I know I may not look like much, but I’m a momentous thing.
Don’t let appearances fool you.
I’m what you would usually call subpar merino. You know the kind: second cuts with lots of neps. But that also makes me the perfect kind of wool for experimentation. I’ve been dipped in an alum mordanted logwood dye from a natural dyeing class. And because I was in a pot with all sorts of other fibers, the excessive handling got too much and I closed in on myself and became resistant to drafting. A drum carder, recently purchase on craiglist, helped to revive me. I even got carded with some of my undyed merino friends. And after three passes, with neps and all, I became a fluffy rolag ready for spinning. Here I am, all two by three inches of me.
Look at my deep blues and my tweedy texture.
I’m becoming a natural dye convert.
I can’t wait to explore all the possibilities.
Lovely! It sounds like you enjoyed the dyeing class? I’m SO jealous of your new drum carder!
I loved the dyeing class. It was really fun and I met a lovely group of women from the Handweavers Guild! I can’t believe I have a drum carder. It was something I was saving for and something I thought of purchasing waaaay down the line. Then I saw it listed for a great price on craigslist and couldn’t resist. It’s an older Louet Jr version with coarse cloth. The newer versions are a bit finer. Purchased it from a woman who lives in Multnomah Village with her two shetland sheep! We should get together and experiment!
That’d be fun! I’d love to see how it works!