Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival

On Saturday I went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival in Fletcher, NC (outside of Asheville, NC). I went with a group of knitting friends and it was a lot of fun. It was a 3-day event but we just went on one day and carpooled up there. There were workshops, livestock shows, a Fiber Arts Competition, and lots of vendors. It was fun to watch the people and see the different fiber art that everyone was wearing.

Please click here to see the pictures.

Things I Learned:

• Bring an external battery.
• Dress in layers because it is cold in the morning but it warms up.
• Bring a tote bag or backpack to hold goodies,
• Make sure you have stored the item you just bought and don’t leave it behind.
• Bring a snack in case you get hungry.
• Bring a bottle of water.
• Going with a group is a lot of fun.
• Make sure you know the pattern and designer of what you are wearing.

Green Gradient Mini Skeins

I want to knit a shawl that calls for a gradient and I decided to dye my own yarn for it. After watching several YouTube videos, I decided what I would do and I wanted to share my process.

 

1. I used 6 mason jars, Jacquard Acid Dye (Emerald), a 100 ml measuring cup, measuring spoons, a scale, and 6 disposable cups.

2. Soak mini skeins in water for at least 30 minutes.

3. In each of the 5 disposable cups, I added ¼ cup of water.

4. I measured out 2g of dye powder to 100 ml of water to make my 2% dye solution and mixed it well in a disposable cup.

5. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 1 and added it to cup 2 and mixed well.

6. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 2 and added it to cup 3 and mixed well.

7. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 3 and added it to cup 4 and mixed well.

8. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 4 and added it to cup 5 and mixed well.

9. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 5 and rid of it.

10. I then poured each cup into a mason jar and added water up to half the jar and mixed well.

11. Then I squeezed out the excess water from each mini skein and put them in each jar.

12. I let them sit overnight.

13. The next day, I put the jars in a steamer basket into a big pot of water and brought the water to a boil. Water should be just below the top of the water level in each jar. I lowered the heat once it was boiling so the jars wouldn’t boil and let it steam for 10 min.

14. I had to do this procedure several times because only 2 jars would fit in at a time.

15. I put all the jars outside to cool.

16. Once the jars were cool, I took the yarn out and squeezed the excess water, and let them cool.

17. I washed them well separately to make sure all the dye was out.

18. Hung to dry.

 

Things I learned:

• I think I would start with a 1% solution next time.

• Take out a ½ c. of solution from each jar.

• I like the 5th darkest skein the best and wouldn’t mind making a full skein in that color.

Things I learned:

• I think I would start with a 1% solution next time.

• Take out a ½ c. of solution from each jar.

• I like the 5th darkest skein the best and wouldn’t mind making a full skein in that color.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Fiber Lesson

Recently I sat in on a class that my colleague taught on fiber and dyeing. I had mentioned a year ago that I wanted to learn to dye my own yarn and she invited me to sit in on this class. I’m so glad that I did!

She started off by passing around a cotton boll. We learned to gin the cotton which means we tore the seeds out of the cotton. Then we took the cotton and pulled it slightly apart to try to spin it with our hands. We also tried some spindles and a spinning wheel. I was surprised how different cotton is from the animal fibers that I usually spin. Cotton is much harder! I also learned that it is illegal to grow cotton in South Carolina without a license. From my research, I think the government is afraid that the boll weevil will demolish the cotton crops and devastate our farmers so only licensed growers may grow cotton. The penalties for growing cotton seem even worse than being caught growing marijuana!

Next we learned how to process flax. We took the bundles of flax and did some “breaking and skutching” which breaks the stalks and removes the fiber. Next was hackling where we threw the fiber on a bed of nails and pulled them through as if combing them. What was left was the fiber that a person would spin. To spin the fiber, you would need a distaff (a long vertical pole) and you would need to spin it wet. We didn’t do that part but it was interesting to see how much flax you start out with and how little fiber you end up with at the end of the process.

Next we learned to dye things in the indigo bath. The indigo bath came out in a garbage pail and smelled really stinky! We used rubber gloves to put our items in the bath. The students dyed tshirts but I dyed some raw Knit Picks fingering weigh yarn that was in a skein. My yarn had to be wet in order to absorb the dye. I dipped the dye in the bath and held it under the water to absorb the dye. Meanwhile the stench made my eyes water! When I thought it absorbed the dye enough, I squeezed as much liquid out of the yarn as I could. Then I hung it up to dry but left the class before it dried. When I brought it home, I rinsed it in water and gentle soap (Soak or Euclan) and a lot of the blue dye came out. Then I hung it up to dry. I love how it turned out!

You can see the pictures from the class HERE.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

A Lesson On Yak

If you are like me and old(er), you are probably singing that song that goes “yakety yak, don’t talk back!” But this isn’t about talking back. Instead, it is about yak fiber and spinning it into yarn. I recently told some friends of mine who have climbed Mt. Everest that I was spinning yak fiber and realized that I didn’t know very much about yaks. I know the fiber I am spinning is quite soft but Ron seemed to think it was quite coarse and scratchy. So I decided to do some research about them and their fiber. I got a lot of this information from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius.

Yaks are hairy animals that resemble cows and are found in the Himalayan Mountains. Their down is used for wool and the outer hairs are used for rope and rugs. Their milk is used like we drink cow’s milk and they are also eaten for meat. Yaks are used as farm animals and for sports such as racing and polo.

White yaks produce more fiber than dark ones but there are more dark yaks than white ones so dark fiber is more common.

Yaks have different layers of fiber. They have a long coarse outercoat that is used to make ropes for tents, bags, or rugs. There is a midrange layer also that is used in clothes that are waterproof and warm. Then there is the undercoat that has elasticity and bounce and can be almost as fine as cashmere and qiviut.

The down can be combed out before shearing or the whole coat can be shorn and then everything sorted later.

Fleece weight can vary a lot. Down yields anywhere from 7 ounces to 2 pounds.

So now I’m spinning some grayish yak/merino blended fiber and I love it because it is so soft. I’m going to make a 2 ply yarn with it but I’m not sure what I will make with the finished yarn yet.

Have you ever spun or knit with yak? Please share your experience if you have!

Image: 'Tibet-5812 - Yak at Yundrok Yumtso Lake'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22490717@N02/2212600119
Found on flickrcc.net

Fiber Arts for the Classroom

About 5 years ago, I started to crochet which led to knitting and now spinning. Of course, this has resulted in the purchase of an expensive new spinning wheel!

When I was growing up, I remember my mother doing lots of sewing and knitting. Eventually my middle sister became a great seamstress, crocheter, and knitter. I never had an interest in it until five years ago. I didn’t know many people around me who did crochet or knit but when another teacher was making an afghan, I begged her to teach me. I eventually found Ravelry which is a social network for people interested in fiber arts. At first I thought that just meant crocheting and knitting but I’ve found out that fiber arts involves felting, spinning, and a whole range of wonderful things!

Maybe I never noticed before or maybe it is becoming more popular but I’m glad to see this. I was afraid that fiber art might become a lost art.

I’m seeing more Fiber Festivals which is becoming a major money maker in the business world. My husband is amazed when we go to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival. There are swarms of people every year that attend. I dream of going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and to Rhinebeck for the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival.

I notice that colleges are starting to have knitting groups on campus and I’m glad to see young people becoming involved. Knitting and crocheting are not seen as an old woman’s craft anymore. Some high schools are even starting to have knitting groups. I had a few of my students learn to crochet because they wanted to make baby blankets (for their own children or for friends).

I’m also glad to see more men becoming involved in knitting because history shows that men did a lot of knitting on sailing ships.

I believe that learning a fiber art can be very educational. It involves reading and following directions, math skills (pricing yarn, figuring out the amount of yarn needed, measurement, resizing). Spinning teaches dexterity and motor skills whether learning to use a drop spindle or a spinning wheel. Dyeing yarn would be a great way to teach science.

If you are a fiber artist, consider sharing your art with your students. Let them ask questions. Show them some basics. If they are interested in more, you can add lessons but keep them short and simple because you don’t want to overwhelm them and scare them away.

If you aren’t a fiber artist, invite a speaker to come talk about their art. You can go to a craft store and ask them for suggestions of who to ask. If there is a yarn store nearby, consider asking the owner to come talk to your class. They could talk about yarn or even owning a business.

I think the students would be interested in Fiber Arts but may not know how to ask about it or even know what questions to ask. Bringing Fiber Arts into the classroom would be a chance for students to be successful in something besides academics, yet they would be learning academics without focusing on it.

Do you do some form of fiber arts? Do you share it with your students? Please share!

Original photo by Pat Hensley