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As I Spin, The World Falls Away

It has been an incredibly busy late winter and spring and I have finally been able to get down to the business of learning to spin! My first lesson actually took place while I was supporting my Guild at the Fiber Fair in Marshfield, MO. Since my instructor was there and had brought her second wheel (which I get to borrow for a bit), it only seemed natural to sit down and have her work with me there. It was my very first time ever even sitting at a wheel. So some lucky (haha!) folks got to see a newbie spinner working on her first lesson in spinning. The kids were particularly curious and encouraging.

The following week my instructor came to my place and brought her wheel, which is a double treadle. The wheel that I'm borrowing from her is a single treadle and bothers my knee after a bit, so I'm trying to figure out how best to sit and hold my position. I got to sit at my instructor's wheel and I can say with complete certainty that a single treadle wheel is not what I'd ultimately like to have for my own. I need the balancing of the double treadle action. I also learned to ply using her wheel as well.

I am amazed at how quickly the time goes when you are spinning and chatting with a friend. I thought it might be more like knitting, which for me, takes a great deal of concentration for counting and keeping track of where I am in a pattern. I know folks who can knit and not even look at their needles...I am not one of them! Perhaps it is because I am not a strong knitter or that I simply am not practiced enough at it yet. I am thrilled that when I am sitting and spinning, a lot of the ambient noise floats away and doesn't command my attention. This is probably the one creative endeavor I've done that is closest to meditation and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Although my instructor has never taught before, she is a great teacher, patient, funny, and reminds me to breathe and let go--force is not necessary, let the wheel do the work. Those words stick in my head as I draft out the fiber. I am a conduit for energy to flow through and that I don't have to push or pull the energy through my fingers onto the bobbin to make something wonderful happen.

I Love Silk!

We had our monthly program at our Guild meeting on spinning silk. I was happy to finally get to see this because I LOVE silk. I began my love affair with silk when my daughter and I took a Japanese embroidery class--you stitch with silk on silk. After handling the silk fiber threads, seeing how it reflects in the light and adds depth to the motifs, it is very hard to go back to using cotton threads to embroider! So the silk program this month was of particular interest.

Ms. B gave the presentation and walked us through how the silk is obtained and formed into bells and hankies. It is always amazing to me how human beings get from point A to point B. It was very cool to watch the layers come apart from the bells...you'd pull apart a bell and think you had one layer and it was actually 3 or 4! It was great watching everyone stretch that one nearly-transparent layer of silk, to see how loooong the fibers would stretch before breaking! Of note, don't "chokehold" the silk!

During the spinning it was interesting to watch the progression of expressions on the faces of my sister spinners and weavers. First, frustration, because the silk is not behaving like other fibers they've worked with before. Second, doubt, as the spinners frequently checked to see if anything was even spinning onto the bobbin. Third, consternation, as the silk being drafted was not smooth and even, or drafting out too thin/thick, not enough twist, etc.. Fourth, ah-ha! (with a HUGE sigh of relief), when a silk layer was completely spun onto a bobbin. I thought there was going to be a break out of spontaneous happy dancing around the spinning circle!

I think some folks are concerned that I'm not learning anything because I'm taking pictures for most of the meeting and program. I am learning, just not in a hands-on fashion--trust me, I'm listening and absorbing and watching. I am going to get my volunteer teacher and I lined up with our schedules so we can get me started. I've decided to have our class in my library, which I think is an appropriate room (west side of the house, facing the pasture where our sheep roam) for optimal passing on and receive of this knowledge that I crave to gain.

In the meantime, as snow falls to the ground, I continue to study books and articles, to pick through washed fleece, to think about renting the drum carder to try out, to practice with the drop spindle, and to feel confident that someday I too will make spinning look as effortless as those who inspire me every month.

The New Next Door Neighbor

We are very lucky to have with us a new addition to the farm, a charming and woolly in the extreme fella named Stormy. Stormy comes to us from a local friend's farm; we picked him up on the morning of the first day of the new year. It took about 40 minutes or so to get him loaded. Mostly it is all in the set up and how to best move the animal forward. However, once I remembered how to walk backward and UP into a stock trailer with a bucket of oats, it didn't take too long that he jumped right up into the trailer with me. I love "Ta Da!" moments like these!

Stormy is currently hanging out in the pasture next to where we have the ewes (and dogs). We wanted to give him some time to meet and greet through the fence. I know there are folks who would just dump him in with the group and let them figure it out on their own. Because it is all about me (harharhar!), I am not happy creating a stressful situation for the animal(s). We are not in a rush, we have plenty of pasture for everyone, and we have plenty of time to move him in with the girls and the dogs. We have found this pokey but easing-in approach to be the best course of action for our critters be they fuzzy, fluffy, furry or woolly.

Our male dog, Grizzie (14 months), has been fine with him, but our young female, Fiona (8 months), has been on high alert with the new next door neighbor. Stormy, however, lowers his head and lunges forward and the dogs jump waaaay back...as they should. Anatolians are to guard, not necessarily be in charge. Stormy has be flirting incessantly with Lensey and Lacey, showing them where the best leaves and grass are along the fence line and touching noses through the fence. I've never seen courting rituals between sheep, so it has been fun to watch.

As can be seen from the photo, Stormy has a big ole bunch of wool on him and it is literally felted. It looks like a carapace or crinoline it is so stiff! We have been joking that he is carrying his own house around with him like a snail or hermit crab! We debated about taking at least some of it off, but was advised to keep it on until April or May when he could be sheared of the whole thing. I can't wait to see what he looks like under all that wool!

Christmas Came Early Along With My New Addiction! Shetlands Have Arrived!



Lacey is on the left, Lensey is on the right.
Aren't they beautiful?!



Monday morning my two Shetland sheep arrived from their previous home near St. Louis at Wild Flower Farm (www.wild-flower-farm.com/shetland-sheep/ ). These lovely ladies are more petite than I remember (we saw them back in March) but definitely as pretty and fluffy! They are twins, so I am hoping that when we breed them next year we'll get sets of twins. Their names are Lacey and Lensey. 

There are a whole host of different colors AND patterns for the Shetland sheep. And although they are twins, Lacey has a lot of shaela (pronounced "Shay-la") in her coat, which is a beautiful dark grey color and looks as though the hair has a coating of frost on it or as though steel wool is growing out of the color. Lensey has, thus far, Shetland Black. You can see more colors here at this site: http://www.shetlandsheepinfo.com/FLEECE/colours.htm . Their dark faces with their pretty light amber eyes make them look that much more striking.

I can tell you that they do not take ANY gruff from the dogs--they literally walked Grizzie (our 13 month old Anatolian Shepherd) backward and he's twice their size (and nearly as fluffy)! They put their pretty heads down and stare with their eyes and the big guy turned around and ran! He is used to his other sheep, Penelope and Petunia, who follow him like puppies and snuggle up to him in a pile of hay or their shelter. Lacey and Lensey are proper ladies and they do NOT lay down with the dogs. Haha! They have, however, gently touched noses with our new Anatolian, Fiona (8 months old). The meeting was brief but thankfully uneventful.

Why Shetlands? Outside of their fiber being soft, easy to work with, and coming in so many beautifully natural colors to spin and weave and knit and crochet...they are flat out the cutest critters! I've always wanted to learn to spin and weave and now I have the start of my own source of wonderful fiber for that very purpose!

I've already warned my husband that I'll have to have a few more. He just grinned at me and said "yeah, I know." Don't ya love it when Christmas comes a little early?! Merry Christmas everyone!

Get Out of Your Own Way…and Let the Motions Flow

I’ve been playing catch up with the programs we’ve had at our Guild meetings. I am glad that we have equipment for rent through the Guild and that we get a whole month to try the equipment before returning it. I rented the hand carders, refreshed my memory with the photos I took from our meeting and after consulting a video on line. The carders are heavy and sometimes awkward to handle, but I’m certain that is a beginner handicap!

My next adventure is to try my hand at flicking. My husband found a nice piece of leather and I have a clean brush to use. The fiber I have for the flicking is a wonderfully beautiful Sheltand that I know will work well because one of our members used Sheltand for the flicking demonstration during out program in September. I hope to use the rolags I have made thus far with the drop spindle…and crossing my fingers that they will work out well. 

I have a bag of rolags now. And because the fiber is a creamy white, I can see a lot of “stuff” that I missed picking out as well! There are some little bits and pieces that didn’t fall out while I was carding. Argh!

I’m not sure hand carding is for me though as my hands bother me sometimes with my work on the computer. I found myself clenching the handles and trying to force the movement instead of letting it flow. At one point I stopped in mid-card and thought, “why am I struggling so badly?” That is when I realized that I was forcing my movements and that I was really stiff with tension. I remembered that I am not being judged or graded…I am learning and learning is comprised of both missteps and leaps. So I rolled my shoulders a few times, shook out my hands, took a few slow deep breaths and started again more slowly, with all the time in the world to complete the task.

What a difference in how the task flows along when you get out of your own way!

Sock It To Me!

Lovely socks!

There are many of our Guild members who know how to knit socks (see the Show and Tell page of our website). I have been lovingly envious of their sock knitting skills. I’m not an advanced knitter…I’ve done scarves and that is it. I’ve seen some of the socks in progress and, being a novice needle worker, I am somewhat intimidated with the numerous double pointed needles and terms like “turning the heel”. Eek!! However, I try to keep my head and heart open because I know, like all skills, everyone must start at the beginning and I’ve got a lot of skilled ladies nearby to pester with silly questions like “what in the world is sock-weight yarn?”

While eyeing these wonderful foot-comforting creations, I have thought many times about my wonderful husband and his problem with manufactured socks. It isn’t so much the socks themselves that are at issue, it is the seams that are usually stitched to run across the toes. They invariably cause ulcers on his skin due to the pressure of his work boots on the seams. So I have been thinking that I could try to knit some different types of socks and see which ones work best for him. I have to give him major kudos to act as my brave guinea pig!

I have a friend, Ms. B who has been traveling a rough patch of late. Well, we all have it seems. Since we were in the area, my husband and I stopped by to visit her and her family yesterday and bring her some homemade French bread. Ms. B knits socks and slippers every year for her kids and grandkids for Christmas. We have discussed socks several times and she assures me that even though I am a novice at knitting, socks are in fact pretty easy and she has offered to show me how. Yes!! She wants to plan a trip to get me needles and some yarn so we can get started. I can’t wait!

Aside from the socks, I had confessed to Ms. B that I didn’t know how to start a second row of crochet. I had been shown many years ago but forgot the steps. Yesterday after munching on French bread, veggies with dip, and other goodies, she had me plop down on the couch, with her mini dachshund asleep between us, and she showed me how to start a second row of crochet. This was a treat! Usually Ms. B is in perpetual motion, taking care of this or that, sometimes with great speed and always with efficiency in mind. I don’t know how she maintains the energy!

However, when she sat with me and her daughter, she was calm and patient, showing us both some of the techniques she uses in her own knitting and crocheting projects, guiding us without pushing, correcting us without criticizing. She is a wonderful teacher and I’m blessed that I get to have her as one of mine. These moments yesterday were pure relief, where the challenges we have all been facing slipped effortlessly to the side amid colorful strands of yarn, crochet hooks and our sometimes aching hands in the creation of something lovely, soft, warm and useful.

So here is to Ms. B and all those who knit and crochet, who guide the yarn through young (and older) newly learning fingers, and who create a space amid the frantic and stressful events of our lives to breathe in peace and beauty. A Votre Santé!