Fiber Gadgets and Gizmos

It has been decided that 2013 will be "the year of fiber" at Stone and Fiber.  This year, in addition to my natural stone jewelry the shop will be filled with my hand spun - hand knitted designs.  I am very excited to introduce this new line of women's accessories. 

For the last several months I have been scouring, dyeing, carding and spinning.  Then knitting and knitting and knitting!  Fleece after fleece had been piling up in my studio, only to be stuck in gridlock due to the fact that I could only card so fast with my hand carders.  Carding is the process of combing the wool fibers so they line up in one direction, making them easier to spin.  Using hand carders is like brushing together two large paddle hair brushes in opposite directions...over and over..until your very large wool pile is completed.

I finally came to my senses and splurged on a new drum carder.  Why, oh why did I wait so long !  It's quick, easy and fun!

 

Here is my freshly dyed Romney fiber waiting it's turn to enter the drum carder.  I have only to gently fluff the locks to prepare them and in they go.
                                    

I added a bit of pale aqua alpaca along with some pearly pink angora fibers to the mix .

 

Then crank the handle and the two cylinders spin in opposite directions while their bristled surfaces gently pass across one another combing the fibers straight.  They are loaded on the larger drum layer by layer until the teeth are full.  Then the cloth of fiber, called a batt, is peeled off the teeth and rolled to await it's turn on the spinning wheel.