Adventures with Wool

Sometime in the middle of November I decided that I wanted to learn how to spin wool.  There was a small spinning wheel available for me to borrow and I ordered some wool to spin.  I watched videos on You Tube and searched spinning forums online.  I felt like I was ready to give it a try.

Merino wool – so soft!

The first challenge was the spinning wheel itself.  It took some time to figure out how it all worked.  Fortunately, my husband is great with mechanical things, even those with which he is unfamiliar.  When he figured out what to do with the wooden knob that was hanging from a bit of monofilament with a spring attached to the other end it was a revelation. 

Now, in the past I have learned quite a few things but researching a bit and then doing it.  That’s how I learned to knit and crochet.  In this case, however, I think I really needed to be taught in person by someone who knew what they were doing.  While I hesitate to call my self-taught spinning a disaster, I will declare it unsuccessful.  

My yarn was either too twisty or not twisty enough.  I also couldn’t manage any sort of consistent thickness.  I was treadling too fast or drafting too slow or the tension was wrong.  Maybe I just got the wrong type of wool to start.  I have read that practice and experience will help solve a lot of the issues I seemed to be having.  The thing is, the more I tried, the worse I seemed to get. (Having a raging cold at the time was certainly not helpful but I’m not going to blame it or the cold meds for my failure.)

I’d call it artisanal but that would be an insult to artisans.

After a fair amount of swearing, I was able to produce a small quantity of super bulky, two-ply yarn.  I was determined to knit something with it despite how embarrassingly horrible it was.  There was just enough to make a collar and I have to say, I am actually happy with the way it turned out.  It is warm and soft and doesn’t look that bad.

Finished collar – Not too bad!

Overall, I’d say it was worth a try and I’m glad I did it.  I also expect that I will never want to spin my own yarn again.  My husband also gave the wheel a try.  He had about the same success that I had.  Years ago he had made me a pair of drop spindles.  I had never tried one myself but he decided it was a good time to see how it worked since we had the wool and all.  It turns out that he’s quite good with a drop spindle.  So, while I have given up on spinning, he is working the rest of the wool into yarn for me.

Drop spindle with yarn

For Future Reference

There was not much progress made on the garden this past weekend as other projects popped up.  We did get the pool cover laid down under the wooden walkways to serve as a weed barrier.  I hope to have more to report in the next couple of weeks.  I really want to have construction finished before winter sets in.  Of course, around here, snow can fly in October so I should get my butt in gear.

The Garden as of Sunday, October 12, 2014

In the meantime, I figured I would go through some of my reference books for this project.  For some reason, I love reference books.  I know that I can look up almost anything online now, but I enjoy having shelves full of books that I can flip through when the need or desire strikes me.  The general gardening reference section in our library is fairly good.  I’ve got the standard A to Z gardening encyclopedia as well as several how-to guides.  I’m a huge fan of the Storey books. 

Gardening reference books in the home library

The book that first fed my dreams of a Shaker style garden was The Shaker Garden: Beauty Through Utility by Stephanie Donaldson.  It is a beautiful book filled with wonderful photographs of vegetables and various shaker tools and buildings.  It is a very basic practical guide but, by design, only focuses on Shaker gardening.

The source of inspiration

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I know very little about Shaker history.  I know what I assume is common knowledge: Shakers were a religious sect that lived communally, though men and women were separated.  They made furniture and sold vegetable seeds and generally led simple lives. ('Tis the gift to be simple, after all.)  So, I turned to Amazon and found a couple of books so that I can become more educated about the people I hope to emulate, at least in their gardening practices.

New books - yay!

My books just arrived today.  I’ve only had a chance to flip through the first one but I have high hopes.  The People Called Shakers by Edward Deming Andrews was first published in 1953 after Mr. Andrews had spent some 35 years researching the Shakers.  It seems to include a lot of primary sources so I’m excited to find the time to read it. 

The second book, A Shaker Gardener’s Manual is a modern reprint of an 1843 publication by the United Society, New Lebanon, NY.  This tiny book is 24 pages of pure gold when it comes to a practical, first-hand source of Shaker gardening information. I read it cover to cover and am now anxious to try to find the varieties of seeds once sold by that Shaker community.  I also want to try the rhubarb pie recipe in Chapter XI.  Keep an eye out for that recipe adventure next spring when rhubarb is in season again.

German Giant tomato sandwich

"Tomato or Love Apple. – F. Tomate. – S. Tomatera. – This is a very healthy vegetable, and a great favorite when we become accustomed to it, though generally not very palatable at first." - A Shaker Gardener’s Manual, p.18. (A nice slather of mayonnaise helps!)