Willow Glen Farm on Etsy

Past Posts by Theme
Past Posts By Week
Squarespace
Powered by Squarespace

Entries in washing (2)

Thursday
Jan192012

My Little Helpers!

Every fiber artist dreams of the day when their fiber is so in demand that they need to bring in an assistant (or two). Apparently, my day has come. . .

I was working on the computer in my back studio with Kat quietly doing puzzles beside me, or so I thought. The sound of splashing pulled me from my work and I realized Kat had gotten busy in the studio kitchen. My mind was a step ahead of my rushing feet as I remembered I had a very dirty Jacob fleece soaking in very dirty water in the sink.

The little bugger is fast and stealthy! She had dragged her stool over the sink and climbed up.

BUT! Look at that smart girl and good helper . . . just like Mommy, she put her gloves on before putting her hands in the water!

When I got to her, she was saying, "Wash, wash, wash!"

One helper may be a necessity, but TWO helpers is down right decadent.

Morgan proved to be a bit more effective as a fiber assistant.

Here she is sorting the colors of a Jacob fleece for my "Are Ewe Well-Bred?" club. As she's getting older, she's becoming more and more interested in wool processing, and I can assign her jobs that are actually helpful.

Now if I could only get the boys to help as well . . .

Friday
Nov192010

Never Say Never!

OK, I'm going to be a teeny, tiny bit spiritual here, and then I promise I'll jump into fiber. Just hang in there!

All my life, the Lord has been whittling away parts of me that are judgmental and opinionated. I think that's a good thing, BUT He really likes to do it by putting me in the exact same position as those I have judged. Not so fun, but an affective way to teach a lesson. I've been through just about everything, and I'm pretty good at looking at about every situation with a very compassionate view at this point in my oh-so-long life.

However, I've just been taught yet another lesson, and it's a fiber-y one!

About 6 years ago, I remember watching an episode of "Knitty Gritty" with a woman who had combed her friend's dog, spun the fiber and then knit a little purse out of it. My naive 26-year-old, non-spinning self said, "She's crazy" and "that's gross."

Never say never!

Today, my 33-year-old, spinning-obsessed self just shaved our standard poodle and threw his fur in a hot soapy bath. I am now that crazy lady! But all the cool spinners are doing it, and I don't want to be left out. Besides, when you have a great, large, spotted dog like I have, it's hard not to think about all the "what if's" when petting him.

Here's Hunter post-shave (I left a little mohawk for him!)

 

Isn't he handsome?

He's called a party poodle because of his spots. Hmmm . . . he's a poodle, he's a party, he's shaved, he's got a (temporaty) pink collar: we really don't mean to emasculate our male animals, it just happened that way!

Anyway, here's a shot of his washed locks, still dripping in my studio sink.

That's as far as I've gotten this morning.  I have no idea if this will work, or what it'll be like. My husband wants a hat made out of it. But seriously, what man wants to say he's wearing a poodle hat?! Now he's the crazy one. But just watch, next I'll have pictures of him in a poodle hat!

I have learned a few things so far:

  • Dogs smell worse than sheep when wet
  • Dogs are as dirty as, if not more than sheep
  • I'm more allergic to dog than sheep
  • When we get sheep, we may have them in the house, and send Hunter out to the barn. They're cleaner.
  • Hunter needs baths more often.

I'll keep you all updated as this saga progresses! AND, I've updated last week's post to include the original batt that Joyce's scarf came from (thanks for the tip Andrea!)

Now go head over to Fiber Arts Friday to get your week's worth of fiber fun! Lot's of great blogs talking about lots of great fiber topics!