I’ve been thinking about picking up my weaving again after 6 months or so. I have a Harrisville Easy Weaver that I picked up at an estate sale early last year. I’ve woven a few things, mostly using acrylic, both reclaimed and commercial. Just practicing. I’m planning on making the fabrics into pet mats to donate to the local humane society.
But I’d really like to use some handspun on it. My first fleece, before I knew any better, was a free Hampshire, badly shorn and vm filled. But I actually like it. It’s an easy fiber to process and spin. It’s coarse, not to be worn near the skin, so I won’t knit with it. But it’ll be good for weaving.
I have a few skeins done, all spindle spun, but I’ll need lots more to weave with.
Last year I dyed up the remaining fleece (which was most of it) in a variety of colors. I’m combing each color into little nests. I was planning on spinning them on my wheel but honestly, that’s always in use with my nicer fleeces. I haven’t spindle spun much lately and this was really nice and easy on the spindle. So I decided to spindle spin the rest and get back into the habit of spinning whenever and wherever I have a few minutes, for example, while making supper or waiting for something or watching tv or when we have fires in the backyard (when it warms up).
So I need to finish the fabric that’s on the loom and get spinning. And maybe do some calculations to see how big of a piece I could weave with the leftovers from 2015’s Patrick the CVM fleece. It’s already spun and dyed and I knit a shawl from it but there’s not enough left for another shawl.
Dystini's Fiber Arts 