Wool

So...this weekend was the local(ish) fiber sale.

Here is most of my haul:

The haul

This is all for needle felting. The white is for bases. It's less expensive than colors. I figured the browns will be good for animals and I'm doing Toothless, so I need black. The orange on the bottom is for pumpkins. The rainbow will be for various projects. I saw these colors and couldn't help it. I found a tutorial for felted bracelets with a knitted base and needle felted design and thought that the girls would like one with a rainbow on it.

I also bought a 32" size 4 needle as they don't seem to be easy to find in wood. The price was reasonable.

Here is the one last thing I bought:

Wet fleece

Fleece info. 

That is most of a 6.25 pound fleece that I bought. It is Border Leicester, which has a long staple and a nice crimp. The tips are bleached and overall it is a gorgeous color.
I learned something important today. If I want the wool to dry outside, I need to start washing before 2 pm (the morning was busy today) as I didn't get it outside until almost 5. It didn't dry all that much.

Cordelia checking the wool

I moved it to my craft room in the basement. That's where I took the above picture. Not included in the picture is the first batch of wool that I washed on Saturday in my small utility sink. The fleece on the floor was washed on Sunday and is mostly dry.
When the wool was on the back porch, it looked like a sheep had exploded on the porch.

Thankfully the craft room is where the dehumidifier is located. I turned it up to max so hopefully it won't take the wool too long to dry. I won't be able to put it back outside as I have to work the rest of the week. I'll go down tomorrow and turn it.

I started combing the first batch. It matted a bit. I tried to be careful with it, Perhaps this amount of matting is normal. I think it's combing reasonably.

Ready to comb

I don't have wool combs, but I was told that I could use wide tooth combs. I found these combs at Meijer. They have two rows of teeth just like the wool combs and seem to be doing OK. I've only done a small amount. I won't mind doing it, but it will definitely take time.

Combed wool

 The bottom bit is fresh off of the combs. The top was rolled into a little "nest"

"Waste"

I was surprised by the amount of waste, but I do think that I was better at minimizing this with the later combings, so perhaps it won't be too bad. This "waste" can be used for stuffing and needle felting, so it won't really go to waste. I am curious, though, to see what percentage the waste will be. I plan to weigh the combed wool and waste when I'm finished. I didn't weigh the wool as it came so I'll have to trust what it said on the label for a starting weight.

Jacket

I really need to get a different picture of this. I am wearing shorts. It just doesn't look like it.

The pattern is Jacket with cables and garter stitch in "Eskimo" by DROPS

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/117-51-jacket-with-cables-and-garter-st-in-eskimo

This is the second DROPS design I've done. I like both of them. The first ended up too long, but I still like it. The second, since it seemed like it was going to be too long again, I shortened by over 2 inches. It still turned out kind of long. I suppose it is supposed to be long since it's supposed to be a jacket.

It is made with bulky yarn. I used Lambs Pride Superwash bulky in Bayou Blue I had purchased from Little Knits a short while ago. I knew I wanted to do a cardigan in bulky yarn, but didn't have a specific pattern in mind when I bought this yarn. I did a test gauge piece on size 10 needles (12 stitches over 4 inches) and size 11 needles (10.5 stitches). The pattern calls for 11 stitches over 4 inches, so I used the size 11.

I started this sweater June 20th on the train to Chicago for a meeting for work. I finished it July 20th. That's when I assembled it. I had finished knitting it several days before and it took a couple days to get around to blocking it and 3-4 days to get it to dry completely after blocking.

This was the first time I tried blocking a sweater in my craft room. The room is in the basement, but there is a dehumidifier in there. I don't know if it was the weight of the yarn or the location that made it take so long.  It looked massive all laid out on the floor (before assembly) but it seems like it fits nicely.

Laundry detergent

Early last fall, I made my own laundry detergent following a recipe that I can't seem to find again. It called for Fels-naphtha bars, borax, washing soda, oxyclean and crystal fabric softener.
A friend told me that she just uses the naphtha, soda and borax, but by then I had already made it.

For the most part I've liked the laundry detergent, but I didn't like the fabric softener in it. I could hardly go in my laundry room because it smelled so strong.

Last weekend I ran out of the detergent so I made some more. Earlier in the week, my daughters and I grated two bars of Fels-naptha. 
Today I found this website http://www.reallyareyouserious.com/2011/01/easy-homemade-laundry-detergent-powder.html

The detergent has 3 ingredients, the naphtha, borax and washing soda. I have young children, so I like the idea of adding the oxyclean. I had purchased some inexpensively at the local dollar store.

My measurements are rough, but since I had 2 bars of soap, I used 2 cups each of the borax and soda. I used one of the (16 fluid oz) containers of oxyclean and mixed it in a bucket.

I'm curious to see how this goes without the fabric softener in it. I do have wool dryer balls to use in the dryer. I've been using them on and off without really noticing a difference, but the clothes had already been treated with fabric softener.

Overall, I like this detergent, even though I recently heard a relative scoff about someone they knew who made their own detergent. I can't explain exactly why I wanted to do it. I like the idea of making my own stuff to use around the house. Some say they want to get away from the chemicals. Well, I hate to break it to them, but all the stuff in these are chemicals anyway. Some make their own detergent to save money. I've not done the math, but I wouldn't be surprised if making it this way saves money.

When I was buying oxyclean proper, it says to fill the washer, add the oxyclean and then add the clothes. I assume they say to do it this way so that, at higher concentrations when the water first hits it, it doesn't hurt your clothes. I'd like to be able to just put the clothes in the washer, add the detergent and be done, but for now, I've been adding the clothes after the detergent after the washer has filled. Perhaps when the girls get older, I'll skip adding the oxyclean. As it is, I have enough for a couple more batches of detergent. Perhaps I'll try it without when I run out.

And yet more jam

I counted jars of jam a couple days ago. There are 28 pints of mulberry jam in the pantry. That doesn't include the one we've been using and the 4+ I've given away. Some of that will go to my Mom and sister. Some will be given as gifts. The rest means I won't have to buy jam... like ever.

I wasn't all that thrilled with the peach preserves I made the first time around. I tried canning some peaches following this recipe: http://www.pickyourown.org/peachescanning.htm

I think the method is probably sound, but I think my peaches will be kind of mushy. We haven't eaten any yet. A problem with canning peaches is that you buy them when they're rock hard. They stay rather rock hard and start to go moldy/mushy while the inside is still not really ripe.

I was pretty happy with the next batch of peaches I bought. They seemed to actually ripen and hadn't gone moldy. This time I tried  freezer jam. Yummy! I used this recipe: http://southernbite.com/2014/06/25/peach-freezer-jam/

I'll admit that I kind of wanted to sit and eat it all right after it was finished. I have tried some after freezing and wow, does it freeze hard. I'm used to strawberry freezer jam where it remains kind of spreadable. The peach was not. I'd take it out and leave it in the fridge to use, but I'm trying not to eat it all in a short period of time. Making jam wasn't the best idea for my diet.

Kroger had some very yummy blueberries for a decent price a short while ago, so I went back to get more and got enough for us to make a batch of jam and some to eat with half and half. I used this recipe (but I forgot to buy a lemon for zest): http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/canned-blueberry-jam
I'm not sure I'd add the cinnamon and nutmeg next time. It does kind of taste like blueberry pie though, which isn't a bad thing. I wasn't sure this was going to set as it seemed to take much longer than the other jams I had made. We haven't tasted it since it set (at least I think it set), so I'm not sure what it is going to be like.

I think I have enough jam. The mulberry trees are still going strong, so I may pick a few more times to have lots to give away. It seems to be a hit with those we have given it to.

More jam

I've been making lots of jam these days. I think I've made 5 batches of mulberry jam, 2 batches of strawberry jam and, most recently, a batch of peach preserves. I've already talked about the mulberry jam. Both yesterday and today I picked enough mulberries for about 2 batches of jam each day. I washed them and put them in the freezer.

My Mom gave me a couple small containers of strawberry freezer jam that my sister made. The jam was so good! The following weekend, I bought strawberries at Costco. They turned out to be not quite as nice as the ones I had been buying there, so I decided to make jam. I much prefer strawberry freezer jam to that which had been canned. It tastes so much more like strawberries spread on the toast.

The recipe I used was this one:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Strawberry-Freezer-Jam/

I'd make it again.

Last weekend I bought 12 peaches as per this recipe:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peach-Preserves/

They were quite hard yet, so I let them sit. They were rock hard for a couple days, then the following day they were starting to get moldy. I cut the moldy parts off and used them anyway. I ended up using a couple more that I had bought a couple days later that were still kind of hard. I think the recipe is decent, but I didn't have the best fruit to work with. It is tasty, but I think it could be better.

For pints of peach preserves (there was a bit more, but I put it in a small container in the freezer as there wasn't enough for a full pint) and some mulberry jam.

Mulberry jam

This spring, I discovered that I have at least 5 mulberry trees in my yard. I never really knew what mulberries were and basically only knew them from the children's tune. As I've been discovering what is growing in our new yard, I learned that those berries on those trees are mulberry.

I did try a couple fresh from the tree, but I wasn't all that excited. Recently, I've heard from friends that they've made mulberry jam. I figured, what the heck, I might as well try that.

I've been collecting mulberries over the last week or so (with several days being away from work). I figured today I had enough berries so I gave it a shot. It turns out that I probably have enough for another batch in my freezer.

Today I collected over 3 cups of berries. I've only been half heartedly collecting them. I pick what I can reach and am not really worried about getting them all. I've heard of shaking the trees with sheets under the trees to catch the berries, but that seems very wasteful. Less than half of what falls is ripe.

Today's collection of just over 3 cups of mulberries.

My friends told me that they didn't take the stems off of the berries. I'm glad to hear that as it doesn't seem easy. I put the berries in the food processor and the stems basically disappear. From the more than 3 cups of berries, I got about 1.5 cups of berry purée.

I followed this recipe: http://thedirtyradish.blogspot.com/2011/06/recipe-mulberry-jam.html

It was very easy, which is good as this was my first attempt at jam.

My setup. The canning bath on the left. The berries cooking (before sugar added) on the right and the small pan with the lids for the jars warming.

 

 

The jam in jars

 



One of the nice bits about the "skim off foam" part was that it gives you the opportunity to taste the jam. It was quite good!

I have enough for another batch, which I'll definitely be doing once I buy more sugar (6 cups of sugar in a batch!) and pectin. There are still lots of berries in the tree that have yet to ripen, so I'll be picking more. I need to see if the girls like it. If they do, I'll be using this for their PB&Js. I will look to see if I can find other recipes that call for less sugar.  If I do, I'll try that and see how it tastes.

Michelle makes a sweater

I finished spinning the first 8 oz of orange yarn.

It makes a pretty single.


I 2 plied and Navajo (3) plied a bit so I could figure out the wraps per inch. I came up with 12.3 wpi for the 3 ply and 14 wpi for the 2 ply. The 3 ply is a better size, I think and frankly it looks better.








I've started 3 plying (not Navajo) the orange. Sadly my bobbins for my wheel aren't all that big. I fit just over 8 oz on 3 bobbins. That means I'll need 3 bobbins to get it all plied... or ply it a bobbin at a time so I can then get it off of the bobbin so I can do more. ETA, I have now filled the bobbin twice with plied yarn.

In garden news, I emailed my Father-in-law asking about a saw for cutting branches high. He called me back and ended up coming over on Sunday and we cut back a couple lilacs, a burning bush and piled it all in the thistle garden in the front yard. It will take a couple months to get it all to fit in the bins for the city to collect.

Lilac before.

Lilac after.




I still need to cut back the spirea. There is the one large one in the back corner of the yard. I also found that there are about 4 others that were planted either side of the two lilacs that are along the back fence. They were quite shaded by the lilacs and other bushes in the back. The lilacs haven't been cut back in a long time. My FIL commented that he hadn't seen a burning bush as large as the one in our back yard. I cut that back because it was shading another lilac. I may cut it back more, but my main goal was to get it away from the lilac some.

That same lilac has a mulberry tree growing amongst it. It's big enough to have berries. For now I'm going to leave it there. We managed to clear some of the other brush from around it, so I think it will do better. I discovered that two other trees in my yard are mulberry of a decent size. I hope to make jam.

That above was written a few days ago. Today I cut back the spirea  and the final forsythia. I'll try to get up before and after pictures soon.