Tagged: carding

Carding in winter

The last few days brought us a lot of snow just when we started to think it’s spring. Well, we should have a lot of snow this time of the year, and it’s usually quite cold.

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It was cold this morning, -21 C°. No weather for outdoor activities until your hair is dry after the morning shower! So I took a photo of the morning sun indoors.

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I have a carding job to do. That’s not easy in cold weather because the air indoors becomes very dry. The rolags cling to whatever they can. Your hands, the carders, the basket. I card in short passes and then wait for the static electricity to vanish.

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The snow is beautiful, but it’s too cold for Kasper. He will be 13 years old this spring, and he can’t stand the cold as in younger days.

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New year, new tool

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I got a blending board for Christmas. I bought a piece of card cloth, and hubby took an old book shelf and turned it into a board. I love it! For a long time I thought I don’t need yet another tool, but now I know I did. This is a wonderful way to turn fibers you don’t like, or left overs, into something new. I’ve already started spinning the rolags. While spinning I’m thinking of what colours I want the two other strands to be. Bright green-blue-turquoise perhaps?

As you can see I use two rather thick dowels. I want the rolags to be lofty, but also sturdy enough to be handled. I have several of these dowels for different kinds of fibers and tools, as I use dowels with hand carders also. The fibers I now work with are Merino and Merino-Silk tops of good quality for a smooth yarn. But the blending board is perfect for making the most wild and unruly art yarns batts also. Lots of videos on Youtube!

I’ll oil the wood one day when I don’t feel like I want to make rolags.

This new year’s eve isn’t particularly tempting if you want to take a walk. We have no snow, it’s raining, and more rain is promised. This time of the year we usually have lots of snow. The red sticks  are for the gigantic tractor with the snow plow to help it stay on the road even when it’s pitch dark. That tractor is so big and comes with such a speed that I always think it’ll move our house to another spot in the garden if it comes off course, and I have to take a step back from the window just in case. The sticks have been in place for two months now. But now snow. Maybe next year… 🙂

Happy New Year to you all!

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