Tag: dog

Spinning dog hair

On By CarynIn Craft

My friend brought me a bag of dog hair! For a spinner, this is an exciting thing, especially when the dog has an undercoat.

Photo description: white and fawn colored dog hair in a gallon plastic bag
Photo description: Baxter as a puppy. He is 30% Great Pyrenees, 30% Cattle Dog, 20% Boxer, and 20% Belgian Malinois according to a DNA test.

I chose to separate out the white and fawn colored hair, because it didn’t seem right to blend it when Baxter the dog is spotted. The hair was clean with only a slight doggy smell, so I did not wash it. I did card it with a fine toothed set of carders.

Photo description: the white portion of dog hair loaded on one carder
Photo description: Missy the dog is very interested in the smell of the carded fiber. (Her hair smooth and is very, very difficult to spin.)

I chose to spin Baxter’s fur with a spindle shaft without a whorl, so I could have absolute control over the twist. It was a moderately difficult spin, not as easy as Samoyed, but still spin able.

Photo description: single spun dog hair on a shaft with cup hook

I chain plied the singles to make a three ply yarn. I like chain plying potentially delicate singles because if I do get a break, I can ply it together relatively easily.

Photo description: three ply yarn on a spindle shaft wrapped in a crisscross style

Because Baxter is a beloved pet, I decided to make a small keepsake with this yarn. I crocheted the white yarn in a circle, then used the fawn colored yarn to crochet a heart shape.

Photo description: heart crocheted from two colors of hand spun 100% dog hair

I believe scent is an important link in memories, so I did not block or wash the heart, but instead placed it in a plastic bag to preserve the scent so it will be a comfort when my friend pulls it out in the future.

Nearer to you

On By CarynIn Craft, dog

Missy the dog tries to lay right behind my feet when I’m spinning, which makes it hard to treadle. So I put her bed to the side, which was an acceptable offering.

Photo description: Ashford Traveller spinning wheel, Svaha Genetic plants dress, small black dog on a blue round bed

I’m currently spinning Teeswater wool on my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel. Teeswater is listed as a critical in the Livestock Conservancy’s list of Heritage Sheep Breeds. I purchased roving from a rancher in Michigan, and I am enjoying spinning the fiber.

One step at a time

On By CarynIn Craft

I thought I would be at the park and draft stage of spindle spinning forever. There I would sit forever, spinning the spindle to build twist, then catching the spindle between my knees, or under one leg, or arm, and only then letting the twist run into my fiber as I drafted. Managing both spin and drafting seemed unattainable. I was actually OK with it, except for the lure of an idea. The idea to spin and walk.

So I grabbed my Turkish spindle and some prepared merino roving and tried again. The spindle seemed too heavy, so I took off the arms and slid a light wood whorl down the shaft to make a bottom whorl spindle. (With park and draft I preferred a top whorl.) Oh my goodness, something clicked. Yes, I dropped the spindle a few times as I figured out which direction I was spinning (I couldn’t think S or Z, I had to think counterclockwise or clockwise). I tried using my distaff, but kept getting the fibers wrapped tight around it, so instead wrapped some roving around my arm. The fiber was bunching up, so I divided the roving in half. That seemed to do the trick! I was spinning while standing! Missy the pup helped me with the next step because when I am standing that means I can kick her ball, right? And if I can kick her ball, maybe I can walk and spin. For now, spinning will continue indoors, as it is cold outside. But when it warms up, it will be time to try to walk!

Missy helping me with the spinning goals by asking me to kick her ball while I spin.

I thought I was so clever

On By CarynIn Life Hack

Having small toys roll under the couch has been driving me batty. So I thought I might stuff pool noodles under the edge of the couches to block errant balls from rolling underneath. Being the end of the pool season, I couldn’t find them in stores, but I found some lovely black pool noodles online. I industrially cut them to size and stuffed them under the edge, only to have the puppy take singular interest in pulling them out and tearing them apart. Sigh. I stuffed them deeper under the couch, which I’m not sure will actually help, but maybe it will a little. Puppies.

Cutting black pool noodles to length
Pool noodle under the couch as a block for toys rolling underneath

He liked it so much…

On By CarynIn Craft

Our dog Griffin really likes his egg crate foam bed, so I made him another for his “place” (dog kennel). Since I am limiting my brick-and-mortar shopping, I bought a twin sized egg crate foam mattress topper online, cut it to size, and sewed a cover out of an old sheet.

The foam cuts easily with kitchen shears
I doubled up the foam
The good part of the fabric from a worn out set of sheets, with a zipper at one end to make it easy to wash
I think he likes it! The new foam mat is under his regular blankets

This is the first sewing project that I have made time to do in weeks. But now that the CDC is recommending cloth masks for grocery shopping (yes, I’m a little behind the news, it is healthier for my sanity), I will try to make some masks.