Spinning Wheel Workout~3 ply wool handspun

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I've been busy at my Ashford spinning wheel, spinning up skeins of my own Romney wool 3 ply handspun yarn.  I've decided to use just my white wool so that the handspun yarn can be used in hand dyeing which is very popular right now.



Spinning 3 ply yarn requires a number of steps.  The first is to spin 3 bobbins of very fine one ply yarn.  I need to keep in mind that the finished yarn will be a combination of 3 different threads, each one adding bulk.  This spinning step is spun using a "S" spin, the spinning wheel is rotating in a clockwise direction.

The second step is to spin together all 3 of the yarns, now called "plys".  The three filled bobbins are mounted on a "lazy kate" which is a wooden device that holds a number of bobbins that are then able to be wound off.  When plying. the 3 individual bobbins are spun together using a "Z" spin which is counterclockwise. 
Plying yarn not only strengthens the yarn, it also is best to use for knitting.  One ply yarn will often knit at an angle, following the twist of the yarn.  This does not happen when the yarn is plyed because of the multiple directions of the twists.  A plyed yarn is often smoother and "rounded" resulting in a better looking finished garment.
I ply my 3 filled bobbins of yarn onto a jumbo bobbin which will hold lots more yarn than the standard 2 oz bobbin will.

The jumbo bobbin is now filled with 6 oz of 3 ply handspun wool yarn.  That doesn't sound like much but it does involved a lot of treadling and time!
Now it is time to wind the yarn off of the bobbin.  I do that by winding it between my hand and elbow.  I will later wash, weigh, and measure the yardage before skeining it into hanks for sale.

Wound off the spinning wheel bobbin

ready for a gentle hand wash and dry

 Yarn measured and off the niddy noddy

Finished !
5.9 oz, 572 yards
ready for use or dyeing



Bucking alfalfa bales

ALFALFA BALES ARE READY FOR PICKUP

I received "the call" from Cheryl at C&L Farms that the 3rd cutting alfalfa was ready for pickup.  That call means relief that the sheep will have winter feed, that there's lots of work ahead, and there's lots of money to be spent! 

My Light in the Forest Wools sheep flock (and Blitzen, the llama) will only eat thin stemmed and leafy alfalfa.  The 3rd cutting of irrigated field alfalfa meets those needs.  Feeding earlier cuttings results in lots of feed left behind which ends up as very expensive bedding. 

This summer, with it's off and on rains meant that there just might not be a third cutting.  It was looking pretty "iffy" for a while but I knew that if anybody could pull it off it would Lynn and Cheryl at C&L Farms.  They are an experienced family farm that raises not only alfalfa, but also hay, corn, and mighty fine Angus cattle.  Their alfalfa is the best and I'm very fortunate to be able to purchase my winter feed from these great people.

Bob and I left here about 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning (we had to sneak between the raindrops on Monday and Thursday).  It's an hour drive to where the alfalfa is grown.  Thanks to Bob's trailer we can haul 2 tons at a time.  I brought 4 tons this year which meant 2 trips, one each day.  It works out great since we need some recovery time after each load!!

And the loading begins

There are 29 bales to a ton this year, 69# each.   Two great guys there at the farm (not pictured) help us load up which we definitely appreciate! 

Bob is extremely careful about securing the bales for the trip home.  Gotta admire the variety of knots that he creates!!!  I appreciate that I won't be seeing any bales flying off the trailer:)

When we got home the first day it was just Bob and I there to unload the first 2 tons into the barn.  The trailer doesn't fit into the barn so there's a lot of carrying and stacking.  Bob is the one to do that, and I push and shove the bales off the trailer.  Gloves are a must, not to mention lots of water and muscle.



STACKING BALES IN THE BARN





TRAILER FLUNKY
ME!



Finished up the first load in about 5 hours, including travel time.  Time for lunch and a rest!

Wednesday, another day to do it all over again!!  My darling daughter, Jill, phoned and offered her assistance and we just couldn't say NO!  Jill and her sister, Sunshine, spent many years in their youth helping to put up the winter's hay.  On our first farm, that meant cutting from our own fields.  As the flock grew tho' we had to begin to buy hay offsite.  Both girls were quite adept at bucking bales, and later, driving the hay truck. 

JILL BUCKING BALES

Jill met us at home when we drove in with the second two tons.  Before we knew it, bales were flying:)  She is super strong and fit, hard for Bob and I to even keep up with!  Wow, before we knew it the last bale was stacked and Jill was looking for more.  Really appreciated her amazing help, and it was like ole' times working next to her again.
Since we were already hot and sweaty, Jill and I decided to take a 3.5 hilly walk around the countryside.  It actually felt good :)

FULL BARN, EMPTY TRAILER

A HAPPY ENDING







 

Now comes the fun part!!

INDIGO DYEING CONTINUED

After soaking in the heated indigo leaf dye vat for about one half hour, I gently lift the skeins out, one at a time.  The water is about 120 degrees so it's hot, but so is a hot tub :)  Squeezing the skeins out throughly is important due to one major factor, the dye in the wool needs to be oxidized by air.  When this happens, as if by MAGIC, the greenish color turns a glorious wonderful blue!
                                                 
                                                     Yarn being aired and turning blue

 Wool Skeins on blocker

The next step is to wind the yarn skeins onto a "blocker".  This straightens the yarn and allows it to dry evenly.

Finally, the finished product!  I wind off the yarn onto a niddy noddy which forms the yarn into a 2 yd. hank (skein of yarn).  It is good to know how many yards there are in an ounce of yarn.  This total is called the "yarn weight" and helps the knitter, etc. figured out how many skeins are needed for a project.

                                                   Yarn on a niddy noddy, yarn skein after

                                                                        removal

                                                                                      

Results from my Indigo dye day

Took a little longer to get to my dyeing then I thought it would.  Not only did the beautiful weather mean that it's time to dye, but a lot of other needy chores as well.  I did get it done so, here we go!

                                                  Japanese Indigo Plants ready to be picked

                                                                              

My Japanese Indigo seeds are started indoors in early spring.  Indigo plants need warmth and moisture to flourish so in cold weather climates we need to give them a head start before we can plant them outdoors which is usually mid April when the soil is well and there is no chance of freezing temps.

Only the leaves are selectively picked.  The stems are fibrous and contain little dyestuff.  Indigo plants are hardy and rebound quickly from the picking.  New leaves will sprout just above where the original leaf was picked.  Indigo is truly an amazing plant in many, many ways!

Leaves harvested and yarn for dyeing readied



  Leaves in the dye vat, just added                                   After one hour of 160 degree heat

                                                                                              

                     

When the leaves are done, they are removed and the now brown liquid is poured into a bucket and ammonia is added.  The liquid is then poured back and forth to add air to the mixture, which turns it blue.
Yet another step is needed and that is to add a reducer that allows the leaf liquid to release it color. This turns the liquid a greenish yellow.

Yarn in the dye vat

                 

                

I spin my Romney fleece into handspun yarn and then tie loosely into skeins.  I want the dyebath to flow freely through the fiber but the yarn needs to also stay in some sort of order or it become a frustrating tangled mess.  This batch is 3 ply and includes the natural colored yarn mentioned in the previous post.  It is very important to add the yarn carefully to the vat.  I do not want any air to be introduced into the vat at this time.  Notice that the liquid is a greenish color.

TO BE CONTINUED