Beatin' the Heat

This little cutie is my grandnephew

I recently sent some wool to ladies from crochetville. This is a little info on how to wash and flick card it. This is so it can be used unspun to knit or crochet with the wool.

Thelma and Louise donate
their coats every year.
Just wash it in some dish soap, I use Dawn but
anything will work. If you only have a kitchen sink,
you might want to use a bucket, outside, the smell is
quite sheepy.

Run a container of HOT water, put the soap in, and
then the wool. Just let it soak, don't mush it too
much. Let it soak until the water is cold. Pour off
the water, and repeat at least once more.
The fleece is quite dirty. Then when it is clean
enough, run warm rinse water, and put the fleece in,
don't run water onto the fleece, it will felt it.
Repeat the rinsing. The locks can just be pulled out
and overlapped to make a long strand to crochet with.
I tried a little last night to see if it works, it
does!
Just takes a lot of work.

Grey wool can be dyed, it dyes
beautifully in fact, deep rich colors. I dye a lot of
it because its already wet after I wash it, and then
it is cleaner too, because you have to wash it after
dyeing anyway.


How to tease a lock of wool for felting
The dogs slicker can be used, the tool sold for this is called a flick card.
Just hold the cut end of the lock in your left hand, put it on your knee and kind of hit it and pull up, just teasing the lock out. Don't really comb it just fluff it up. After you have done one end of a lock, turn it around a repeat the fluffing.

Then you can pull it to almost the length of the fiber and kind of overlap the ends. Most of the stuff falls out that way. Since you will be felting it, the locks don't have to be perfectly clean. You are going to wash the heck out of it anyway.

Hunter S. Thompson sendoff August 20, 2005

Let me explain why this photo is here.

I am a fan of Johnny Depp, I admire his choices as an actor, he has remained a real person and not let Hollywood "wrap him in the same paper" as every other actor. Depp played Hunter S. Thompson in the movie Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. Depp actually lived with Thompson at Owl Farm in Woody Creek Colorado to "get" his charecter.

Hunter S. Thomson committed suicide and his last request was to have his ashes shot from a cannon. To be actual cannon fodder. There was an invitation only celebration, and the ashes were shot from the cannon shaped like a fist holding a peyote button, Thompsons logo from his unsuccessful bid for Sheriff

Ta,
Deb