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Sunday, April 24, 2005

Herd That Roving

Shelby looks to be part Border Collie. We can't be sure, she was a "mixed breed" puppy (Shelby doesn't care for the word "mongrel"). We bought her from the SPCA who had rescued her from a backyard full of miscellaneous interbreeding canines. If her tendency to herd roving is any indication, I would think that somewhere in the line her forefathers did include some breed of herding dog. When I put this wool roving down to take a picture she circled and sniffed, circled and sniffed. Having tasted wool in the past she resisted the urge to nip at its flanks.

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I have now completely spun up and plyed the Coopworth Top that I started with. I haven't yet decided what to do with it. This new stuff, a hand dyed roving, is proving much more difficult to work with. The fibers don't slide apart as easily and my resulting yarn is thicker and uneven. Kind of discouraging when I was doing so well with the top.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The colouring on the top of her head looks a little like a Red Cattle dog. They are definitely herders - they have a tendency to nip your heels!

Donna
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dragon knitter said...

predrafting will help that. especially since you're new at it (this froma woman who never predrafts, lol). i just don't know how much to predraft, or how far down to go. it will loosen up the fibers, though, and make spinning easier.

Marlene said...

Donna, it is only the top of her head and her ears that have that coloring, plus a few speckles of tan on her front legs. The rest of her body is black and white....marled, as well as larger black patches. Some people have suggested that she might be part Australian Shepherd. Personally I don't think there was ANY pure bred anything in her line.

Minnie, I AM predrafting but I still have trouble. I got a little better at it today, right about the time that I figured I would just give up and spin "novelty yarn" from it. It's still thick and thin but getting better.

Marlene said...

Felicia, I bought it locally from Sun Bench Fibres.

Sun Bench Fibres
Hannelore Lubben
#1-8979 Broadway St.
Chilliwack, BC
V2P 5V9
Tel/Fax: 604.793.0058
Email: woolmosi@uniserve.com
Web: www.sunbenchfibres.com


She is also an Ashford dealer and a member of the spinners and weavers guild here, so lucky me!

Anonymous said...

Hey, don't let that doggy eat wool-especially yarn. It clogs their intestines and can kill! My fibers prof told me that. Kitties and doggies find the scent and taste of wool irresistable. I have roving at home that is wrapped in three plastic grocery bags in my pantry because my two cats and dog go nuts!

Marlene said...

Shelby doesn't get too far with her desire to nibble. Usually it is up and out of the way, except of course when I am spinning it. I heard some "smacking" noises and she was mouthing one of the ends, but I watch her more closely now.