wool wool wool!

well, it's been a while since I last posted, and lots has gone on.....here we go!
After my crappy attempt at spinning I was feeling discouraged, and decided to take a short break from the wheel. The next day after helping Biddy around the house, I spent the afternoon and evening with my old faithful knitting needles....I can rarely go wrong there! The next day I got to learn another key aspect to the production of wool- carding. Thankfully this is an easy task, and I was delighted to find I was good at it (though I can't see how anyone could be otherwise!) I spent late morning and afternoon over that carding machine, and did I get a lot of work done! Biddy's spinning club (www.creativefibre.org.nz) is putting together a hand dyed, spun and knitted rug for a raffle, and I got to participate in way of carding a large quantity of the dyed wool. After many hours, and several ibuprofen later (man it's hard in the right shoulder!) I completed almost all the carding and decided to call it a day!
One afternoon Biddy also took me out to hunt down different plants for natural dyeing. Now these have to sit, and after 4 days we still haven't used them, but they are now boiled, simmered, and we are going to dig in on Wednesday....who knows how that will turn out......
This past weekend I got to go with Biddy to the Queenstown market. Saturday morning I was up at 05:20 and we were on the road at 06:00. After a two hour drive that consisted of Biddy driving and my chin reaching for my chest, we arrived in Queenstown. The setting up of the market is both bizarre and long, so we'll skip that part and talk about the day- and what a day it was! There were tons of tourists everywhere, music, and a lot of wool sold that day. This was also the day that I decided to attempt my hand at spinning again- after all, that is why I am wwoofing no?! Let me just say, that I may not have had beginners luck, but my second time around I was spinning like a pro- a pro of maybe a few months, but a pro none the less! The improvement in my skill was amazing, and I was glad to see that I am able to spin wool of a fairly consistent size- ooh the first attempt was bad! That night, after a very successful though tiring day, at the market, Biddy and I headed over to this great Thai restaurant for some tea (NZ term for dinner.....I don't get it, but....!) After dinner we headed to Biddy's friend's flat where she (Biddy) stays on the weekends that she heads to Queenstown for market. It was a great little place that looked over the lake, and was out of the way, away from the bustle of the city. I fell asleep at 7: 30 that night. Was I ever tired.
Sunday was more reasonable, only having to get up at 07:00, instead of 05:20. The day was much slower, though I still got to spin- better every time- and people watch as the strolled by. After the day we packed up and headed for home. We got in my 7:30, had tea, and watched some tv then headed for bed.
Today was a very busy day. I learned how to skirt fleeces, and got to see first hand how much prep work goes into different things that you can do with a fleece. I learned how you treat a fleece that is going to be shipped internationally (Biddy has an order from Japan) as well as how to prepare a fleece that gets sent out for a wash and carding. let me say now that I am all for sending out a fleece for a wash and carding- there's so much work in doing it yourself! I got to learn about different fibres and what's good for what though, and I am really grateful for getting first hand knowledge and work experience on this.
Well, tomorrow promises to be another busy day of working with more fleece, so I should pack in and get ready for bed.......