TdF 2011 ~ Spinning from Days 1 & 2

Here's the first project I'm working on for this year's Tour de Fleece. I had to put my new Ashford Wild Drum carder to the test. I pillaged my craft supplies and came out with a feather boa, some tinsel garland and silver mesh fabric. Then I hit my fiber stash and came up with some black Merino, a pretty wine soy silk, a little pink Merino and some natural Mohair locks.

I sat on my studio floor and and began to play. I teased apart the fibers and layered them creating a fluffy bed. Then I just started to rip feathers out of the boa and pull the silver tinsel from the garland. Feathers filled the air and the mess I was making gave me a childish joy. Then I cut up little strips of the fabric. The drum carder claims to be able to handle fabric so let's just see!

The amazing thing about the Wild Drum Carder isn't just that it will card through anything, it does it almost effortlessly. It really is wild. I spend a lot more time and care working fine fibers through my Deb's Delicate Deluxe by Pat Green. My crazy combination with its fabric and feathers just sailed on through. I thought maybe it would need a second run, but I was fully satisfied with the batt created by just one pass.

I've been making about an ounce at a time, and that seems like a nice amount, but I think the carder could handle more. It creates a batt that is about 5" wide which is very handy to work with. One of my goals for this year's Tour de Fleece is to create longer skeins. I'd like them each to be at least 350 yards, This means that each new skein will take me a little longer, but I'll end up with enough yarn to make a project.

I think I'll be finishing this one off by making a lace weight singles in black and then plying the two together. I want black to be the dominant color. I have two more ounces of my wild wool to spin and then I'll move on the the plain black. I'm impatient to see how it will look when it's all done!