Fiber Prep, Day 2

It's been quite some time since I started getting my mohair cleaned up and ready to spin (See Fiber Prep, Day 1) since then it has been tied up in two bags in my trunk.

Today the weather was perfect, warm, sunny, low humidity, and very little breeze. So, I pulled out all the mohair and went back to work. My workspace for sorting/picking the fiber is not very comfortable, and after a very draining week I didn't last long. I still have almost 2 pounds to be picked through.

When I bought the fleece, I was told it was approximately 2Lbs. I have since bought a scale for measuring my fibers, and found it to be close to 4Lbs. I knew it felt a lot heavier than 2Lbs!

This is the first 1 1/2 pounds of fiber being washed.

I filled the kitchen sink with [scalding] hot water, added a couple squirts of dish soap, and set the mohair on top. I let it soak until the water had cooled to room temperature. A sink full of wet mohair cools much more slowly than a sink full of plain water.

Word of caution here: Do not do this in your kitchen unless you don't plan on preparing food for quite some time. Besides the obvious bacterial issues, as soon as this stuff hit the hot water my kitchen smelled like there were several goats residing in it.

Here's what the water looked like when I took the mohair out!

The first rinse was almost as bad, but the second was nearly clear.

After rinsing I put all the fiber in a pillow case, bound it shut with a rubber band, and put it in the spin cycle of the washing machine.

Now it is out on my front porch drying.

I wish I had more time to spin recently, because I would really love to spin some of this up tomorrow. However, I still have quite a way to go spinning the Gotland for my mother's shawl. I think I have only used the spinning wheel once since I last posted about it.

In other news, My first pattern for sale is now available. This is a pattern for a crocheted kitchen set with placemats, napkin rings, potholders, and a couple other fun things. It is being sold as a kit, including the patterns and yarn to complete the projects. Check it out.

The biggest reason why I haven't posted much lately is because all of my available time has been spent working on new designs for Peaches & Creme. Most of which are crochet designs. There should be more free patterns posted later in the week, with more kits, and free patterns coming soon. All of the crochet designs in the works right now are pretty easy projects, most of them are beginner friendly.

Hopefully I will finish spinning the gotland and start my mother's shawl soon. I want to have it done by the end of the summer. Although, her birthday is in October, and it would be a nice birthday gift, but I do prefer to give hand knitted items as no-occasion gifts.