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!
I've learned a few more things while working with this poodle fiber!
- Poodle has guard hairs (you can see it in the photos).
- My son makes a terrible sheerer (a LOT of second cuts).
- If I do this again, I'll only take the very top of the fleece (from his back) and no lower than half-way down the sides. The hair is longer there and more spin-friendly.
- It's not as soft as I thought, but much softer than it looks. I know, it looks like twine!
- If I actually get all this spun into yarn, and make Mike a hat, I'm going to need stock in Allegra (an allergy medicine!).
- My husband is now set on getting a hat. Good grief, what have I started?
Some photos of progress:
Poodle on the bobbin
Beauty shot of small sample of 2-ply yarn. I've separated out the dark brown to spin alone.
Another beauty shot.
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 8:19AM 
