Washing and Carding

 

After getting the 2 llamas, 2 sheep and the angora goat sheared earlier this summer, one of my goals was to complete the washing and carding, so I could start spinning all this soft wool into yarn by winter.

I finished washing all of my fleeces at the end of July.

I started off doing them outside in a bucket, but found it too difficult to carry water with my knee being sore and weak. So I decided to wash the wool in my bathtub.

But first I cleaned out as much of the VM (Vegetable Matter) as possible. This is my gelding llama Catlinite’s fleece.

Then I dropped the fleece into the bathtub of warm soapy water.

And to save my back, as well as help strengthen my legs, I used my feet to gently swish the fleece in the water until it was completely wet.

After the first wash, the water revealed just how dirty the wool really was.

 

When I drained the water, I kept some mesh fabric over the drain hole, so that wool wouldn’t go down the drain and clog the pipes or cause problems with our septic system. After 2-3 wash and rinse cycles, the water rinsed clear of the wool.

I gently squeezed out the water, and then placed the fleeces outside on my bedroom balcony to dry. Within a day, they were completely dry and ready for the next step: Hand—Carding.

I’m still working on this process and have completed 3 of my fleeces, turning them into tidy rolags ready to be spun, and still have 4 more fleeces to get done.

I attended a Wool Processing Class last year at a local farm that raises Navajo Churro Sheep, so I felt prepared, but I did get a helpful refresher course by watching the following You Tube videos, created by the same, experienced, calming person. So, I’ll just let you watch the videos, if you’re interested in learning how to hand card your own wool.

This video shows how to spin from rolags, using the Longdraw technique. This will be my next step.

Aren’t her videos so calming and easy to understand? This is only my first year learning how to hand spin,  so I’m still on a learning curve. But I’m having fun. I bought a second-hand Louet Spinning Wheel about 6 months ago and am so excited to be able to spin my own wool that I’ve processed from start to finish.

This is another wonderful video, from the same woman. It shows how to spin from rolags, using the Short-Draw.

 

I’ll try to remember to take some photos when I’m able to start spinning all my fleeces. Just be kind. I’m still at that awkward stage where my yarn looks hand-spun (with all the twists and nubbies).

Is anyone else processing their wool now, or making plans to start spinning, or already knitting gifts for Christmas? Can you believe summer is just about over? Where’d it go?! 

From the Tower of,

My First Ride!!

 

If someone would have told me my first ride was going to happen in this way, I would have laughed and thought they were crazy.

I had my own visions of what my first ride would be like, where it would be, how I would feel, and on who I would ride on, and with.

And technically, I’m not even supposed to be riding yet (shhhh!), but when opportunity knocks, who am I to turn it away?

  

One of my twinlings, Jem, offered to ride with me, which took some of the fear away. He’s my little rock and is always understanding, thoughtful and helpful. And Jem is loads of fun and can make me laugh, too.

They had a platform to step off of, onto the bareback pad, but I had to mount off the left side, which was very difficult for me because I'm not able to put all my weight on my left knee. But I managed to carefully settle myself onto the blanketed back all by myself. But dismounting would have never happened if it had not been for one of the helpers, a weightlifting teenage girl, of about 19, who basically took all of my weight on her arm as I lifted myself off of the animal’s back. If it had not been for her, I’d probably still be riding around that oval arena right now. hah!

Which would have been fine with me, because I thoroughly enjoyed my first ride. It was very comfortable, slow, quiet (well, sort of…..) and relaxing.

I kept thinking about Esther from Ishtar News, and her own similar ride a few months ago. What fun!

And, maybe my first ride wasn’t on a horse, but it was on a four-legged creature that eats grass.

 

Last year, I made friends with some folks up here in the mountains who own a small herd of camels on a farm they call Camelot. They were listed on the East Mountain Fiber Tour and as they only live about 10 minutes from my house, I was excited to have another source of lusciously soft fiber to spin and knit. Camel fiber, in my opinion, is just as soft and downy as alpaca fiber and feels wonderful against the skin. Last summer I bought only one skein of a natural colored camel blend yarn from the folks at Camelot Farm.

From that skein, I made my friend Val a scarf and a hat mixed with a turquoise colored cotton, as well as a scarf and a hat for me, mixed with a peach colored alpaca blend yarn. That skein sure went a long way.

Well when the fiber farm tour was held again, a few weeks ago, I just had to go, visit the camels and purchase some more camel yarn.

(This is Gobi, a Bactrian, or two-humped, camel.)

Another wonderful, and convenient, aspect of camels is that they don’t require shearing. They actually shed out their fiber, which can easily be combed off, or gathered as it begins to fall.

And this is one of Camelot’s Dromedary camels, which means one-humped camel (sorry, his name escapes me). An easy way to remember the difference between Bactrian and Dromedary is: "Bactrian" begins with "B", and "Dromedary" begins with "D"; "B" on its side has two humps, while "D" on its side has only one hump.

Poor guy is old and suffers from arthritis of the legs, so he had a challenging time standing up or laying down.

So, when I discovered that Bev and Bill of Camelot Farm lease out several of their camels to the Rio Grande Zoo, in Albuquerque, for camel rides, I decided on our next visit, we had to say Hello. My good luck, Mr. Bill was there and very friendly and nice to talk to. We spent about 15 minutes discussing wool, fiber processing, and the Taos Wool Festival. And then he offered to pose for a photo with two of my kidlets, and a fuzzy camel, too.

That was pretty awesome, I thought. What could be more amazing than that?

Well, being offered a complimentary camel ride easily topped the fun photo op, for sure!

And since Jenna didn’t want to ride the camel, who was I to just pass up such a unique opportunity…..or to “look a gift camel in the mouth”? hehe!

Ok….so I know it’s not a horse, but I did ride it. haha! 

From the Tower of,

Taking a Break to Process Wool

 

Thank you to all of you following along on my Road Trip posts. I really love sharing a piece of my world every day and showing you some unique places, too.

But it’s now time for a little ‘half-time’ break. I’m so tired after a busy couple days. I’ve been processing wool (skirting, cleaning and washing), taking my kids to T-Ball, Baseball, Guitar Lessons, installing a tent in Val’s barn, and traveling to my Physical Therapy appointments this past week.

Here’s a few photos from my ‘wool-work’. hah!

(Unwashed Angora fleece (Mohair) ready to be washed)

 

(Mohair fleece being washed in warm, soapy water….3 times minimum. And I washed 4 separate fleeces….3 times each)

 

(Setting some of the Mohair out to dry on top of an old wire cage)

(And as the day waned, I moved the fleeces inside and upstairs to dry.)

And then tonight after a very late night baseball game, I discovered that this cute kitty, Javalina, peed on one of my washed fleeces, Gah!

(The fleece belonged to my previous angora wether, Cloud. His fleece is super curly and so silky)

 

So, of course, I had to rewash it and set it out to dry (away from where this naughty cat can get to it.)

I’m exhausted and I still have to process 2 llama fleeces, 3 sheep fleeces (one extra from Blanca being sheared twice already), and we also plan on camping out in Val’s barn over the the next week in hopes of catching the birth of Annie’s baby.

Busy days behind…and busy days ahead. It’s time for some shut-eye. I’ll be sure to continue the road trip next week. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of your chance at experiencing the ‘Center of the Universe’. hah!

I hope you enjoy a beautiful and happy weekend.  

From the Tower of,

Petting my Sheep

Well sort of. Over the past two days I've been petting, grooming, cleaning and combing my Navajo Churro sheep's wool. Here's Blanca when she was a lamb just a couple months old.
For those who've been around a while, you may remember my first experience hand-shearing Blanca last September. It wasn't pretty. lol!

Here's what Blanca looked like before her haircut.
This is what she looked like afterwards, a few pounds lighter and much cooler....and a little disheveled looking.
Waiting for processing: Three bags of Angora Goat Mohair (from Luna, Cloud, and Lily) and one bag of Navajo Churro Sheep Wool.
Here's Blanca's wool waiting to be skirted, combed cleaned, washed, carded and then spun into yarn (the really fun part!)
Just an old comb removes the VM (vegetable matter), separates and fluffs the fibers. Churro wool is not very greasy, so it's easy to clean and handle, but it does provide just enough lanolin to soften my hands.
Some of the VM removed from the wool after combing.
I'm holding a handful of wool after combing.
This is about half of the combed clean wool. It's so soft and fluffy. Next up is washing the wool and then hand-carding, followed by...spinning!

And this is what Blanca looks like now.
And this is my Karakul ewe sheep, Svetlana. I didn't get around to shearing her when I did Blanca and as you can see, she is a very wooly girl who could use a new hairstyle. I'm looking forward to handling her fluffy, soft wool, too. Just another farm-related chore on my long list of things to do when my knee is healed and stronger. Thankfully it won't be getting too warm for Svetlana's wooly self until June, so I do have some time. But everytime I look at her, I just want to pull my shears out. lol!


From the Tower of,

Fiber Farm & Studio Tour~Day 2

On Sunday I headed back out with my daughter to check out two more farms: one a camel farm and the other a feather and natural dye farm.

I was very excited about visiting the camel farm, as I've always had a 'thing' for camelids, which include: camels, llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicuña. I actually own an authentic camel saddle that I was given as a gift over 20 years ago. And when I volunteered as a docent for the Rio Grande Zoo, about 13 years ago, I used to handle the alpacas on a weekly basis taking them out to show the public in what was called "Alpaca Cruising". I loved it!
And of course, the first time I saw the 'Push Me-Pull Me' on Dr. Doolittle, when I was 9 years old, I just knew I wanted a llama of my own one day.

The camel farm, aptly named "Camel Lot Farm" is only about 7 miles away from my house, so it was a quick little drive over there to visit the camels and see what the hoohah is on using camel fiber for knitting and fiber arts.

But first, did you know that camel down is the soft warm inner down of a camel and has a fiber structure similar to cashmere? The down is usually 1-3 inches long with a micron count of about 15-22 microns.

The dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. They are native to the dry desert areas of western Asia, and central and east Asia, respectively.

And I bet you didn't know that camels can run up to 40 mph in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to 25 mph. My llamas are pretty fast like that, too. And they literally fly when they run, because all 4 feet are off the ground at once. It is awesome to see!

And contrary to common belief, camels do not store water in their humps; they are actually a reservoir of fatty tissue. When this tissue is metabolized, it acts as a source of energy
Their ability to withstand long periods without water is due to a series of physiological adaptations related to their red blood cells.

Besides their use as meat and fiber animals, camel milk is a staple food of desert nomad tribes and is richer in fat and protein than cow milk. Camel milk cannot be made into butter in the traditional churning method, but their milk can be made into yogurt.

This handsome fella is a Bactrian Camel. Bactrian camels have two humps, they weigh about 1600 pounds and stand about 7-9 feet tall at the top of their humps. Their gestation period is between 370-445 days and give birth to calves weighing 80-130 pounds. Their life span is 40-50 years! Bactrian camels have two coats: the warm inner coat of down and a rough outer coat which is long and hairy. They shed their fiber in clumps consisting of both coats and is normally gathered. They produce about 5 pounds of fiber annually.
I also discovered that Camel Lot Farm provides the camels that the Rio Grande Zoo uses for their daily camel rides. Pretty cool!

Notice how the wool just sheds off all by itself. No shearing is necessary! Of course, its quite the chore harvesting camel wool on very windy New Mexico mountain land. hehe
I enjoyed the camels in front of our beautiful Sandia Mountain backdrop. Did you know that a camels mouth is very sturdy, able to chew thorny desert plants and that their kidneys and intestines are very efficient at retaining water. Urine comes out as a thick syrup, and their feces are so dry that they can fuel fires. Weird!

I was told this guy's name is Gobi. I actually was invited to keep some of his wool that I found on the ground. Cool.


This is a Dromedary, or one-humped/Arabian camel.
I really enjoyed getting close up and personal with this goofy camel.
"I'm a very tired camel"
"ZZzzzzzzz". Check out all those callous pads.
"Do you mind? I'd like some privacy for my nap, please"

Now that's one relaxed camel! "Blublublublubub" Check out that rubbery loose lip. hehe

Now apparently I am a photo hound and have totally used up all of my photo allotment on Blogger.(gasp!) Yes, I can pay $20.00 a year for some extra space, but I'm going to try something different (and free) first. Let me know what your opinion is.....

Our last stop on the Fiber Tour was a to a farm that translated literally to "Hens of the Sun", Gallinas del Sol. This farm grows plants used for natural fiber dying.
They also raise chickens and heritage breed turkeys for feathers, as well as to sell to customers. This farm is located about 15-18 miles east of our house, in Stanley, NM, where the ground flattens out into the plains, but views of the mountains can still be seen.

While at the farm, I had another moment of realizing again what a close-knit local community our East Mountains truly are and how everyone seems to know each other or someone that knows someone else, etc.
The owners of Gallinas del Sol had actually been to my house last year to pick up a large rusty stock water tank I had offered on Freecycle. They had plans to use it as a pool for their ducks and geese.

Unfortunately they hadn't used the tank yet because of the fierce winds and the cold, hard ground and also because they need to get a backhoe to dig the hole for the tank first. But it was still kind of cool to see the tank there and to meet these folks again.

So, for more photos from our second day of the East Mountain Farm Touring,
click:
Fiber Farm Tour Day 2