Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Something New has arrived!

The Laundry Alternative Spin Dryer I ordered from Dharma last November finally arrived yesterday.

It's bigger than I remembered (I got to use one at the Midwest Felting Symposium).  My hands get sore wringing the water out of my felting projects, this will help.  It's amazing how much water they can get out in just a few minutes.  I can't wait to use it when I get done with all the paperwork projects that have kept me so busy lately.
I did mange to find some time to drumcard a lot of wool last week as I was sorting through all my washed fleeces to be shipped out for processing. I sent 25 lbs of washed wool to Zeilingers for combed top and batts.  I also decided to have some BFL roving spun into yarn at Rach-Al-Paca Fiber Mill in Hastings MN.  I had to wash it first to get the carding oils out.  Washing roving and combed top was easier than I thought it would be --  I'm happy to report I didn't felt it. :-)
The white skein the photo is some BFL/Shetland wool blended with nylon for sock yarn. It was good to spend a little time spinning again. I've got 3 more ounces to spin up and then I can knit some socks! The batt is BFL/Shetland blended with Tussah silk.   That will be used for felting.
Here's a shot of Ozzie from last week.  He's always a step ahead of me. It's nice to have a companion when I do my chores.
The mother hen has turned into a barracuda protecting her chicks!  But it's so cute to watch her cluck when I bring out treats.  The chicks love bread crumbs and bits of apple.  They are already three weeks old and getting beautiful buff feathers (this photo is from last week).  I'm keeping a heat lamp on at all times, but their water still freezes. I can't wait for spring to come!

6 comments:

  1. We have the same problem with the freezing water, but recently found a lovely little contraption. It's a "heated" water bowl. It keeps the water at 33-34 degrees so as to keep it from freezing. Found it at the local pet store, so might be something to keep your eye out for...

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  2. Becky--I've been on the fence for quite a while about buying a spin dryer like this, but your post has encouraged me to order one, so thanks!!
    XXO-

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  3. Thanks Kelli, I use a heated pet bowl for the adult chickens. I love it! The sheep have heated buckets too, I don't know what I would do without those. But the chicks are too little to use the heated dog bowl, they could easily drown if they fell in. Now that you mention it though, I also have an old electric heater (like an inverted oil pan) that one puts a metal chicken waterer on in the winter. I would just need to buy myself a new metal chicken waterer. I tossed the old one a few years ago when we got the heated pet bowl. Hopefully the weather will be getting warmer this month.

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  4. Heather, you are such a productive felter, it would really come in handy for you! The maximum load for the spin dryer is 13.9 lbs of dry fabric, so that would be a big felt project. I used it this morning to spin dry a 3 oz. skein of yarn after setting the twist and gently wringing out the excess water. In about a minute the spin dryer extracted almost a whole cup of water!
    Dharma was the cheapest price I found on it, but with shipping it was about $15 more than this place: http://www.compactappliance.com/SPINDRYER-Laundry-Alternative-Spin-Portable-Dryer/SPINDRYER,default,pd.html

    I deal with Dharma quite a bit so I was pretty comfortable going with them. Good luck!

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. Congratulations on being including in 500 Felt Objects. I submitted but didn't get picked.

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Getting ready for Christmas Markets!

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