 Nov 11
Completed Entrelac Scarf
With Triangle Point on one end:
Close-Up of Point:
Close-up of texture:
Observations: Need to design ahead of time where to cast off.
Test of Huck Lace Structure – On Loom
Plain weave borders; point threading of 5-thread blocks on sides; straight threading in center.
Wed 23 Nov 11
Fibre Prep – Frenchi
Washed the fleece of an Icelandic lamb named Frenchi, ancient breed, very odd fleece, looking forward to working with it to see how it behaves:
Fri 18 Nov 11
Spinning – Willow and Bonnie
Taken off the bobbins:
Into a half-pound hank:
Close-up of mohair shininess:
Observations: Not sure my drum carder has the right number of teeth in the cloth, as much of the mohair ends up on the licker-in drum if not covered by a thin layer of wool when entering the teeth. In the future may need to consider a finer cloth on the drum.
Wed 16 Nov 11
Mohair-Wool Mix Batts
Observations: To properly mix the Willow the mohair goat with Bonnie, the Romney/Border Lesicester crosssheep, required 3 passes through the drum carder. After less-than-satisfying spinning, mixed/split the batts and recarded again – success. Approx. 40% mohair/60%long staple wool.
Mon 14 Nov 11
Drawing – Yak
Ordered yak fur to spin, so yaks were on my mind:
Observation: a drawing exercise recommended turning something you were working on 180 degrees, wherein I discovered my darks were inadequate.