Sleek sky of cobalt blue;
Water like nectar satisfies deeply.
Air sweeter than the best perfume;
Sunlight warms a grateful cat.
Deng Ming~Dao
The sun is finally shining in New Hampshire!! Thank Goodness!! I can honestly say, that I can't ever remember such a rainy spring, but the last few days have been delightfully warm and sunny. It is nice to see people smiling again~
I have been out straight busy, getting ready for the Fiber Frolic next weekend. Given that I lost what I was going to bring with me, I have frantically fired up the dye pots. Because I am a bit thin on angora right now, I am making 20% angora/ 80% merino balls, instead of my usual 40% angora blends..
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this Patrick Green Carder? It does such a wonderful job processing this wool. For anyone out there that is contemplating this machine and is not sure.....go for it!
Because I sell my wool by the ounce, I carefully weigh the wool and then the angora to the proper blend per ounce and then feed it into the carder. I set the speed at a very slow speed and by doing that, I am only having to pass it thru once with this blend. With the higher angora amounts, it really does require 2 passes to blend it properly.
This is one of the things that I love most about this carder. The roving attachment........which is just a glorified diz..LOL. At first I thought...geez......this will be so much work, pulling it off of the drum with a diz. However, the big drum is a free moving drum, which makes it extremely easy to diz off of it.
With just a little effort and a few minutes, I am able to pull off these nicely prepared rovings
Although, there are some amongst us that are not fans of green........next to paprika, it is my favorite here.......so being green this time is a good thing for me :-))
This is what I finished last night, while desperately trying to get caught up on my blog reading and emails.
I also want to say, just how wonderful I think you all are! The other day when I was feeling so bummed out about what happened to all of my fiber, your notes really made me smile........and I was astonished at just how quickly those pilled up rovings sold.
Thank~you!!!
After I pulled out the wool from the dye pots, I tossed in a few skeins of merino silk yarn to see how it would dye and I was very pleased with how it came out. Dyeing yarn, has never been a strong suit for me......somehow I usually botch it up, because I don't leave it alone. This time I resisted the temptation to poke at it and I am happy with how it looks. Maybe I will try to get some more finished for the fair
We will see ........there is soap still to be made and more dyeing and carding to be done.
Life is busy right now..........but it is such a wonderful kind of busy!
I would like to send you a sample of some wool I have so you could tell me what i have if you could thank you Shirley
Posted by: Shirley Perez | Friday, August 29, 2008 at 01:46 PM
I have a llama farm where I have been working with the fiber from my animals and have been asked to sell some of my fiber and teach a spinning class. I have an Ashford drum carder that my husband electrified for me but, would like to have a larger scale one. Can anyone tell me anything about these Pactric Green Carders or a good price for a used one? Do they process a lot more fiber per hour than the other carders?
Thanks, Wendy Stebelton
Perfect Point Llama Farm
rogerstebelton@greenapple.com
Posted by: Wendy Stebelton | Sunday, November 06, 2005 at 09:04 AM
Wow... I'm totally drooling over the PG SuperCarder. I'm thinking I must have that carder. My Finest has been doing a good job, but I'm just head over heels for the SuperCarder.
Posted by: Rose | Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 09:50 AM
I always feel so inadequate when I read your posts. You're a fiber superwoman!
Posted by: susan | Tuesday, June 07, 2005 at 01:40 PM
Oooh, I love that carder!!! Oh, and of course, I love green -- fabulous fibre you've got there!
Posted by: Felicia from sweetgeorgia | Monday, June 06, 2005 at 12:37 PM
That's a LOVELY green! It's the dull or bright greens that really get to me. It's good to hear you have sun. Please send some back;-)
Posted by: Margene | Monday, June 06, 2005 at 12:20 PM
are you using the soap molds from Uplands
I have the ten pound logs,
I only have 4 and could use a slab
hahahaha
I love soapers
vi
Posted by: vi | Sunday, June 05, 2005 at 08:12 PM
Great tutorial on dizzing from the carder! I love my PG. I can't imagine any other way to get my fiber blended as nicely.
Posted by: claudia k | Sunday, June 05, 2005 at 03:07 PM
I have never seen more beautiful colors than the ones you choose to dye your fiber/yarn. You are a true artist!
Posted by: Becca | Sunday, June 05, 2005 at 09:53 AM
I love that green...can't wait to see it in person next weekend! And soap, too? When do you have time to sleep, eat, etc.??? ;)
Posted by: Liz | Sunday, June 05, 2005 at 09:39 AM
Kim, you sound so much happier today. See, silver linings abound!
Posted by: June | Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 09:48 PM
I'm not so much a green girl, but even I could be convinced by that roving - it looks beautiful.
Posted by: Cassie | Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 09:28 PM
The rovings looks green apple fresh and I love the yarn! And to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of green, either. But this is SO nice!
Hope the fair goes well!
Posted by: Leslie | Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 08:46 PM
And let's not forget that you were able to make lemonade for a bunch of us with all those lemons you got!! :)
Posted by: Anne | Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 06:27 PM
Such a rich green! I love it. Sure do wish I could see it in person at the Fiber Frolic. :)
Posted by: Jackie | Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 05:08 PM
All right, you've hooked me. I need that carder. What model did you get? The roving looks lovely, wonderful soft color.
Posted by: Judy | Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 05:04 PM