Suint Vat - Part Two

I left my vat for a couple of weeks. Mostly a time thing and I figured it could not  hurt! Wow is it stinky when you open it up. I set up a screen over a bin and took out handfuls at a time. 

I wore gloves and squeezed the fleece out ove the screen. 

Then I threw it in my commercial spinner, which I set in a tub to catch the water I spun out of the fleece. 

Once I spun it I decided it needed one hot water wash. I soaked it in a tub with some Euculan for about 30min. I rubbed the really dirty tips between my fingers and then spun it dry. 

I noticed that the fleece in the smaller tub was not as clean as the one in the larger tub, I think the extra water makes a difference. I started another cat and split a very large corriedale fleece into the three vats. I still have a little left over. 

The fleeces look fairly clean, no worse then when I do my two wash, rinse with them. Once they are dry I will be able to make a better decision on it I like the suint vat or not.

Let Go of Perfect

Perfect is an idea, a way of creating pain and a way of beating ourselves up. You can definitely have it all, but you are going to have to let go of perfect.

I am not saying to let go of your standards or your dreams I am saying: Cut yourself and everyone else slack.

Beauty come out of our imperfection.

The best discoveries happen almost by accident, when we let go.

Do the work, work hard and then let go. Think of it like learning to ride a bike. You can study the books and you can learn each of the steps to perfection, but in order to ride the bike you have to let go, let yourself gain some speed.

Being creative, running your own business works the same way. Get it all together, make the list, cross of each item, let go of the things that become less important and then let yourself gain some speed, let go of perfect.

Perfect is a myth, a construct. It is what happens only when you realize that it is perfect in its imperfections.

So be brave and be imperfect.

This beautiful saying has been posted by an anoynoumous artist along the KC trail in Rossland. 

"Even after all this time the sun never days to the earth you owe me. Look what happens with a love like that, it lights up the whole sky."

What if we worried less about who owed us what and focused more on doing just to do? 

How would that change your everyday? How could it change your thought patterns? 

What affect would it have on how you perceived the world? 

Sometimes...

For a very brief period...

Before chaos reigns my living room looks like this...

I am trying to tidy up once everyday, it helps me focus, stay grounded, and reduces my anxiety... 

#rare #beautiful #mylivingroom #smallspaceliving #workfromhomemum #spinolution #spinolutionfirefly #productionspinning #spinnersofinstagram #fibreworksfromhome #mystudio #makingourselves

Fermenting Fleece

I have heard about fermenting fleece and with winter coming on and the prospect of washing one fleece at a time in my tiny shower loomed before me I thought I would do a little more research.

@julie_patchuliespins posted a picture on Instagram of a Jacob fleece fresh out of the suint vat. I was intrigued. Washing fleece is back breaking work, not to mention all the water and soap it takes. Could a suint vat be the solution to days spent washing fleece and a little more environmentally friendly too?

Well I am about to find out. I went a googling and came up with Wool Ewe, the instructions here seemed pretty good, so I am about to try it out. If you would like her instructions too, just tap the above link.

Stage one begins...

I am filling my bucket with tap water, not the recommended rain water. I am hoping to catch some rain water soon, but for the time being I will settle for soft mountain water. I let it sit out for an hour so the chlorine could evaporate. I am fortunate to live in an area with very few water additives, no fluoride for my fleece today! I filled the bucket almost to the top, fleece absorbs so much of the water that it did not overflow.

Next up the fleece...

I am using a Rambouillet fleece to start my vat. I am hopping it is greasy enough, as I don't have any smaller greasy fleeces and I did not want to split my fleece up to try this. I am starting two buckets, one Rambouillet fleece in each. I have chosen to use old mayonaise containers from a restaurant, one I have accesses to them, two the lids fit nice and tightly, a must with little fingers present. The seal should also contain the smell and they tuck into a corner of our back storage area better then a bigger tubberware bin. They also stack without fear of toppling.

All that has to fit in there???...

So I did not shove the fleece down into the bucket like this, I separated it a little and pushed individual pieces into the soon to be vat. I made sure the whole fleece was submerged. 

A little extra water...

I topped off my container with a little extra water so that the entire fleece was fully submerged. My containers do not allow for as much space as a rubber maid, but I am hoping that it will work. With a few containers on the go I should be able to split larger fleeces and give more space to the fleece if the tight quarters do not work.

Even if I have to do one hot water wash for the fleece following this process I am happy to have less back breaking work to do and be using less water in the process... fingers crossed.

Think this pretty much says it all...

This pretty much sums me up some days. My drive, my passion, my unending energy... No apologies.

Don't be scared of texture! 

I have a very small feature in PLY magazine. My two cents on using textured yarns. Pun definetly intended!

SpinOlution Firefly Review

I bought my two SpinOlution wheels, the Firefly package and the King Bee Travel wheel sight unseen. I had never tried a SpinOlution wheel before. What I knew was this: they had interchangeable flyer modules and bobbins in multiple sizes and specifically in the size I wanted... 32 ounces. Before my order was complete I was lucky enough to see Ashley Martineau of How To Spin Yarn taking the 64oz bobbin compatible with the Firefly and Mach III for a test drive. I was in love... I wanted that size too.

perfect for production the 64oz setup

Before my obsession with fibre I painted large abstract paintings, think wall size. I love to work big. The SpinOlution Firefly combined the awesome potential of electric with large bobbin size. I was pretty sure I was going to be very happy.

After much anticipation my wheels arrived and I have not been disappointed.

I immediately went about putting the parts together, flyer head here, bobbin on there. Now drive band... I am sure if I read the manuals I would have been much faster, but what fun is that:)

interchangeable with the King Bee the 8oz setup

There were a few initial hiccups, when I started up the Firefly the drive band kept slipping off, this was easily fixed once my father figured out that the motor had shifted during shipping. With the motor back in the right spot the drive band on again everything flowed smoothly. I started spinning with the 32oz bobbin setup, but quickly moved to the 64oz setup, which I am a huge fan of.

the 32oz setup, perfect for wild yarn

I only have a few wheels to compare the Firefly to, my Cowichan style spinner and my Ashford E Spinner. I love both of those wheels for different reasons.

Here is what impresses me about the Firefly:

- Tilt feature, makes it easy to use on the ground, while in a seated or semi up right position with a baby snuggled against me.
- Interchangeable bobbin heads, this is awesome as I love to have multiple projects on the go. The flyer setups are easy to remove and have a handle for easy pick up. This also works well for changing between production spinning with the 64oz bobbin and personal spinning on a smaller scale.
- Magnetic interchangeable orfice bars. Having an plastic large orfice is handy for slippery fibers as then the yarn cannot slip off the hook. The hook orfice is better for thicker slubby yarns that get caught in the plastic orfice hole.
- Speed!!! Although I did notice a bit of a slowdown as the 64oz bobbin got full this was remidied by charging the battery completely or using it plugged in. The larger bobbins can be a little slow to build momentum, but once they are going the spin is smooth.
- Battery = Portability. I loved being able to take my spinner to the Fall Fair and not having the extra hassle of power setup or limitations on where my booth could be. It is also easy to shift around the house and take outside to work, not as cumbersome as having to run an extension cord.
- Solid design, The Firefly is light, portable, and solid. It in no ways feels flimsy or cheap. I appreciate that level of craftsmanship. Side Note: the King Bee is also this way, well constructed, unique and beautiful to look at.
- Break, I really like how the break works. It is a spring on a screw with a knob that you can adjust, simple enough, but it functions and the spring cannot get stretched or damaged. It is effective and controls the uptake of yarn onto the bobbin well.
- The lack of hooks, sliders, things that my funky yarns can get caught on is a major plus in flyer design. The long pin like guides on the flyers work really well and are spaced far enough apart to not impede the progress of thick yarns onto the bobbin, I have not yet tested the limits of this. Although I am not generally a fan of plastic, I think, although I do not have conclusive proof, that the pins being plastic make them flexible and therefore they can shift slightly to let thinker pieces through.
- Electric. So as a busy mum, starting my new business, electric makes the art of spinning smooth. I still love my treadle wheels, but not having to watch little fingers, toes and toys under my feet and just having to draft and spin, it is more relaxing. I don't find that the electric takes anything away, the motor is relatively quite and is easily drowned out by the whipping around of the flyer.
- The foot peddle. This makes the act of starting and stopping the wheel, even adjusting the speed for a moment; by taking your foot off and then placing it back on, simple and easy, one less thing to do with your hands.

Overall I am really most impressed with the SpinOlution Firefly. In the few short weeks I have had it I have found it easy to use and exactly what I was hoping for. I racked my brain for improvement ideas, to give a less biast review, but other then feeling that in comparison to the unique and beautiful look of the King Bee the Firefly is not as pretty, I have failed to come up with much.

The few things I am not so keen on, but are completely survivable are:

- Although the design of the skein winder is awesome, and I love that it folds down flat, the fact that it is not powered when attached to the Firefly base missed an opportunity in my opinion. Fortunately Mike Pauly owner and designer of SpinOlution Products agrees and we might just see this in the nearish future:)...fingers crossed.
- I did not find that the way the lazy kate attaches to the back of the FireFly felt secure, however since I can use the lazy kate on the floor, I am not too fussed about this.
- I find the foot peddle small, which is awesome for storage and travel, but a touch hard to use on softer surfaces such as carpet. I remedied this by placing a small piece of scrap wood under it.

My only other comment is that the customer service for SpinOlution has been exceptional. I am happy that when I decided to purchases my wheels I also decided to become a dealer it is gratifying to represent such a down to earth company that takes its customers concerns and its dealers ideas to heart.

If you have any questions not covered in this brief review or are interested in a SpinOlution product just fill out the contact form along the right sidebar or leave a comment below.

Description of the SpinOlution Firefly visit:

http://www.spinolution.com/firefly

To see the Firefly in action visit: 

How To Spin Yarn