Cards
Thanks for the comments on the handspun, ladies! It's always nice to get kudos from knitters and spinners I know and respect. There were some questions I'll answer here:
Marnie, glad you like the yarn color. I was a bit surprised with the final plied yarn because, well, it was called "Rose" and I thought it would be more rosy-colored. But it's growing on me. You're right, it has a vintage feel. I believe Copper Moose has 2 pounds of this up for sale. Mmm....
Julia, I honestly didn't think of setting the twist on the single first. I always thought it was best to set handspun *after* plying. But I don't know. I'd like to know what other spinners think. Now, if I could only spin Manos singles like you...
June and Kerstin, the other 3 bobbins that came with the Lendrum were full! Anyway, I thought it would be kind of cool to spin all 4 ounces onto one bobbin--I like that overflowing look. But you know, I shouldn't have been too cocky...
Jillian and Terry, I usually wait until the 2nd or 3rd generation of a particular computer model before I buy; I like to have as many kinks as possible worked out by the engineers before plunking down my money. Especially since Macs aren't cheap!
On to the rest of the post!
Take a look at my "new" wool cards, purchased from Susan, whom I met at the GLASWG event late last year. There was a bit of fluff left on the combs and I proceeded to pick them out. I emailed Susan to tell her that the I had figured out how to get the fiber out (by using my Mason Pearson hairbrush, of all things) whereupon she promptly replied that the little bits are good for the cards! Who knew?
I guess they keep the teeth clean. Anyway, I fell in love with them: the worn down edges, the crooked teeth, the "L" and "R", the shape of the handles. The cards belonged to the mother of the woman who sold it to Susan, and she had used them for 25 years. Wow, yeah?
Watching: This link stolen from Monica of the dumbest dog video that you've probably already seen!
Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!
i really don't know how cards are used, to soften the wool, to get it to roving stage? love the look of it, and the age and useage is very impressive... can't find well made things like that anymore!
beautiful cards - and lovely spinning in the previous post, too! v. jealous. ;)
i got new cards and they're so very *new* looking, and feeling - ah well, so in 25 years i might have cards as comfy looking, and feeling i'm sure, as you have right?
thanks for the link, that dog cracks me up. ;)
Your Mason Pearson brush! Liv tries to use mine on her dolls and I say, no way. Those MP babies are like gold to me. Nice cards. I know a 6 year old who would love to help you out with them. :)
I would wait on the new Macs. With the release of the Intel chips just starting, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are going to be huge kinks to solve. Just like cars, sometimes the second and third generations are better than the original in terms of reliability. Not to mention Mac has to create new programs (or tweak the old ones) for these new comps since they've stated that most of the software out now would need an emulator to run on. But definitely good things are on the horizon.
I dont' think you should ever set the twist before plying. You want the yarn to twist around itself.
I think leaving wool in the carder teeth keeps them from rusting. I store mine with a good puff between them.
I've seen opinions on many things spinning, but no one has ever told me whether to set the twist of a single before or after it's been plied. I've always set the twist afterward, and I think this is usual, but I don't know what kind of a difference it would make. It would definitely "tame" the single for skeining, but I don't know if it would screw up the balance in the ply.
I love that your "new" cards have been used and enjoyed by previous generations!! Hope you're feeling better. I've been home for a couple days!
LOL Too funny, just thinking about that video cracks me up.
Well used, well loved hand cards, lovely. What's the first thing you're going to use them for?
Those carders are lovely. For some reason wool cards always remind me of needle boards for ironing, so using the hairbrush makes a lot of sense to me since that is what I have had to use on them. There is nothing like having to get velvet fuzz out of needles.
I must second the Mac comment. My husband always says you should never buy a Macintosh until it is on revision C at least. So really out of the new ones that were introduced this week that might be safe is the new imac, since all the other new options other than the new chip were included in the last revision last year. So it is technically an A.5. There is no way I would try the new laptops though.
On the software front that Ralph pointed out, software manufactures are pretty far along on that front. We all had access to prototype machines right after it was announced and native ports at least for our company have been relatively easy.
Mac's are lovely machines; we are 50/50 here at the house and office. Bottom line they are certainly a lot less virus prone.
I just read your Norwegian posts... wow, they are absolutely stunning!!
I just read your Norwegian posts... wow, they are absolutely stunning!!
Beautiful carders... I love the worn look of them. And the Rose Merino / Tussah in the last post looks simply stunning!
I also want to thank you for leaving a comment on my blog re. my spinning. And to answer your question what I am planning to do with the orange/yellow yarn, I'm not sure. It's not enough for a sweater, but maybe something with short sleeves...