Machine Knitting and everything else...
I have stocked my online farm shop with some farm fresh, hand dyed locks (from coated fleeces). There are hand dyed Cormo, Wensleydale, and Coopworth lamb locks in the shop along with some washed locks, top, and roving.
I finally finished up the warp that was on the Saori loom. I had decided I was going to use my AVL Warping Wheel to wind the next one. The Warping Wheel is primarily used for sectional warping, but there is an optional cross maker attachment which is used to wind warps for a plain beam.
The Warping Wheel is great for winding long warps. It tends to work best for 8/2 yarns and thinner. I usually use a mix of thick and thin yarns for my Soari warps, but this time I used 8/2 bamboo. You cannot fit too many thick yarns under the clip on the Warping Wheel. This was the first time I have used the cross maker. It worked GREAT!
The photo below shows the warp going under the clip. There are 80 threads of 8/2 under the clip.
I made a makeshift paddle so I could wind on 4 threads at once.
Winding on 4 threads at once results in a 2 by 2 cross. I prefer a 1 by 1 cross, but the 2 by 2 worked fine.
The Warping Wheel raddle has 4 threads in each raddle space. Since I was not warping sectionally, this was not an issue at all.
I wound 2 bouts on the Warping Wheel. Each bout was 80 threads. Now on to the weaving. I will keep you posted!
The weather this summer has been crazy. First it was rainy, then hot, then rainy, then cool, now it is hot again. The parasites (worms- especially the barber pole worm) have been thriving, so I have been keeping a close watch (as always) on the sheep. The barber pole worm (haemonchus contortus) can be deadly for a sheep. The sheep must be closely monitored in the spring and summer for signs of anemia which indicate the presence of the barber pole worm. We practice FAMACHA for controlling the barber pole worm population.
My son and I wormed the sheep this morning. I have one yearling wether (Wobble) who just loves the wormer. Most sheep dislike the taste. He loves it. Wobble follows us around as we check the other sheep and worm them if necessary. He is quite a character. I took a few photos of the sheep fleeces since I happened to have my phone with me. The fleeces are looking really nice!
