Got Fluff?

I wish I had better news to tell you folks about the process last night…

Just kidding! :) I think it actually went okay.

I really didn’t know when I took them out of the water if I had felted them or not because they were SO puffed up. They looked angry! Well, they did compared to what they looked like when I first put them in the bags. But, I kept playing with a lock of wool while it was drying (I know, I know) and the hairs were separating…so that’s good, right?

I do think that I could’ve soaked them a fourth time. Look at these tips.

They’re still a little dirty looking. Well, these were the dirtiest bunch. But, I found a little comb to use that nobody here uses and it got that right out. Still, I think I may have to soak one bag at a time if I’m going to use those buckets in the future.

But here it is all combed out.

After I combed it, as scared as I was, I wanted to card it, of course. So, I got my nerves together and broke out my new student carders. And all of that fluff up there turned into this.

Pretty neat trick, huh? Well, I can’t say it came naturally. I used too much in the beginning. But I quickly learned that my carders were meant for smaller batches. So, once I figured out how to keep it at a manageable amount of wool, the rolags started looking better. At the end, I went back to do the first two over and I ended up with some passable looking rolags, I think.

But the real test was would it spin into anything….I took out my African Padauk Tiny Turkish by Enid Ashcroft for a quick spin.

Looks like we have a winner!

Well, there’s tons more to wash and card at this point, but I got a date with the hubby in a few and since he’s supporting my spinning habit at present, I’m going to be there with bells on. ;)