I have 4 barrels full of wool that I've been slowly working through. After I spent the time cleaning it & dying it with kool-aid last summer, I had a real conundrum of whether or not to sell it or keep it for myself....
Amazing what a packet of Kool-aid can do -better to go in my wool than the children's tummies!
My stash of goodies from Flights of Whimsy
So even though I had really limited time to work on any felting with the crochet & knitting projects I already had on the go, I still managed to squeak in some time to play with the felting needles with my own wool...
Started off with a few cookie cutter projects, now working on my first miniature teddy-mouse
Obviously this intimate working with wool has been like a gateway drug to me - before i only used to buy my fiber from the store, but with Larry supplying me such a massive load to work with, it has opened up a whole new world for me. So while I was knitting him a pair of mitts with this crazy thick bulky weight wool that another person had spun up for him,
Toasty, but uninspiring...the wheels started spinning in my head - I should try to spin this stuff! But there's a problem, I don't have the $ or friendly neighbourhood spinner nearby to get access to a spinning wheel. That's where I just love the internet - when in doubt, search for help on Google :)
I thought that what what be a good way to start, rather than the typical drop spindle, would be to make my own box charkha - the reasoning behind this was that I knew that it was a very portable set-up compared to making a spinning wheel, and that it would be speedier than the drop spindle. How surprising to find that I could make a charka (though larger than a cigar box one) out of scrap cardboard! You just have to see this cool one that Rabbit Geek put together here.
Even better was that on his site, he had links to all sorts of DIY spinning machines - whether they be the traditional wheel, spindles, a Mayan spinner, or a hunk of wood with a screw hook in it. Wait a minute - you can spin with just a piece of wood with a screw hook stuck in it? This just boggled my mind, as we always have wood scraps and various hardware bits around the house here, with my odest son's interest in woodworking. So sure enough, I found what I needed to make a somewhat primitive (and affordable) spinning tool:
A 3" x 4" scrap of wood, a screw in hook, some sanding & I was set to spin!
Lovely, gourmet wool!
I thought that what what be a good way to start, rather than the typical drop spindle, would be to make my own box charkha - the reasoning behind this was that I knew that it was a very portable set-up compared to making a spinning wheel, and that it would be speedier than the drop spindle. How surprising to find that I could make a charka (though larger than a cigar box one) out of scrap cardboard! You just have to see this cool one that Rabbit Geek put together here.
Even better was that on his site, he had links to all sorts of DIY spinning machines - whether they be the traditional wheel, spindles, a Mayan spinner, or a hunk of wood with a screw hook in it. Wait a minute - you can spin with just a piece of wood with a screw hook stuck in it? This just boggled my mind, as we always have wood scraps and various hardware bits around the house here, with my odest son's interest in woodworking. So sure enough, I found what I needed to make a somewhat primitive (and affordable) spinning tool:
A 3" x 4" scrap of wood, a screw in hook, some sanding & I was set to spin!I've never spun before in my life, so i wasn't sure what to expect with my results, but my lil' chunk of wood produced a lovely little bit of homespun wool! How fabulous is that?
Lovely, gourmet wool!
What a wonderful way to start my year - think that there will be more spinning to come in my near future :)
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