SpinnySpinny

Oh boy was that fun. Despite having to run back home to get forgotten spinning wheel pieces. A lot of people wandered in and out to see what the folks with the funny non-computer equipment were doing, some showed up with sewing machines, there were wedding invitations assembled and children throwing toys all over the floor. I spent most of the day carding and generally a good time was had by all. I took no pictures.

I finished the blending this morning, just to get it over with. I had a pile of junk fiber, both light and dark. I blended the mostly white stuff together, which included the last of the Grandma Wool, a collection of combing leftovers, a few things that Seemed to Be a Good Idea at the Time and some fleece that didn’t scour nicely. To improve the mix, I added odds and ends of fleece of decent quality but not enough or of a type I’d use alone for another purpose.

Here’s the finished pile:

There are neps and VM a plenty and I’m just not going to worry about it. I wanted to spread around the still somewhat greasy fiber to avoid having to scour batts and then try to re-card a semi-felted mess. Since some was already carded, I was blending mainly by the “One from Column A” method and ended up with a little of the greasy stuff left over. It’s not enough to go through blending the whole lot yet again just to mix it in.

The latest development in the M story is that we spent the afternoon taking apart and re-assembling the bed in a more vacuum-friendly configuration. It means less storage space in the bedroom (moving up the bottom shelves for the roomba) but no more will the Dust Bunnies of Unusual Size congregate under the bed. I’ve been meaning to do this for years but didn’t because it’s annoying and tedious work. But now it’s done and life is better for it.

I still have the moth traps scattered around the house and so far no new victims. The cleaning isn’t all done, but it’s close so I’m comfortable that the panic is over.

The moths were lurking pretty much where I suspected they were, under the bed cavorting with the Dust Bunnies of Unusual Size. And dirty socks, junk mail of questionable vintage and various other odds and ends. Mainly in the “odd” category: conference badges, candy wrappers, books, tax forms, empty soda bottles, random parts of electronics projects. And vast quantities of people hair.

The bed sits on top of six small utility shelves, all full of stuff, and it is the space under the bottom shelves where dust collects. Vacuuming is possible with effort, but quite annoying as it involves crawling on the floor around the shelves. The only way to really get everything is to disassemble this arrangement and that is not happening this weekend. The mattress is this hard-frame thing that takes at least two people to move, more if one is expected to be of the Feorlen variety.

I am currently waiting for the vacuum to cool down, having developed that ominous overheating rubber smell after about an hour of near-constant use. I do need to finish as quickly as possible however, so I can escort the now-vacuumed beasties to the outside garbage posthaste. When I can get the necessary assistance to move the bed, I’m going to adjust the shelves so the roomba can get under them. I’ve been threatening to do this for some time, despite the loss of storage space, for more-or-less this exact reason.

There were no moths to be found hiding in the wool rug, nor in the several bags of fiber odds and ends in the general vicinity. Or the dust armadillos. I have not checked under the bed, however. (I will note that this is a non-trivial exercise.)

There is space aplenty for gale-force winds to come through the windows, so I suspect they may have arrived that way. It is the males that fly around, looking for companionship. The females do the damage by leaving behind offspring. I already need to replace the stick-on plastic seal stuff on the windows, which would solve that problem (and several others.)

But they came from somewhere. I will have to keep looking and clean up any suspicious debris. With two long-hair residents, we have a serious problem with Dust Bunnies of Unusual Size.

I’m working on more Merino lamb, I just pulled out another batch of fiber to start combing. I thought I’d post some pictures along the way. Here’s the first one. I’ve flicked all the ends so they aren’t nasty, taking most of the VM out along the way. Lamb is like that, having never been shorn, the tips are curly so it sometimes takes some extra work.