Spinning Molly continued....

This is a continuation of my last blog post in which I was talking about spinning from stuff close to home. Molly my gorgeous Boarder Collie graciously donated some of her undercoat for me to spin.

                                        This is Miss Molly!

                     This is her undercoat after spinning, plying & washing it.

  And this is a swatch made up of her lovely coat!! Thank you Miss Molly!

So some of the things I found out about Boarder Collie undercoat. It is very delicate & has little need to be carded. I tried on my drum carder which did not work at all! You can use hand cards if you like. I found that the up take on my scotch tension wheel was almost nothing & that it need a lot of twist put into what you are spinning. I also found that if I was not in a calm, pleasant mood that I could not spin it. If at all I was angry, anxious or upset that it was not the  product to spin with. It needs your undivided attention, like Miss Molly I guess!!!

After washing it & knitting the swatch I found it a little fuzzy & very very soft. My next attempt at using the canine coat will be a Husky/Shepard mix named Stormy. I am also looking at trying a Standard Poodle & a Malamute hair!! Look for those post in the future!!

Tour de Fleece 2013

So I decided to sign up for this years Tour de Fleece but with a twist!! My friend Diana has been blogging about locally sourced fibre in her blog www.100milewear.com. I thought I would do that but a bit closer to home. I am using my dog Molly as a fibre source. It has been a very interesting journey so far. 

This is Molly lounging around outside while I spin the undercoat she so graciously gave me!

Here it is! I find I don't need to comb it at all 

before spinning it!

And here it is spun up!! Ta da!!

I am finding that it is very delicate to spin. I am spinning a new fibre on a new to me wheel that I am still adjusting to. I am exited to see what I get when I am finished & knit it up.