I also visited Sweetgrass Farm in Michigan, met some of Peg’s Jacob sheep, fed them animals crackers, and picked up three colors of roving.
Photo description: two wound balls of dark gray and light gray roving, and a bump of white a gray separated color rovingPhoto description: Jacob ewes, the one in the middle showing four small horns and a beautiful multicolored fleece of white and black
Jacob sheep are in the Threatened category according to the Livestock Conservancy. They were “park sheep” in England in the 1700s and were bred for hardiness, four horns, and spots. I love the color variation in their wool and their eye catching horns. Here is more information from the Livestock Conservancy.
Photo description: Jacob ram with breed typical four impressive large hornsPhoto description: Jacob ram with recessive trait horns that look more like a Big Horn Sheep
I’m really looking forward to spinning this wool and am already playing with ideas on what I can do with the lovely variations of natural color.
When I was up in Michigan I had the opportunity to visit Pitchfork Ranch and pick up some Teeswater roving.
Photo description: one pound of Teeswater roving with Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em sticker and Pitchfork Ranch business card
Teeswater sheep, according to the Livestock Conservancy, have a critical status. Because of preference for other longwool sheep, Teeswater nearly became extinct in the 1920s. The long lovely curly locks of Teeswater are often used in needle felting projects that retain the curl. I intended to spin most of the fiber, so was pleased that Pitchfork Ranch had roving available. To read more about this longwool sheep, here is the link to the Livestock Conservancy page, which has a detailed writeup.
Photo description: Teeswater Ram in a pasture with fence and woods in the background, photo credit to Pitchfork Ranch, used with permission
Photo description: Thor the cat with three articles of doll clothes in front of him, all made from wool
Thor the cat really likes wool. Awhile back we moved the gate keeping dogs out of the cat area and inadvertently removed the gap on the side that Thor used as a pass through. The gate was no problem for our two leaping female cats, but Thor is not a leaper. He can jump up, but for some reason doesn’t get that he can jump over. So he was blocked from the upstairs and our youngest’s room, which is full of wooly goodness. My eldest fixed his access by putting a stool on one side and a box on the other, giving him treats to entice him over. He learned, using supports, to get over and regained access to the treasure trove of doll clothes. He goes up, selects a wool item (always wool, never acrylic) and brings it downstairs. In the picture, the brown doll jacket in the middle was his latest prize, I threw the green doll shawl and pink doll sweater that he had previously brought down next to him for the picture. I could probably use him as a wool finder for fabric with unknown animal hair content.
P.S. he looks like a chonk, but the vet says Thor the cat’s weight is in the normal range.
I warped my small sprang loom again using dyed wool yarn, once again determined to make this one a little better than the last. I warped on a few more times to make it wider to help combat the natural inclination to twist.
Photo description: small bent cane sprang loom with orange and yellow dyed wool yarn interlinked in a single direction (all S twist on the top, all Z twist on the bottom)
This attempt was an improvement on the previous tries. I achieved an even fabric, even though finishing the middle is still vexing me, it was less wonky than the last times. I tried a different method too: chaining each side separately, rather than both together. It still needs work.
Photo description: chain looped center of the sprang fabric, with a stitch holder in the last loop
I used the extra yarn from warping to sew up the sides, and strung yarn through the top to make a drawstring bag.
Photo description: small wool sprang bag shown empty and closedPhoto description: same bag shown slightly stretched because it is holding a mandarin orange
The sideways stretch of the bag is easily double the height. There is no stretch vertically, which I need to take into account when designing a piece. This tiny bag would do well to hold dice. I’ve seen some larger bags made with wood handles that would outperform a similar bag in crochet because crochet stretches in all directions and tends to droop over time.
I’m determined to add Sprang to my crafting repertoire. This round, I secured the bottom of my small bent cane loom with some paracord so it was less loosey-goosey. I added life lines using hemp string, and used hemp for the header and footer ties. (Why hemp and paracord? That was what was next to me. The paracord is too thick for the lifelines (to me), so I replaced them with thinner hemp.)
Photo description: restructured small sprang loom with Izzy the cat investigating the string
Using wool yarn and making a wider sample did help with the bias twist a little while I was working. I did some interlinked rows, and tried some intertwined rows to the middle.
Photo description: orange wool yarn woven on a small sprang loom using lifelines and bamboo skewers
I went to finish the center with a crochet chain and everything went wonky. The chain crawled upward on the yarn, making the two uneven halves even more uneven.
Photo description: botched attempt at finishing the middle of the sprang with a crochet chain stitch
When I took the sample off the loom it curled unevenly, wonky and crumpled.
Photo description: sprang sample off the loom, twisted
I wove in the ends, catching the live loop of the crochet chain when I went up the side, and blocked the piece by wetting and pinning it to dry.
Photo description: blocked and slightly less wonky bit of sprang work in orange yarnPhoto description: same bit of sprang, opposite side, shown stretched, it really has a very pleasing sideways stretch
Undeterred, I made a third attempt. Rather than the chain finish, I tried warp and weft plain weaving the center part. Abysmal. The plain weave has no stretch and completely threw off the stretch of the sprang. I mention it only so I remember that I tried, and rejected, the method. It doesn’t even deserve its own post. I’m not giving up, though.
Critters and Craft 