Making progress on some projects

Well September always seems to bring out the crafter in me. I don't know if it is the looming holidays and I need to get gifts done, or just the natural instinct the fall is coming and a fun new snugly pair of socks sound so good for the cool evenings.

The first project is one I completed. My first blog post over a year ago had a picture of the oh so large alpaca blanket. Hand spun and woven on my triangle loom. Well I am happy to say that after over two years of working on it on and of I am done!
I am also happy that I have finished some knee high socks and a couple woven scarves on my rectangle loom. Fall is so nice here in Phoenix I am so excited to get outside also more shearing is happening always good to get back in the groove.

Keep on shearing

I have been working nonstop for the last 8 weeks or so. I have already surpassed my animal count from last year and I really am excited to say I still enjoy it. The fun part is visiting with my clients. And always hanging out with the animals is a pleasure because they are always so curious and expressive when the look at you and say what the heck do you think you are going to do.

Another thing I have enjoyed is I found a new shearer to pick up the slack that I can not get to when the calls start flooding in when the weather gets hot. Her name is Aimee and she is doing spectacular. Already shearing alpacas and most of a sheep. Sheep shearing school is in 2 weeks for her certification. Keeping that bottom tooth down her second cuts are minimal right from the start.

Speaking of loving animals I have been kissed by a llama and of course kicked by a few sheep but it is great to have comrodery among friends and other sharers to share in the fun times. Of course there is always blogging also.

Shearing in California

It has been 5 days away from home traveling from phoenix to central and southern California to shear sheep. 3 of the days were shearing and two were days off and driving time.

This is a new experience for me to travel for shearing. I appreciate the sharers who travel across the country shearing thousands of sheep and away from home for months at a time.

I enjoyed my time and enjoyed the beautiful California costal mountains and western Sierra Nevada in the early spring. Picture perfect.

It was a BIG sheep weekend too. I encountered Dorper and coopworth and Wensleydale. Shetland sheep were the most abundant and i through in some angora and cashmere goats to the mix. Many had nice fleece and others had the felted rise that is so frustrating as a shearer to have to force the shears through.

This trip is over. I am going back to Phoenix today to take the Easter weekend off with family and shear for my Phoenix clients again who I am excited to see since it has been a year since I have seen most of them. Maybe I will have time to spin some yarn the next couple weeks!
Enjoying spring!!

Shear spring

I have had some great weeks over the past months getting really into the swing of things shearing sheep,llamas, and alpacas. Here are a couple pictures from this year. It has been great to see everyone from last year and adding new friends and folk along the way.

Getting ready for shearing

That time again, thinking of spring. Especially here in the valley of the sun where we start to think about shearing starting in February. February comes fast after having Christmas and new years. Seems like a month isn't enough time to get everything done: making sure blades are sharp, equipment oiled and clients scheduled.

Another thing I am attempting is launching an Etsy site. I will be featuring my handspun yarn and some wonderful roving from two SW farms woolhalla Tunis (www.woolhallatunis.com) and Cunnington Farm (wee.covingingtonfarm.com). The main wool harvest I will be keeping in stock is Tunis and Tunis blends. I will have to figure out how to get the Etsy link on here but for now www.etsy.com/triplyfibers/shop is where you can find me.

I shear most of the sheep fleece I am using in the roving as well as in my yarn. So as my blog title states I harvest wool and use it from start to finish.
If you are reading this and you are a local Arizona sheep,alpaca,llama,or goat owner give me a shout.

Have a great spring!

Little party favors

Well I spent a couple hours making fun little party gifts for my wife's co-workers yesterday. They turned out great! Hope everyone likes them.

Plying Tenchnique

I Learned something new the other day and I wanted to share!!!

Plying using a ball winder and a center pull ball.  I gleaned it off of a friend from the Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild (www.adwsg.org). However I used the technique and liked it; so I had to post. 


The Jest of it is: Say you only have a few bobbins (especially over sized bobbins as I only have two) and it doesn't work so well to fill them both up and then try and ply on something else or a smaller bobbin. 
The Answer is: Fill up the bobbin, use a center pull ball winder (Like the one from Royal) and then take the center pull ball and put the ends together and start making a 2-ply yarn.  You could make a Navajo 3-ply yarn also and if you redo the steps from the 2-ply yarn stage, you can make a 4-ply yarn.  The great thing nothing gets tangled and the plying makes a very balanced yarn.

I will outline details here just in-case you want to see what it looks like.  I even signed up for You-Tube just to video this (my first video! can you believe it) So I have the Pictures here in Sequence...Then the video at the bottom, so I guess feel free to skip to the bottom.

1. I used a over-sized flier and bobbin on my Lendrum wheel.  I have seen this done on many brands of wheels since I was at a group meeting when Sue Shared it with me she was using a louet.  
Fill the bobbin with a spun single.

2. Attach the center pull ball winder to the wheel or flier like so... As I said already this is how I found it easiest on my wheel.  The winder should attach to any wheel somewhere.

3. Wind right off the bobbin.

4. Once wound remove the winder and then take the inner end and the outer end and combine as to ply the two together. Attach to the leader thread on the bobbin and start treadling the opposite direction of you single twist just as to ply two bobbins together. 

5. Ply until the entire ball is used up!

The great thing is...
-the skein is completely even. You end exactly what you started with

-since we took what was on the bobbin, then used the same exact amount of material it all fits back on the bobbin!

-Do more - make a 4 ply yarn by repeating the process the ply the opposite way again. Suggestion: to over twist the 2-ply a bit so the 4-ply is balanced.
Hope this helps!
Or Navajo ply  right out of the center of the ball.



Video:

Fall Fiber Festivals

I have had an exciting last couple weeks.  I traveled to Tucson  (Tubac actually) to participate in the SW Fiber Arts Festival.  I sold a few of my 2 foot Triangle Looms.  I had a great time visiting with everyone.  I actually sheared animals from four different venders there that day over the past year.

I traveled down to Tucson on a different weekend to Kathy Withers ranch to check out all of her fiber animals and venders she was hosting at her bi-annual open house.  She showed off her animals and home fiber shop and wonderful works of textile art she creates.  Many other venders were there that I was able to meet and get to know.  I also had the pleasure of meeting her shearer who travels across the country from Missouri, Danny Smith. I had a good time trading stories about shearing and I also learned some things from his almost 40 years experience and a 3rd generation shearer.  Another thing I learned... I am a pretty good shearer too, just not as fast (But speed isn't everything). As you can see my little abby was having fun with the animals too!

Traveling to Tucson 4 times in the last month for shearing and events has been pretty crazy. So then I stayed in town last weekend to participate in a great tradition of the Old Wild West: A Chuck Wagon Cook Off at Thunderbird Park Chandler, AZ.  This was a great event with everyone dressed in period garb and the smell of open fire pit cooked food and hundreds of dutch ovens between the 7 chuck wagons that were there.
I was part of the Phoenix Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild (http://www.adwsg.org/) demonstrating the tradition of Spinning and the process of taking raw wool and producing useable yarn to make clothing and blankets and other things.  There was a lot of interest in our booth and we had a lot of fiber to touch and yarn to look at. It was a beautiful day with temps in the low 70s! The family came to support and a friend from out of town had a good time eating the good food and watching us spin.

Been Gone So long - Back for Fall Shearing

I have been completely immersed in traveling, business, family, and fiber.  Shearing season picked up for about 2 weeks in October.  September consisted of 10 days in Seattle, 10 days in Washington D.C., and 6 days in Las Vegas.  The traveling was tiring but was a great get away from all that is going on at home.  October shearing has been perfect...not too busy but busy enough to give me a little refresher before another 4 months goes by before I handle another sheep.  It always takes a couple to get back into the groove, funny how that is.

Over the past couple months I have been to Prescott, Tuscon, Phoenix, and Fallbrook CA.  I have mostly sheared Angora goats and trimmed alpaca teeth.  Trimming alpaca teeth at the wonderful Peacful Prarie Alpaca ranch in Prescott Valley AZ was great.  I was also at WeatherTop Alpaca Ranch doing the same thing.  Over 40 alpaca teeth were trimmed that day, all are well and healthy!

 What a view! and A beautiful day!

 Lining Up!!

Such a beautiful day.  Some new friends were visiting to get a feel about what alpaca ranching was all about.  I hope to see them in the spring...

Goat shearing went very well this year.  Still not my favorite animal to shear just because of their extra-ordinary flexibility and not wanting to sit still for much (not like a sheep). And the amount of fiber!!! so much fiber!!! angora goats have fiber everywhere, armpits, legs, ears, horns, my goodness...Except for the cute little ones like mouse that everyone just melts over!

Little mouse falling asleep in my lap 

 Shearing a buck with the help of my dad, keeping those horns at bay.

What a nice Buck - A bit Stinky too 

Ok Just as I think the last couple of entries have said is to get busy on some spinning.  I have finished a bit of fiber work but just have not posted.  Stay tuned so I can show off some finished projects.

Spring over! Summer Here!

Shearing season is over...Well... after Wednesday when I shear 3 Llamas up in the mountains. Famous last words though... then someone else calls for some animals to be sheared. Love it though... But now with a little time on my hands and being shut in with the 105+ temps, it is time to catch up on some computer work and some fleece washing and yarn spinning!.  I thought I would share a few pictures from the shearing season then I will share a bit of yarn samples I have been working on the last couple weeks. So stay tuned!

Before and after of a Shetland Ram. He shrunk? io,tkr k

Tunis Sheep getting ready to shear!

Demonstrating shearing to Home Schoolers and families at Superstition Farm, Mesa AZ

One of Superstition Farms Sheep.  A wonderful local dairy check them out!

Superstition Farm

Well finally I have to show off some freshly shorn fleece! A CVM fleece is the dark grey and the wonderful Merio is the white. I will just say the Merino spun-up into a fantastic two-ply that is going to be perfect for some soft fingerless mittens!

New Equipment

I have added some equipment to make wool harvesting a little easier.

A Grinder to sharpen my combs and cutters - and anyone else who wants to get theirs sharpened also!

And a Christmas gift was this tri-pod to make my equipment a "set up anywhere" portable shearing operation!

Shearing Season in Full Swing

What a great spring in Arizona.  I have been meeting so many new people and great animals. I am in full swing wool harvesting, shearing sheep and alpacas, a few goats...I have also been involved in a couple children's education days showing traditional methods of shearing/preparing wool/and hand spinning.  I can't believe all these experiences - so exciting!

Shearing 50 American Cashmere Goats in Spokane Wa!

 

Shearing in Queen Creek (Tunis Sheep)

Shearing at Superstition Farm Home School Day Demonstration, Mesa AZ