Spinning Cotton in Hot Weather

I have been practicing daily on my new Alden Amos driven spindle wheel, learning to spin cotton.

This picture is right after I opened the package and assembled the wheel, I am getting the hang of it with some wool roving.  Now, I am spinning cotton sliver I purchased from Yolo Wool Mill in the spring.  It spins like a dream, so easy to make wonderful cotton yarn.  My plan is to spin a few bobbins of it, ply it, then move on to colored cotton.  Here in San Diego, cotton in the summer seems like a 'must' do.

Today Rachel and I practiced the long draw in the back yard.  We are getting a little weather from a hurricane in Mexico and actually had a few raindrops.  I finished one mitten from some hand-dyed handspun I thought I did not like; but it turned out OK!  It's BFL, so how bad could it be?  I want to be able to show the mittens at Twainfest in Old Town San Diego in August.

Women and the West

Yesterday's event in Old Town was called Women and the West.  We had weaving, quilting, spinning, soap making, doing the laundry, lace making, and cooking.

There was plenty of public interest in the Fiber Arts activities.  And the Sleeping Beauty question came up more times than I have ever heard it.  Plus a bonus, someone knew the Rumplestiltskin story in detail - a treat.

Donna and Michelle demonstrated the inkle loom, Rachel and I spun, and Susan continued on her quilt repair project.  I forgot to mention that the blacksmiths were blowing up anvils again.  This time, with extra loud charges.  We had the hand spindles out, and provided instruction on using them to children and interested adults.  Next month, Twain Fest.  In the meantime, I will working on learning how to use my new driven spindle wheel to spin cotton.  Talk about Sleeping Beauty....that spindle is pointy!

July Fourth 2011 in Old Town San Diego

By all estimates, there were five times as many people in Old Town yesterday for the Fourth of July event as there were in 2010.  We had two tents for spinning and weaving.  I spun the Romney roving that I had dyed on Saturday.

Unlike last Fourth of July, which was cool and cloudy, it was hot, humid, and sunny yesterday.  The weather did not stop everyone from having an active day. To start things off, there was a parade around the plaza, with public participation.  State Parks offered dancing, pie-eating, sack racing, a cake walk, and other games and diversions.  Children made hats and dolls.  The blacksmiths blew up anvils, sending them into the air with an explosive charge.

In terms of public inquiries, we had four Sleeping Beauty questions, one Rumpelstiltskin question (a first!), and one person who thought I was making fluff from string (there's always one).  The winner for the oddest question was a lady who watched us for several minutes, and then asked why we were not wearing lipstick.

Last Dye Day?

As the temperature nears 90 degrees, we wonder if it is the last dye day for the season.  To prepare for a full day of spinning in Old Town tomorrow, July Fourth, I dyed some reds and a bit of yellow.  This is Pin-drafted roving from Morro Fleece Works.  Eight ounces.  It came out great and I can't wait to spin it long draw.

I am hoping it is completely dry by tomorrow morning.  By the way, here is a photo of Frida for those who have been asking.

Yes, she was another stray.  Came to us half-starved and filthy.  A young cat full of energy and curiosity.  A unique individual, as are the others.  The Fiber Artist will be in Old Town tomorrow all day, new bonnet and all.  Have a safe and sane Fourth of July.

New Pelerine. And spinning cotton. And gourds.

It occurred to me as I sat in my pelerine by the fire outside, I need another one.  A more colorful one to wear in my "real" life.  So I started to search through the stash.  At first, I thought I would use some of my handspun and vary the colors between yellow, reds, purples, etc.  in the rows.  Then I saw some yarn I dyed last year.  I bought four skeins of undyed yarn from Powell Sheep Ranch in Ramona.  Loraine had it mill spun into a worsted weight yarn, and I dyed 3 of the four skeins.  I was not in love with the way they turned out, so I stuck them back in the stash to ferment.  Now, they seemed perfect for the pelerine. And when I turned them into balls and started knitting - just what I wanted!

I started with the most purple and will then go to the one with some purple and red, and end with the blue.  Below the started project are my written notes on the knitting, which I am amending constantly.

OK, what else did I do this weekend?  After FINALLY watching Stephenie Gaustad's video on Spinning Cotton, I pulled out my cotton sliver and tried it on flyer wheels.  The Elizabeth 2 was too grabby.  I went to the Matchless, put it on the smallest pulley, and reduced the brake to zero.  Stephenie recommends using a double drive set up but being lazy I did not.  After a couple of tries, I came up with an OK yarn.

The lumpy bits on the left are actually the fat leader yarn.  The right is what I was down to.  Definitely need more practice, but I am getting there!

What else?  Well I added a collar to my costume in honor of the Fourth of July in Old Town.

Festive.  I also hope to be wearing my new straw bonnet, courtesy of Carol Haven at JustTwoTailors.  What a nice lady!  I also ordered a hat for my spouse to wear.

What else?  Oh yes, I have my first gourd on the plant.  Future rattle.  Although I have grown plenty of gourds, none are the perfect rattle.  I am ever hopeful.  As I am of completing my monograph.

Enjoy the week, stay calm, and carry on.  Read the latest edition of American Scientist if you want some perspective on Life on Earth.

Pelerine Done, Old Town San Diego SHP Spinning Day

I finished the pelerine in time to wear it to Old Town today.  June can be very cool near the coast, although today was warmer than I had expected.  I cast off last night, having finished the knitting while we were enjoying an outdoor fire in our firepit.  I blocked it this morning, and sewed on the buttons.

Looks a little like a Bertha collar!  I already have some ideas about a more colorful looking one from my dyed fibers.  Things seemed a bit slower in Old Town today.  Still plenty of tourists, but we did not get the huge mobs we have seen in past months.  One Sleeping Beauty question.

This was about the average crowd.  Frances has her beautiful quilt blocks on a felt board, at the back of the photo.  Rachel is spinning some of her hand-dyed fiber.  Nicole was there but she must have gone somewhere briefly; I think this is when she went to get her day cap and bonnet.  We are looking forward to spinning on the Fourth of July.  By the way, Nicole, I never got over to the Cosmo to look at the plaques.

Dye Day

Sunday, I dyed.  I dyed all the extra white fiber that I received as a member of the spinning class.  Most importantly, I washed and dyed some fleece that Margaret gave a few of us on Wednesday.  On Saturday, I washed the fleece.  Then the fleece dried overnight.  I ended up with a laundry basket of clean fleece.

Nice.  A few dirty ends, and some short cuts, but nice.  I then ran the lot through my Patrick Green drum carder.  The result: three white batts.  In the meantime, I was dyeing some random pieces of top and one strip of roving, in the usual way.  Nothing to report.  But the batts: I had never dyed batts before.  I chose the turkey pan method, and applied color.

That's three normal sized batts, squooze down into the pan.  It sat in the sun for a while.  Then onto the hot plate for a cook.

Looking good.  But will it felt?  I let it cool of its own free will while I took care of the top and roving.  By mid afternoon, I had my batch out to dry in the shade.

I was pretty happy with the results.  The three batts looked interesting.  Some of the darker color pooled in the bottom of the pan.  But very little color ran out of the bath.  I chose blues for dyeing since it was good blue color weather: cool and overcast clearing late, but not too hot.  The fibers are not dry yet, but should be good to go by Wednesday.