Working on this Suri fleece has been quite the chore and learning experience. I've had to rethink how to process it several times, and the sheer amount of dust that is still sticking to the fleece after multiple washes is driving me batty.
At first I was putting it through the drum carder and it was, kind of, working. A lot of the fiber would stick to the lickr-in drum, and then it would poof out as if it had a hand in an electrical socket. Remember those electrified balls that the museums would have to show you the effects of static charge? Yea, that's what it looked like. I did try spraying it with some watered down conditioner, but that didn't do much for it. I washed the resulting batt and it came out the purest bright white!! Nothing like the rest of the "washed" fleece!!
Then I tried my combs. Found out the giant course Indigo Hound combs I have are not really meant for this kind of fiber. I haven't used them hardly at all in the nearly 10 years I have had them. I may sell them in order to get a finerViking set. I tried out a pair last week at The Dancing Lamb, and I got a pretty good sliver from that, although it was a lot of effort.
So I've resorted to my carding paddles. I've been making several dozen Puni's a day. Thankfully it's only three pounds worth of fiber to process and I have till May to get it done. I'm still off work from a back injury so I've been spending a lot of time inside watching movies, spinning, processing and knitting. I do have exercises from visiting the PT to do, other than getting some walking in which I am told is the best thing I could do for a back injury. The exercises are developing some underused muscles in an effort to support my back in hopes that it doesn't get any worse. As a result, I have been craving protein, MEAT, like a fiend. I ate three chickens from the grocer last week. THREE!! I eat all the dark meat right away and then make a casserole with the white meat because it tends to be dryer.
I also ventured to try a scouring soap I've never seen before and....it's absolutely HORRIBLE!!! It did not take the dust off the fiber like Unicorn Scour Power does, and the smell....THE. SMELL. To me it smells like rancid latex, or a dildo....neither of which I can stand. (If you have to ask, don't.) As soon as I opened it I felt nauseated and had a headache for the rest of the day. Of course I am stuck with it now. Attempting to resell it on Ebay since I only used a fraction of an ounce to test wash with. The buyer from Etsy would not accept it as a return, and she said she liked it's smell over Unicorn.
Never again will I stray from Unicorn Scour Power! I enjoy the light floral scent it has.
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| Afterwards, I spun some shetland like a mad wommin so I could finally work on MY projects.  |
Until next time...
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I feel your pain from trying to wash a fleece. I have knit with Suri Alpaca and it's lovely! I tried spinning and all that and the only thing I can manage is using a spindle and that even has fallen to the wayside as my passion in knitting the stuff. There are all kinds of folks out there that would give advice for you in your adventures and IF you like I can give you the e-mail of a good friend of mine that spins and felts and knits for a living, she may be able to help with getting the right thing going for you so you don't go crazy, and most certainly guide you to a conditioner that doesn't smell like wet unicorn butt. :) There is a wash called Eucalan and you can get it up here in Canada at almost any shop that sells yarns and fleece. It smells lovely.
ReplyDeleteLet me know (if you have time of course) if you would like to converse with my gal pal or my group of spinners. These women would be more than helpful to you on your adventure of spinning fibres.
Sue
Victoria, BC
Canada
Of course I will take any advice you would think would be helpful! Paddle carding is doing the trick, although it is time consuming. Fill my basket, spin some, card some more, spin...LOL!
DeleteAs an update, after working on this for three months then returning the spun yarn, I was basically told my yarn was shit and it was "too thin". Trader said "spinners choice" and I spin lace, so that's what I did. I was booted from the group Spin-a-pound-get-a-pound without notice, and told after-the-fact. I would advise people to avoid that group because the group moderators are complete assholes. The rumors I read about them do not fall short. What a waste of time and energy that was. I gave the rest of the fleece away because I didn't want that bullshit in my home. I've been spinning on and off for 15 years. I am no novice.
ReplyDelete