Fiber Arts Friday: Shave 'Em to Save 'Em, Hog Island

Breed - Hog Island

In continuing my journey thru the SE2SE breeds, this one is Hog Island.

Slightly less than a 1-inch staple.

While this sample is extremely spongy, I find that it is drafting easily and feels quite soft.

Much like the Shropshire, there is a lot of vegetable matter (VM) in this sample.  I am picking out the larger pieces as I am spinning.

I'm curious if this yellow-ish color is typical.

VM aside, I'm surprised by how much I like spinning this sample.  It's so smooth/soft on my finger tips which I was not expecting.

I started spinning this breed in early August, hoping to have it completed between the two 2020 Tour de Fleeces.  But I did not finish spinning until December 2020, did not skein it until March of this year, and finally washed it at the end of July (7/20/21) in preparation for the County Fair.

This breed roving was sourced from The Ross Farm in Pennsylvania which is currently being worked by the 5th and 6th generation of the Ross Family.

It feels really good knowing that I am able to support a family-owned farm and conservation breeder of rare breed livestock.  :-)

Final Yarn: Hog Island
Single Duration: August 2 - November 14, 2020

Ply Duration: November 22 - December 6, 2020

Skein'd: March 20, 2021

Washed: July 20, 2021
ounces: 3.75
yards: 231, 2-ply
wpi:  
Ready to Submit:  July 22, 2021

SE2SE Status:
Total Breeds: 22
Breeds Sourced: 18
Breeds Spun: 14
Breeds To Go: 8

Months Remaining: 5 (12/31/21)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: A Studio!

I have alluded a few times that we are moving house and farm.

The new place has many features we have been looking for, including a proper studio for me.

It is a trapezoid-shaped room that is attached to the house.  It was the prior owner's hobby room and had been painted in high-gloss, Kawasaki/Snap-On colors.

Before:

While I love a good red, I have always felt that red should be more of an accent, rather than the main field.

After:

I wanted a calm and bright space that will be comfortable for both my studio as well as my home office.  So paint was toward the top of the pre-move-in list of tasks.

I am happy with the result.

We've started to move a few things in now and will begin the big push to get to the new place full-time soon.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: County Fair 2021, part 2

Hubba and I went to the County Fair last weekend.

My Results

Neither of my wools placed but my Tibetan Mastiff yarns received second and third place behind a beautifully spun skein of yak.

This is expected since both of the wools had quite a bit of vegetable matter (VM) in the roving, and therefore so does the yarn.  Though the judge only mentioned it on one of them.

The judge recommended a figure-eight for tying all of the skeins, which I've not done but will start.

It's interesting that the judge thought both of the wools were harsh for the intended purpose (a blanket) and recommended long-draw over short-draw as the spinning technique.... I had already decided that I want to practice the long-draw technique over the next year because it should produce a loftier yarn.  So now I have a new goal of entering a long-drawn yarn into next year's fair.  :-)

The judge also mentioned guard hair in the Tibetan Mastiff skeins as well as over/under-spun areas in each yarn.

I agree with all of the workmanship comments and I always find it interesting to see what each judge tends to focus on.

The county fair is a place where consistency and the following of best practices is rewarded.  Therefore, I believe it's an excellent place to test your skills.

Other Entries

There were a lot of beautiful yarns this year, all of which were displayed behind glass... None of these photos turned out well... I guess I should practice taking photos of things behind glass.  :-/

The grand champion was a hand-spun, hand-knit cardigan-vest with lots of cables.... really quite striking.

As always, the Quilt entries are awe-inspiring for me.  One day, I may attempt to make a quilt.  ;-)

Other Exhibits

There was a mini-Ninja Warrior course at the entrance to the Fairgrounds.  They had a big-buff dude helping kids thru the course.  It was fun to see dreams looking possible in the kids' eyes.

There was also this phone charging station.  It was set up with a variety of cables.  All you had to do was plug in and start pedaling.  Fun!

A Sign of the Times

Since Hubba and I both have first-hand knowledge of non-vaccinated people not wearing masks, and the fact that enforcement of the public health policy is not occurring, Hubba and I continue to wear masks in public... especially now with the Delta Variant surging.

AND...

Since most people were not wearing masks, and a large thunderstorm was brewing, Hubba and I decided not to stay.... so we did not visit any of the other exhibits, animals, or midway.

All of that being said, there were fewer people than we typically see at the fairgrounds while we were there.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: A New Long-term Project - Criss Cross Canine Cardigan

With Tour de Fleece 2020 v2.0 finishing at the end of September, I learned that I won a pattern from one of my team mates.  Yay!

I chose the Criss Cross Cardigan by Isabell Kraemer.  It had been in my queue for a little while and I thought that it would look nice in handpsun chiengora.

Upon choosing a size, rounding up the suggested yardage, and estimating weight based on my recent spin of Ramen... I packed a grocery sack full of washed fleece.

I think I will need 21-22 oz of yarn.  The full sack weighs 28.5 oz.  (As we know, I always over-estimate because I hate running out of yarn.)

I started to card it up the the next weekend Saturday (9/26/20).

I began spinning on a Tuesday (11/17/20) with the goal of a fine weight (sock to fingering), 2-ply yarn.

I set the first ply aside at the beginning of this year's Tour de Fleece and have finally finished the first skein for this project.  

I think I'll need about 1000 yards.  Which, at 155 yds, means that  I need to make six more similar skeins since and my weight estimate is holding.

Of course this is all pending confirmation by swatch.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Things That Work: Tallow Balm

I used to participate in the One Small Change and Slow Living monthly reports.  I'm still doing a lot of these things to reduce our carbon foot print, but one thing that has always eluded me was how to handle toiletry products.

Then last year I learned about a local producer of Beef Tallow moisturizers.  I had used Bison Tallow soap before, and completely loved it.  So this was an easy sell for me.

With being a farmer anyway and extra-diligent about hand-washing due to Covid, my hands take a beating.

Our skin is our largest organ and absorbs everything we put on it.  So I think it's even more important to be using healthy, sustainable products.

I love that this tallow balm is literally only 3 ingredients that are easy to pronounce and understand; beef tallow, olive oil, and essential oils.

When I use the Tallow Balm, I feel the need for it less frequently than when using industrially-produced lotions.

I also really love the stick format.  It's perfect for carrying in my hand-bag or backpack and does not seep thru the cardboard.

So these days I'm keeping a stick in my handbag and a jar on my desk.

Beef Tallow definitely works!