katrina's woolworld

onward with project

2010-04-30T11:54:00.001-07:00

Almost done spinning the first section of this project. I have carded up two more colors of batts, these next two colors are from the same fleece, it is a blue faced liecester wool that had a nicely varied dye batch. The first section was a border liecester. Very pleased with the color.

Looking at spinning from a new direction

2010-04-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Time to get back to spinning, paying specific attention to what I am actually spinning. I have created a lovely variegated set of batts from my 2nds. Border liecester with some 2nd cuts and some vm but a glorious dye batch. A little extra effort and I think I will have something wonderful. I am spinning this on my lithuanian wheel which is pictured here on my blog, it is restored and does spin very nicely. I went to guild last week and realized that my foot flies, small wheel, I guess compared to all the new ones with dt.
So far I have filled ok overfilled one bobbin, it has spun itself up a bit thinner than I think I want, but I like to let the fiber take some direction. NOT claiming to be some fantastic technical spinner. It is making a soft pretty fine yarn. I plan on making is a three ply. I have an intended project that will use some other fleece.
So pics today of what i have done so far with further postings this week on progress.

Need to part with these fantastic wheels

2009-11-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Tough decisions, letting go, I put my Beautiful John Westlake Wheel up for sale last month,it has not sold so back here I go with a price cut, 1800$ for this fantastic wheel. Also see my wonderful easy to use fully restored Lithuanian double drive wheel $525.00, I am also parting with my one of a kind true childs wheel found in the attic of a Dakota farmstead over 30 years ago, it is hand crafted most likely dates from the 1800s, 425.00. A true piece of americana. Also for sale is a very small working wheel made in 1981,125.00, and a toy wheel that I have no idea when it dates from 40$.

shetland sheet and guard llamas

2009-07-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

More pics of visiting the farm

2009-07-22T19:03:00.001-07:00

Visit to the Farm, picking up fleece

2009-07-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday saw me going to Dallas,Oregon to pick up fleeces at RBV Ranch, visited my friend sherie, got the feed the "girls" and both the girl and boy guard llamas came to get in on the treats, what great fun that.

Trip to the wheel restorers

2009-07-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Monday dawned bright and sunny, time to go and pick up my wheel at the restorer, nice drive south I-5 to the brooks exit, where I followed along the road even taking a ferry across the Willamette river to get there, I picked up my repaired and restored Lithuanian wheel. Look at some of my pics of the day.

Fantastic John Westlake Spinning Wheel

2009-07-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come to part with this fantastic wheel, by far the most spectacular wheel I have ever had. This is a custom made,(as were everyone of his wheels)double drive wheel, 19" flywheel, moveable mother of all, I believe the wheel is made of myrtle wood, the bobbins besides being very good sized (4.5 x 3 inch) are lovely. The wheel comes with 8 bobbins, 3 whorls, and a very nice arched kate. This wheels weights 16lbs, is easily picked up with one hand, fits nicely into the front seat of my car and seat belts in just great. Tandem treadle, weighted wheel. This wheel is pretty darn near effortless to spin on. The machining on this wheel is just so perfect. The wheel does have a scotch tension rig, but I do not have any of those types of bobbins.
One fantastic wheel, I am asking $2,000 for this wheel and am willing to ship, I will remove the mother of all for shipping, and I ship fed ex.Price reduced to 1800$

selling wheels

2009-07-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have an older ashford traveler I am selling, it has a two speed flyer,single treadle, is scotch tension, has 5 bobbins, comes with a separate lazy kate, and turned orifice hook, It is in very good condition lightly used. It is a very nice looking wheel, has the mother of all in the center rather than off to one side, and it adjusts by turing one of the maidens lifting the mother of all, and of course has the knob for the scotch tension as well. I would like 400 for this wheel, and be happy to ship, I have shipped alot of wheels.

Dyeing and its surprises

2009-04-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Went to do some custom dyeing and got a few surprises, I expected some color differences as i used some fleeces that had some gray, but my green came out with purples in three out of 5 batches. I used a roaster, crock pot and stove top methods, and i got the same result with all, also I redyed one of the multi colored fleeces and it came out the same the 2nd time. Interesting.

Spin Time @ Quirks of Art, 1602 NE 40th Ave. Portland,OR

2009-02-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that KatrinasWoolWorld has expanded to take place in spin time At the Quirks of Art at 1602 NE 40th Ave, Portland,OR, this is in the Hollywood Neighborhood. We have wool in both roving and locks, felting tools, spinning wheels in a growing assortment, tensioned kates , and bobbins made to order for those non mass produced wheels.
There is a nice fireplace to spin in front of, and lessons to be had. The wool selection will be growing with time as i have over 100 kinds of wool waiting to be carded, custom orders on request. We look forward to expanding the business and coming up with interesting tools and wheels.
We also will take wheels for sale on consignment.

Oh for a bright day

2009-02-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

A taste of another breed

2009-01-16T19:13:00.001-08:00

2009-01-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

2009-01-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

2009-01-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

need for color,

2009-01-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

I was dyeing romney color samples using sock yarn as a contrast, even if it is hard to tell in the pics, then i thought i would just add some more color after weeks of snow, in fact it was snowing as i did this.

2009-01-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

gray romney dye samples

2009-01-09T20:05:00.001-08:00

snowed in dye studio, or the great outdoors and campstove

2009-01-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Finally my etsy store is open

2008-12-01T12:50:00.001-08:00

Well hey, this past weekend i opened the door on my etsy store, it is KatrinasWoolWorld.etsy.com and there is wool (gee big surprise that) , knitting collectibles, and some craft supplies. A lot more to come, i have over 100 kinds of wool, so there will be much adding of items in the very near future. I also do custom orders. So come and look at my store and leave me a note. Oh and anyone looking for extra bobbins for their edammertje wheels or delft wheels we are making them, so drop us a note on etsy and we will get back to you right away.

More info on the wool holders in the pics

2008-11-19T00:23:00.000-08:00

These are wool holders, some would call them yarn holders, they are bakelite, and about 3.5 inches across and 4 inches high, one puts a ball of yarn in them and you can put the handle on your wrist or just set it down and let the yarn feed out the hole. They were made between 193o and 1950 and are bakelite, they range in price from 30-45$ depending on rarity.
I will be posting bee hive shaped wool holders, they also range in price, and then there will be thge spinning gadgets, check back and see what i can come up with.

The first posting of knitting collectibles

2008-11-19T00:20:00.001-08:00

Look,, five wheels and more on the way.

2008-11-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

I currently have three wheels here for sale, and five more on their way here. Affordable, great wheels. Besides here and my soon to be web site, my goods are now in a shop, Quirks of Art in the Hollywood district of Portland,Or.
If you are looking for a gift for a spinner or knitter that is something different, i have it, great orifice hooks, the cutest wpi / singles holders, knitting collectibles and more tools are on their way.
Just drop me a note, i will be adding more pics soon. This picture of globes in a box is actually a selection of wool holders that are bakelite from the 30's to 50's all british in origin. Fun.

saxony flyer brake wheel/ lower pic saxony double drive

2008-10-27T09:14:00.001-07:00

more wheels for sale and my buddy Whalen

2008-10-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have more wheels for sale, still have the wonderful edammertje wheels, but also need to sell my lovely Norwegian Princess high ratio double drive wheel, and a country craftsman double drive wheel with 6 bobbins and a distaff, if you look closely at the picture of the country craftsman you will see my buddy Whalen, he is a pretty spooky kitty and usually hides from the camera. He is such a sweet boy, and follows me around and wants to be petted all the time. Whalen has the softest undercoat, i plan on spinning his "wool" soon.

drop spindles

2008-09-12T19:45:00.001-07:00

edammertje pics

2008-09-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

New wheel, Edammertje, it really works well!!

2008-09-10T09:17:00.001-07:00

I have been on a journey of downsizing my wheels for economic reasons, i have two left the norwegian princess which i am selling and a little antique german wheel. So knowing i was selling my wheels i thought i would get an inexpensive wheel to use for now and for demos. I bought an antique dutch wheel that was really wonderful looking in the pics, but as sometimes happens the wheel was not what it was said to be, an honest mistake on the dealers part, but well so disappointing.
So i have a new old stock Edammertje, wow, a great wheel for the price.. These wheels were made as competition for the louet, and look very similar, they can be seen on ebay on auctions used. I think they are meant for a finer yarn than the original louets. I have an agreement with a dutch wheel dealer to import a few of these wheels. New in the box. I am also delighted that i can color my wheel any way i want, i think i am going to use aniline dyes.

and monday saw more wheels leaving, yeah!?

2008-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

well another beautiful day in pdx, really nice day, today the ashford traditional went to a new home to be used for teaching spinning. I also sold the bea wheel, so she will be traveling very soon to her new home. Just got to pack her up. One more thing on the list for tomorrow, besides wash,dry and dye. Today was errand day, buy dawn at costco, gee i should have stock in that company and paper supplies, ect. (of course had to get a polish) Just the norwegian princess left for sure to find a new home, and i will definitely consider reasonable offers, she is so very nice and so easy to spin on, but must be practical.
Sent mr boy, (son casey) & DIL renee a farming idea, they could raise fiber bunnies in their back yard and i could market it for them, nice idea i thought. I know they are dreaming of cheap farm land in new york state but geez we just got them home. Sadly farmland is anything but cheap in oregon, i have suggested renting but hmm that has not flown. Oh well, i guess i have to repeat the montra, job one of parents is to raise them up, give them wings and let them fly, and i guess that i did.
Exciting news our jessie, (former DIL) is pg, and funny her baby is due on caseys bd, also her husband's bd, that girl likes that date. I am so very very pleased for miss jesslyn. Well life does have its joys and she is one. On that happy thought i will say goodnight.

Sunday, more wool washed, dye experiments,warp board

2008-09-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well today saw more wool dry and more wool washed, it was a beautiful day but windy and i had to keep picking up wool that blew around, but no matter, more wool is washed and put away, and dye experiments for the most part were successful.
Thanks to people on the dye list, spin off and reading books on making striped yarn, i made my own warping(i think wrapping board) to make skeins for patterned dyeing. I used found materials, a board from the garage, and some pegs that were in the decorative painting box, the only thing to purchase was a drill bit to make the holes the right size.
It took awhile to find an extension cord, hmm where did the basket of cords go? but i succeeded and feel like i have accomplished things today.
I think i have done enough for one day, phew--sundays are hard as they are my no advil day, ouch. Oh well, i keep on keeping on.

beautiful, beautiful gray shetland

2008-09-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

warping (to me wrapping) board to make patterned yarn without a 40 skein,

2008-09-07T19:32:00.001-07:00

selling, nice knitting machine,SOLD, yeah!

2008-09-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

dyeing experiments

2008-09-07T19:29:00.001-07:00

wool drying

2008-09-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

dye pots brewing

2008-09-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

dry & dye day

2008-09-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

the sun is out & so the pressure is on to get the wool washed & dryed, and get some dyeing in as well. It would be nice to take a time and just sit, but the summer is back for just awhile and i am so pumped about the idea of all the wool getting washed that is currenly in boxes in the basement, the numbers are low, i can almost see the finish line.
today saw some lovely gulf coast wool drying on the racks, also really nice border leicester, a beautiful sunny brown shetland, and then the rotation occured and some alpaca came out to dry.
Meanwhile i had set some kettles to going and dorset had been soaking to make sock kits. I have read that dorset makes a nice springy resilent yarn for socks, and as this particular fleece is not feltable i thought it would really make very practical sock wool. So some interesting colors, changing dye brands has thrown me a bit, i guess i have too much vinegar in the water and i am not totally used to the new colors i have mixed. I did come up with some lovely blues, a interesting kettle of purple and green, just not the purple i expected, and a little kettle of rainbow colors.
I have the next fleece for the rotation almost done and i think i can catch my breath and relax for a bit. i am also selling knitting needles on ravelry, spinning wheels on the lists and ravelry.
lovely day

sunshine,woolwashing and dye day

2008-09-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah, the sun is out and the weather is on the upswing, the wool i decided to leave out last night is you guessed it, damp. Forgot about the heavy dew, oh well the rambouillet is in the basket waiting to get dried. I have a very nice border leicester in the wash along with lingerie bags of wool for me. Hmm, yeah no shortage there.
I hope, weather being what it is, that soon the basement will be free of unwashed wool. That day i am having a sale to celebrate. Today i will be getting out the dye and have some fun, i have wool and handspun soaking, waiting for the magic to begin. Now to pick another fleece to dye.
Will post pics of progress later, katrina
well turns out today isn't going to be dye day after all, hopefully tomorrow, today i'm recharging my battery instead. later

another day, and i keep on plugging away

2008-09-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

it is tuesday the 2nd of sept. and i still have two wheels to sell. Will post the pics here, they are a Bea Klassic, it is a dutch wheel with flyer brake, and three large bobbins, a removalbe kate, and a niddy noddy and a skein winder.
The other wheel that needs to find a new home is the Norwegian Princess, a really lovely wheel, nice accent of darker wood or varnish on the maidens. It has 5 bobbins will spin medium and fine but really likes fine. 420.00. Both are plus shipping.
It is another day another dollar kind of time, i do get tired of the constant need to make money and today my body is telling me to slow down. I am also washing a really soft fleece that is very dirty, it may end up going to the curb.. Meanwhile i have some lovely wool drying outside, an outstanding merino cross, and a fleec that i think is a corriedale.tarhee cross, whatever it is, it is written on the file, it is very soft.
Tomorrow i hope to have my own personal dye day, well actually wednesday and thursday, the weather is supposed to be nice, so the wool washing will continue, and it is so nice to dye outside and also get some fresh air at the same time.
I keep thinking yes, life is an adventure, keep it positive, enjoy the moment.

making progress

2008-08-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

well it has been awhile since i have worked on this, i have sold and shipped 5 spinning wheels, i have probable sales on two more, which leaves two to go. I will be very happy to be done with selling my wheels.
I am expecting a "new" spinning wheel in a couple of weeks, it is an 80 yr old wheel that is from the netherlands and hopefully it spins as well as it looks, and i sure hope some of my old bobbins will fit on this wheel. Someday i will again look for a multi tasker wheel, but for now the anitque wheels are just fine.
I am in the process of washing, drying and dyeing the wool. I have wool in various stages outside drying and boy am i glad to see blue sky, i so want to get all my wool washed. I realized yesterday just how tired i am, and how much my body needs to take a break. So i did try to slow down yesterday afternoon and evening, i ended up skeining some yarn that i bought in cones for sale and for me to dye.
I am going to be sampling some wool for feltability (or the lack of) today, i have an order for a lb of non felting cheviot, and as i have learned you never know.
Check out woolworld.org for pics of the wheels i have for sale.
later.

moving one

2008-08-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

it is one tired woolworker here, i have sold two more of my wheels in 1 and 1/2 weeks, my favorite wheel is leaving on saturday, and i really hope to sell my folding lendrum wheel asap,. i did get my shipment from the netherlands, two bea spinning wheels and my bogway spinners. I have actually got one of the "new" wheels up and running. I have another to put together. The bogway spinners are great, no holding the hand way above the shoulder to spin actually takes very little action. Yeah, saves my arm.

I have a a very big to do list, and i am running on empty and trying like mad to make enough to keep my house. This past year has been really hard and sooo-- disappointing, so much for trusting the one ya love. ha! Last week was absolutely devastating, i sat and listened during a deposition as he lied, and lied, and then told of hiding money! Yup, he had said he had no money and he had alot of money!! I was left to beg family to pay our bills and he had enough money to help out, as actually it was our debt from our life. I had held on to my allusions till then, I was in an absolute haze of shock over how he is, good grief. I have been left with no funds, and on the brink of disaster.

Thus the frantic work to make money, i have been so busy the last 10 mths to keep it all afloat that i have not had time to build my web site (let alone learn the techy stuff) or to get my business up and running. He has spent his time doing a lot of nothing apparently, i guess getting a new life, while his wife was trying to pay the bills from his other life.

I like my optomistic side myself, it is just suffering defeat at the moment, better get moving, more stuff to sell.

and then theres the plumbing

2008-07-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well thank goodness i sold the pioneer lady, i got the washer fixed, ouch! Now i have to deal with the failing plumbing, i certainly do not want to find my basement flooded some morning due to the rusted pipes giving way. The thought of all the wet wool that would create is overwhelming.
Today in Portland it is raining, i had pulled in all my wool last night, and while doing that I saw a possum in my yard, i had seen one in my headlights one night but i think this thing may be living in my yard. It certainly was ugly!
I am thinking about what to sell next, guess it is time to put somethings up on ebay. This week i plan on dyeing some wool and working on my web site, more techy learning to do. I never lack for something to do, guess that keeps me from getting too stuck, which could be a possibility at this stage in my journey.
I still can not find this blog when i go looking for it, hmmm better fix that.

and the washer breaks

2008-07-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

07/27/08, yesterday i was up early and ready to wash some wool and get some dyeing done, and darn opened the machine and there were wet towels that had not spun, turned the machine on very ugly noise. Now this machine is older, at least 16, and has been fixed several times so i do not know if it is worth fixing again. Oh what a day, then i am trying to get pictures to my computer to send and that was another adventure, and should someone be reading this, i am selling a knitting machine well actually several and attachments as well. I fought with the computer and camera most of the day, very annoying I hope to make some progress on this blog today and get some pics of wool on the here.

2008-07-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

07/25/08, this week has found me washing wool, a wonderful romneyxfinn, a beautiful "black" rambouilet, Now a gorgeous "black" merino, and white lovely rambouilet, and a jacob that was a lot of work. I am trying to figure out the transfer of photos from camera to blog.
I am selling a wonderful spinning wheel i have, it is unique, It is called a pioneer lady and is one of about six of these wheels made, It was designed by Mike Keeves of New Zealand and is a copy of his little grace wheel, it is the 5 ratio version and differs in the builder and the design of the wheel and the wood and of course mike has moved on to all enclosed bearings with his 6 ratios wheels.
this i should say was an unauthorized copy, mike does know about this particular wheel. It has a tandem treadle that is so easy and smooth to use, one just needs to take a moment to get used to the heal toe action, with five ratios and tapered flyer shaft that is a pressure connnection. the bobbins change very easly.
the wheel is made of black walnut and weights with 7 bobbins on board a mere 16lbs, it has a carry handle cut out. Too make this wheel even more unique it comes with 19 double ended bobbins so should one end get damaged it is still usable. I bought this last year as a first owner as it had been in storage apparently, it also has a second flyer with smaller hooks, an extra footman, a pigtail and a matching orifice hook.
I am trying to figure out my camera so i can get pictures of this beautiful wheel up, this wheel is very good for spinning fine yarn. I am sure with the other ratio's it can do anything, but with the wool i have used it is quit fine. I do love this wheel but must sell it due to the dreaded financial short fall.
I am working on another project right now that also required my camera, i am inventorying my wool with pictures and remaining weight of each bag. A large project that will end with a nice sale of my wool.
Twas a lovely day here in portland, pleasantly warm not hot, a perfect summer day.

getting started

2008-07-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

i am on a journey to gather my energy and creativity, to launch woolworld into the bigger world, which means learning technology, experimenting with everything from wool to dyeing to life in general. To stretch----------katrina