Slow Wool

This year I gave myself the gift of an online class with Jude Hill of Spiritcloth. She has one of the nicest blogs and class formats that I've run across on the Internet. Taking her class and working along with the other participants has made me think a lot about the work I do with yarn and fiber. Jude often talks about the concept of slow cloth, whereby a person creates artwork by hand with a lot of thought. The process takes time and evolves incrementally. Sometimes the artwork changes from the original inception and sometimes the artwork changes the artist through the process of working and thinking. Maybe all good artwork does that....
In my own artwork I tend to work quickly with a purpose in mind and the goal just out of reach. Those carrots keep me working diligently - which is a good thing when you work for yourself. But recently I discovered a way to use the mindful techniques that Jude has lead us through in class with my yarn and fiber preparation. I've been combing wool. Wool combs date back at least as far as the Vikings (some are even referred to as Viking Combs) and have been a primary way that spinners prepared fiber. I had recently purchased some raw wool from the Taylor Ranch up in Pinon, NM. Mr Taylor raises Rambouilett Columbia cross sheep and sold me two huge bags of wool.

 The only drawback was that this wool was some of the dirtiest stuff I have ever seen. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the girls up in Northern NM who coat their entire flock (See the previous post about the Rio Nutrias Ranch).

 This wool was so dirty I thought it was from GRAY sheep!!! Even after washing thoroughly

there was so much vegetable matter/stickers/thorns/holly in it that to touch it was terrible.

Then my fiber muse Betty suggested that it could be combed. I was apprehensive at first because the combs always looked to me like weapons of torture. (St Blaise was martyred that way.)

I borrowed a set of Wheel Thing minicombs and set to work. Initially it took me four hours to clean enough wool for a one ounce sample.

Fortunately I get faster with practice and was able to move more quickly. It is still a slow process but not nearly as time consuming as the first batch.

This is Rambouilett combed and being pulled through a shell diz.

These are three samples of two ply yarn entirely cleaned and combed by hand. The middle one that is white is the Rambouilett Columbia cross that came from the Taylor Ranch in Pinon - it is fingering weight.

 The black one is a naturally black Wensleydale from Rio Nutrias. The orange Rambouilett was dyed after being cleaned but before being combed and spun - also from Rio Nutrias. 

Of course it was not long before I discovered that it is possible to blend colors on the combs....

The entire process made me think about how I spin yarn and my relationship with the animals. It is important to me that the animals I spin from have a decent life, get to roam free and don't die to give up their wool. Knowing that makes the whole thing more life affirming and better all the way around. This brings me to the concept (via Jude) of Slow Wool. The objective is not to card as much as possible but to card with passion, attention and enjoyment.