Walking, Mowing the Lawn, and Visiting a Friend

It was a nice week this week even though it was very hot.

We walked at the senior center every day except Tuesday because the gym wasn’t open. Don seems to be walking easier every day.

On Tuesday, I finally fixed my spinning wheel. After 2 years of not being able to spin my yarn, I can finally use my wheel again. I'm so excited. I spun so much that my legs felt like rubber when I stopped for dinner! 

On Thursday, we went out to breakfast with our friends from the center. I had been bragging about the French toast at IHOP, so we went there. I ended up being the only one who got the French toast. When we got home, I played around with making cards and hand-embroidering designs on them. 

On Thursday afternoon, Don had physical therapy, and he seems to be improving. On the therapist’s recommendation, we bought a therapy log that Don is supposed to lie on to help his upper back.

After walking on Friday, Don mowed the lawn. We had to add air to the back right tire again. After mowing the whole front lawn and most of the back, the belt broke on the lawnmower. Now we have to figure out how to get it fixed. We went to the John Deere dealer, and it looks like it might cost $500 to get it fixed. We are looking to see if we can find anyone else who works on it.

On Saturday, I went to visit my friend Sandy, who lives with her son one week and her daughter the next. It was really great to see her again. I can tell how much her family loves her and is taking good care of her.

original photos by Pat Hensley

A Reindeer Career

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In A Reindeer Career, Rushton features Davaajav, a reindeer herder who lives in Mongolia.

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“Try to imagine at least five possible futures for Davaajav and his family. What is in the video, or in other research you do on reindeer (also called caribou) that supports each idea for a possible future path?

Are there jobs in your community that seem to have fewer and fewer people doing them? Do jobs have life spans?”

I found this video interesting because I’ve never heard of a reindeer herder. Students would find this intriguing also. I didn’t know there was anyone who did that kind of work. I wonder if some of their future jobs could be to sell reindeer fiber and reindeer milk (what healthy qualities does reindeer milk have?).

Since I like to knit and spin yarn, I am very interested in animal fiber. I know that people spin muskox and bison fiber and I’ve spun yarn from yak and camel but I wasn’t sure about reindeer so I did some research. I found an etsy shop that sells reindeer yarn: Alaska Natural Fibers. 

Here is their description of reindeer fiber and yarn: 

“But, you say, isn’t reindeer hair thick and stiff? Not all of it.

The down is fine and soft but difficult to extract and delicate to handle. We separate the hollow hair from the fine down and what is left is beautiful.

Reindeer are 90% covered with hollow, stiff, white hairs. Snuggled in-between that floatation and heat-trapping layer is a very fine springy and short down fiber. In a similar way that the muskoxen grow and shed a winter undercoat of qivuit, the reindeer grow an entire winter protection layer and shed it in the spring. Reindeer shed everything down to the skin - naked! Muskoxen don’t shed their long protective fibers.

Since reindeer shed their coat entirely every spring, this makes gathering the fiber from a herd quite arduous as handlers are picking it up off the ground and out of fields.

By micron count, the reindeer undercoat is as fine as qivuit but grows in kinky inch long spirals and is an extremely soft down. Magnified the fibers resemble a tightly coiled spring nestled between long, rigid toothpicks.

Reindeer processes into a lighter and airier fiber, yet, at 100% it’s sticky like Velcro so needs blending to calm it down and get it through our milling machines.

We consider carefully when adding another animal wool to smooth the reindeer for processing. This blend has merino from Unalaska, Alaska on the Aleutian chain.

With handling and wear a reindeer garment just gets lovelier for it keeps its integrity and with time and handling, it blooms a halo of fine mist.”

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

American Wool

Wool is fiber from sheep. It is used to make many different items. Clothing and other items made of wool have been found dating from the first century B.C. One notable quality of wool is that it can absorb and repel water at the same time. It is very effective in keeping the clothing wearer very warm because it is a great insulator. It has become a very important part of the US Military uniform and it is the single largest consumer of American Wool. The Berry Amendment requires that all U.S. military uniforms be made from 100 percent domestic products.

Different breeds of sheep give wool different qualities which are characteristic of that breed.

I have taken raw wool and processed (cleaned) to spin into yarn. Once it is cleaned, I hand-carded the fiber to get the fibers going in the same direction for spinning. Then I’m able to spin this fiber into yarn. I spin the yarn into separate strands and then ply (or twist) them together to make thicker yarn for different projects.

Yarn can be knitted, crocheted, woven, or felted.

Activities

1.     Break students into groups and have them list as many different items that are made out of wool.

2.     List four different breeds of sheep and their characteristics.

3.     Research why wools are considered warmer than cotton.

4.     Have students find an item at home that is made of wool and bring it to class or take a photo of it.

5.     Buy yarn made of different materials (acrylic, cotton, wool) and let the students feel the difference.

6.     Invite a spinner to come to talk about spinning yarn.

7.     Invite a knitter to come to class and teach basic knitting.

What do you know about wool? Please share.

Original Photo by Pat Hensley

Bellfest 2019

This past Saturday was Bellfest at Devil’s Fork State Park. My husband and I was asked to do spinning demos like we did last year, and we agreed. We left home at 5:30am and stopped for breakfast. We made it to the park by 8am in order to set up our stuff. We had a wonderful spot that had a lot of traffic. It lasted until 3pm.

We set up our Clam screen room which was helpful when the wind picked up. We had a  long table that displayed different types of spindles, the different fibers (alpaca, yak, cashmere, camel, and wool) and my husband’s postcard books. The books showed postcards of spinning throughout history and different cultures. I also set up a clothes rack to display the items I made from my handspun yarn. Outside the screen room I set up my spinning wheel and my Turkish spindle. I also had a big white board on an easel that explained that we were doing spinning demos and that I was not selling anything. I saw several families see the sign and come inside when they knew that they weren’t expected to buy anything. As I spun on the wheel or the spindle, people stopped to watch, and I invited them inside to see the different fibers.

Across the walkway from us was the Department of Natural Resources booth that had animal furs, and a live alligator and a live snake. Many families were fascinated by these animals. It was a great way for me to invite the children into our room after they were done with the animals.

There was a great turn out of people who attended the festival. Along with the different vendors and exhibits, there was music, dancers, and food.

The weather was a little chilly but when the sun came out in the afternoon, it warmed up a little. We had a great day at the park, and it was a chance for me to explain this wonderful art form to others. Maybe someday, one of those children will try spinning yarn and remember the time they came to the park and saw our display and demo.

Do you have a craft that you share with others? Please let me know.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2014

I was so excited to attend the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival for the first time! You can see my pictures HERE.

On Saturday we  got there really early so we could beat the traffic. The gates were open but the vendors couldn’t start selling until 9am so when we got to Miss Bab’s booth, I got in line about 30 minutes early. While we were in line, Tina (a knitting podcaster that I listen to) found me in line and we walked around the main hall together shopping. Also, while I was in line, my online friends, Wendy (another knitting podcaster) and Lois (who makes these awesome project bags) came by to meet me!  It was so much fun to meet these friends in real life because we have been talking on Google Hang Outs. It is so much nicer to meet people in real life! During the day I walked around the barns and main hall where the vendors were and of course bought a lot of stuff. Luckily my hubby is willing to be my Sherpa! We also went to the Sheep Dog demo where the sheep escaped out of the fence and we watched the dogs round them up several times. We also went to the sheep show to watch them judge the sheep. At 1:30 I went to the podcaster meetup and met TheKnitGirllls (Laura and Leslie), and Ooohfancypants from the Whatcha Swatchin podcast (Emily), MojaveKnitter and SheepDreamery (friends on Ravelry and Instagram). About 3pm, I was tired so we left and was going to meet Wendy and Lois at a Starbucks but went to the wrong one. Finally we decided to meet at their hotel and we visited for a few hours. Dinner was at Chipotle Grill.

We had another lovely day at Maryland Sheep and Wool on Sunday. We got there early (around 7:30) and watched the beginning of the Sheep to Shawl competition which started with the shearing of the sheep. We stood next to this woman and her son who explained everything to us and was really helpful. At 10:30 when we stopped by, we saw a shawl finished and turned in for measuring. We watched the Sheepdog Demo again and saw the sheep escape again. Then we also saw more of the Sheep show and before we left we saw the Parade of the Sheep Breeds which was really interesting. My hubby said he really enjoyed this festival because he learned so much and would be willing to come again. We walked around the outside vendors which I missed on Saturday because I got tired. I bought one more bag of fiber and a nostepinne which I’ve always wanted. Finally around 1:20, we left because we were exhausted. We came back to our hotel room but it hadn’t been cleaned yet. Around 3pm we left to eat an early dinner (we ate an early lunch at 10:30). When we got back, our room was cleaned and I was ready to just relax!

Things I Learned:
1. Get there early to avoid traffic!
2. Bring a big bag to hold all your purchases.
3. Plan on stopping at a bathroom early because there are long lines.
4. They don’t use the fiber on the belly to spin.
5. Listen to others who offer advice because it is good to learn something new!
6. Look at the knitted stuff that others are wearing.
7. Bring a snack to eat on when you get tired.
8. Wear a hat so you don’t get sunburned.

Original Photo 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