Monthly Archives: February 2012

Spinning

Shades of red in hand spun Romney wool

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Happy Valentine’s Day! On this day, it seems apropos to celebrate Twisted Tuesday with this collage of graduated red skeins of yarn I finally finished spinning not too long ago.

Shades of red in hand spun Romney wool
Shades of red in hand spun Romney wool

The batts from which I spun this yarn had been dyed by Rhonda Selser (of Ewe Mom’s, DeRidder, LA) from wool she sheered and carded from her own Romney sheep. What was so intriguing to me was they way in which she had dyed the pound of batts. It was hard to resist the lovely shades of red, too.

I did not see Rhonda dye the batts, but she explained that she had laid the stack of batts atop the dye solution in a large cooler. Then very slowly let the batts sink so that the bottom layers resulted in the darkest shades (having been in the dye bath longer and therefore having a chance to grab more of the dye particles) and the top layers the lightest.

I didn’t think about getting photos years ago when I first began spinning the batch of batts. Then I set things aside and didn’t get back to spinning for several years. But this project had always been on my mind and has been one of the first that I got out when sorting through my spinning stash recently. These pictures don’t give true color because I grabbed them indoors under poor lighting, but you can see some of the batts and little “nests” of fiber that I stripped from the batts and pre-drafted.

The sequence I used for spinning was to start with the lightest batt and proceed to darkest. I spun a fine singles on my double treadle Majacraft. After 2 bobbins where filled, I plied those together. Then filled up 2 more bobbins, and plied, etc. You’ll notice one skein which is much smaller than the others. That is where I was having trouble with my wheel (the drive band gave out). Not being able to readily get a replacement in, I experimented with some make-shift solutions. That is a whole ‘nother story, lol. But I did finally manage to get things going again.

Now, having completed the spinning, I am just enjoying the pretty skeins. Eventually, I guess I will decide what they will become in their next life. Meantime, it doesn’t feel like they want to be hurried, and the eye candy is plenty enough satisfaction to me to claim this as a ‘completed project’ for now.

Hand-spun skeins of Romney wool in a series of red shades
Hand-spun skeins of Romney wool in a series of red shades

Hope you are enjoying some pretty red things for your Valentine’s Day, too!

 

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Spinning

Twisted Tuesday: join me for spinning and other fiber-related fun

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In the past couple of years I’ve occasionally posted something about spinning or other topics related to turning fibers into thread or yarn. I really want to focus on this more, so I got it in my head to set aside Tuesday’s to share some kind of spinning article or other fiber-related fun.

Want to come along and play with me? To give you an idea of what I have in mind, here’s a brief review of  a sampling of past articles like those I have in mind.

With articles like Moody Blues, handspun pima cotton plied with silk, I plan to continue to explore the creative structure of plied handspun yarn along with a dose of serendipity.

moody blues is handspun cotton plied with silk

Spinning a 2-ply laceweight yarn for a scarf unfolds a story about turning fiber into yarn, and then into a knitted lace scarf.

Hand-painted silk roving
Hand-painted silk roving

We might play with a bit a dyeing, too, like in Cotton Roving – braiding, dyeing, spinning and knitting and follow the process through “what will it become”.

Stages of dyeing and spinning cotton to result in a casually rustic lace scar
Stages of dyeing and spinning cotton to result in a casually rustic lace scar

Exploring sources of fiber and making custom fiber preparations is part of what makes the hands-on experience so satisfying, and I plan to share it with you in articles such as Spinning Jacob Wool – one fleece, many colors.

Singles and 2-ply yarns spun from sorted Jacob wool
Singles and 2-ply yarns spun from sorted Jacob wool

I also hope to bring in guest experts to help, or help lead you to them such as when Deb Robson explains scouring fleece.

Another aspect of spinning and fiber-play is the “toys of our trade”. I have plenty of stories to share there. I can even help give you justification for your obsession such as this article on Deco-organizing a spindle collection.

"Deco-organizing" my spindle collection
"Deco-organizing" my spindle collection

I hope you’ll join me over the next several weeks. Tell your friends. The more the merrier. And that will encourage me to do even more. If you are interested in something particular, do leave comments and I will put it on the agenda. Spinn-i-o!

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Cooking

(almost) Meatless Monday: Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

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Although this week’s Meatless Monday recipe is one to which I usually add a bit of meat flavoring, I do give substitution for totally meatless. So I hope you will enjoy it either way.

Brussels Sprouts have always reminded me of little cabbages. One of the dishes my Grandma Erickson made that I loved so much was sweet and sour cabbage. I’ve never felt like I approached how well she made that dish (but then, I guess things always taste better when someone else cooks, lol). I even asked her many times if there was a secret, but she said no and just sloughed it off that I was making mine just as well. I do miss her (and that delicious sweet and sour cabbage she would make).

Anyway, my local Sam’s had gotten in some fantastic-looking fresh Brussels Sprouts recently. My taste buds turned to concocting a sweet and sour rendition using them. And thinking about the healthy benefits of Brussels sprouts, I am feeling good that something so tasty is good for us, too.

Healthy Brussels Sprouts: High in Antioxidant
Healthy Brussels Sprouts: High in Antioxidant

Here’s what I did for an (almost) Meatless Monday dish (but you could substitute some vegetable oil and a bit of smoke flavor in place of the prosciutto ham or bacon for totally meatless)  …

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts, washed and sliced in half

I like to cut the Brussels Sprouts in half so they take on all the delicious sweet and sour flavors
I like to cut the Brussels Sprouts in half so they take on all the delicious sweet and sour flavors later on during the cooking

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons rendered out rind from prosciutto ham, bacon or similar

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon dried onion

lemon juice + apple cider vinegar to make 1/3 cup

rounded tablespoon of sugar

rounded tablespoon of whole caraway seeds

Instructions

Use large saucepan/top-of-stove Dutch-oven style pot with tight-fighting lid.

Add water and salt to pot and bring water to boil.

Starting to cook the Brussels sprouts
Starting to cook the Brussels sprouts

Add Brussels sprouts, black pepper and dried onions. Stir then cover.

Cook about 10 minutes over medium heat or until just barely to degree of desired doneness. (do not overcook into a mush!)

In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice/apple cider vinegar, sugar and caraway seeds until sugar is dissolved. Pour into the pot.

Cover pot and let simmer about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld.

Eat up!

sweet and sour brussels sprouts

Well, not the whole pot all at one time. This recipe does make a lot, so you are likely to have more than enough for a single meal. That is fine. Re-heat left-overs in microwave to enjoy another day. This dish holds up very well to that.

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