Miscellany

Seems like I’ve got quite a bit going on,, but then I sit down to blog, and I can’t seem to organize my thoughts.

So I’m just going to chuck at all out there:

Cold Water Wool washing.

I’ve read a lot about this lately, and thought I’d give it a go. Sounded like a nice low-input way to go, and like it might be easier on the woo than heat and detergent.

So, here is the dirty fleece-

Here are the washing tubs, full of dirty fleece and cold water-

And here is the fleece one week later, rinsed with the garden hose, squeezed to death, and dried in the sun-

Not bad. It is really nice that it gets the dirt out and leaves some of the lanolin in.

Worked pretty well that first time,, so I thought I’d do another batch. This time, though, the weather was really hot all week, and I think this might have affected the wash water. I think it fermented or something, because ….

Whew.

You would not have believed the stink.

Truly.

I couldn’t deal with the wool and that stench, so I dumped the batch, filled the tub again, and let the wool sit for another 3 days.
It’s still drying now,, so I’m not sure of the end result yet.

Will keep you updated.

In other news, I’ve got some new spins-

but no new knits, as I’ve pretty much just been swatching this week, working on the new techniques (see last post).

But I have done a little sewing and embroidery, in honor of our 11th anniversary (not done yet, but it’s the thought that counts, right?)

And last but not least, the question on the week-

Boy kitty?

Or Girl Kitty?

How in the world can you choose between those two?