Spinning a Feathered Yarn

 Until I decided to actually sit down and spin my chickens' feathers, I never realized exactly how many different types of feather a single chicken had. I raise Black Sussex chickens because they are cold hardy, produce an above average number of eggs and excellent foragers. I allow them to free range during the day and close them in the coop at night to protect them from predators.

My goal was to produce a soft yarn that had feathers dangling from it. My first attempts involved several different ways of wrapping the feathers into the yarn using a core thread as well as threading the feathers on a thread. The wrapping method caused the feathers to be wrapped unevenly and parallel to the yarn. The threaded feathers kept splitting where the needle had gone through the feather. Neither method worked for me since, besides not hanging the way I wanted, they looked sloppy and I did not feel that they were anchored securely.

I then came across some jewelry crimps with a hole in the top. I could crimp the feather inside the metal and thread each of the feathers onto a core thread and then place the feathers as I spun. I selected some of the softest feathers which were 3-4 inches in length.

I found a roving in my stash that coordinated with the feathers: a blend of alpaca and kid mohair in natural colors.

Spinning the yarn was a challenge, since the feathers were wispy and periodically got hung up in the holes.

When I wound the yarn off into a skein, I got some interesting effects. I made sure that I put enough twist in that the weight of the feathers would not cause the core thread to hang outside the yarn.

 Different lighting cause the feathers and yarn to look much lighter in color.

 Above is the yarn before I set the twist.

 The twist has been set and the yarn is now balanced.

A close up of the feathers attached to the yarn. My next challenge is to knit/weave or crochet it up into wearable art. I have spun a single to give me enough yardage.

Things to consider when spinning feathered yarns:

Commercial feathers available in craft stores are not the same as natural chicken/bird feathers. You have to read the fine print on the packaging to be sure that they are not dyed and that they can be washed. You have to be able to set the twist as well as remove the oils that your handling the fibers leave on your yarn. My test skein was washed and the feathers looked sickly until it dried and they fluffed back to the original state.

Some feathers are going to be too small to be held by the crimp and others will need a much larger crimp to be held in place. I used 6mm crimps for this skein.

Crimps come in several different colors. Be sure to pick one that coordinates with your feathers and yarn or the whole skein will look off. Art can very quickly become craft and crass when colors don't work together.

Let me know what you think! I have already come up with a few other ways to spin feathers, but I will save them for my freeform art yarn class.

New Lambs and Yarns

 Above: Black Eyed Pea with her lambs born this morning. Cloudy and Showers are the names. Bet you can picture our weather!

 Sweet Pea and her lambs are out in the front yard with the rest of the sheep. They have figured out that they need to keep an eye on their mother. They are now sprinting around the field. I have handled them enough that they will let me pick them up. I could not catch them otherwise.

 It is supposed to rain and then snow again. We closed the farm gates so the sheep could get out of the barn for a while. It does not look like there is much to eat, but they seem to be finding something.

On Thursday I head off to the Ocean City, MD, for their first fiber festival. I have loads of new yarns and colors, so come check it out, if you have time. It closes on Sunday at 2 p.m. so don't wait till the  last minute.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, First Lambs, ArtWeaving

 

I am excited! I made it into the MSDW and can be found in the northwest section of the fairgrounds near the sheepdog demos the first weekend in May. I have a full schedule of shows that may be found on my website Upcoming Events page: www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com

 

 Our first Merino lambs were born Monday night. I am using weather as a theme for names this year. Thanks Leslie for the idea. We have had so many weather issues, that it will be easy. The two above were named Stormy and Windy. They are quite happy with little shirts and a heat lamp. The barn heater can't keep up, but they are hardy little critters.

I have opened a new shop on etsy named ArtWeaving: www.artweaving.etsy.com . I am keeping my old etsy shop www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy.com for yarns, rovings and accessories. My hand woven items get lost in the old site and they are becoming more art oriented. This is the last one finished and I have named it Evening Skies. I have the ends to finish on the one I just took off the loom and it will be named Ocean Waves.

Hope you are all enjoying your weather. Walking up from the barn in the snow has become a workout. No need for the elliptical at all now!

First Lambs of the Year

I went down to the barn at 8:30 tonight to do my usual check and discovered that Sweet Pea had started labor. The first born is the light colored one at the front. I had to help both onto the mom and I am sure that the dark chocolate one is drinking. I fed the light one a tablespoon of colostrum from her mother and she bounced right up. Both are ewes, which I consider to be a blessing.

I have not settled on a theme for the year, so I am taking suggestions. Aren't Merino lambs cute?

Snow Pea, the white ewe from the previous post, is likely to deliver in the middle of the night or tomorrow. She is standing and does not look comfortable.

Snow Again means Animals in Barn Again

 Shetlands, Merinos and the kid angora goats are sharing the barn. We are supposed to get over 7 inches of snow. They are all content. The ram at the very front left hides among the ewes till I show up and then thinks he can ram me. I am wise to him now.

 No matter what type of feeder we buy, the goats find a way to get in it. A little black doe is enjoying being above the ground. If you look click on this picture to look at it more closely, you can see that I have several goats with blue eyes.

 If you follow Pantone's color way, you will know that natural silver and "red" kid mohair are in. This silver doe is super soft. I am currently spinning her first fleece.

 The Merino ewes above and below are due any time now, so they are in their own pen. With all of the rest of the animals in the barn, it would be too easy for them to have lambs that do not bond to them.

 I am still listing on my www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy shop. The yarn above is super bulky and will be listed today. It is next to the skin, so it is appropriate for next to the skin wear like cowls.

Lovely kid mohair/alpaca supercoils are part of a series that I will be listing today.





I did not even step outside to take this picture! If you are snowbound, enjoy your freedom from the rat race!

Enough Snow Already

 I have had more snow than I want in the last two months. The goats have not left the barn, while the alpacas, Shetlands and Merinos are out digging in the snow to uncover grass. This is my view from my studio window.

 I might not like the weather here, but there are lots of great photo opportunities. The pond is partially frozen and is likely to freeze over tomorrow due to the low temperatures.

Since I am avoiding the cold, I have had lots of time to list on Etsy. I have 90 items now. Only the very best batts, rovings, yarns and accessories are being listed.

My next show will be in Ocean City, MD at their fiber festival February 7-9, 2014. Catch me there, if you are closer to the coast.

Happy New Year!

Walking around the farm.

None of these photos have been edited in any way. The blurs you see are the animals in motion.

Above left is Mounds, a Rambouillet Columbia cross, who I bottle fed from day two. She was a gift from a friend in Arizona. She will never have lambs again, but she is worth keeping because where she leads the more skittish sheep will follow. As good as a herd dog!

The goats were not overly interested in walking up to the hay field, but they were hoping for grain.

Did an udder check on the Merinos and two of them are getting pretty close. Next weekend I might have to move them to the front yard, so I can keep an eye on them. For now, they are roaming the pastures and loving it.

We were partway up the hill and the Merinos abandoned us. The buck that is rubbing Marc has a happy little harem. Maybe not so little, since I put all of the yearling and adults in with him recently. I am trying to decide where to put him when I pull him out. Next weekend I will put him with the other bucks and see how things go.

Can you spot Silver, our barn cat? Hint - he is silver/gray.

He is a very sociable cat. He followed us the whole way. Water fascinates him. He walked on the pond a few weeks ago when it was frozen. He does not have enough fear.

Goats were so desperate to get their share of grain that they raced us down the hill. We try to feed from the far side, since you can tell by the blurs how quickly they were moving.

As we fed the Merinos in the upper garage, the two Suris came up. They would like grain but won't walk through the gates without extra encouragement. Works for me, since they tend to take over any area they get into. No grain for them, since they really don't need it.

Those clouds you saw brought us a little snow with a lot of wind. We put all of the animals in areas with shelter and fed them early. The storm moved through quickly and it has already melted. 

 If you need any lovely fibers from my animals, please check out: www.uniquedesignsbykathy.blogspot.com. I have been stocking it with a mix of fibers, patterns and finished goods.

Merry Christmas.