I’ve just recently finished my Melt the Ice hat. I still strongly support the reason I knit it, and am glad I did. I can’t stop thinking about those that called it performative activism. I really think that the important part about knitting the hat was solidarity with others knitting and wearing them. It wasn’t about trying to look like I believed that wearing it would change anyone’s mind. An empty gesture since it will have no impact on the current US administration? Yes and no. Yes, there will be no impact on an administration that doesn’t give a flip about the people. No, not an empty gesture as it is standing up for something even when it doesn’t change minds…at least not at the moment.
I actually didn’t get a chance to wear it this winter. It’s already too warm here for a wool hat. But I did it. I finished it (and it turns out to be way too small). It felt important to me to feel like I was standing with those people protesting where I couldn’t be. A small act of resistance. And a statement of honor for everyone who marched, and for those who wore the hat during World War II as a quiet statement of protest. It matters. At least it matters to me.
Meanwhile…
My studio looks like a storm blew through. I have been opening more bins and boxes to find things that refuse to be found. I went through 6 bins yesterday looking for a drop spindle. None surfaced, but I found some support spindles to try on a bit of local fleece. My spinning friends will get a good laugh out of the fact that I bought a whole fleece just to get enough for a test spin. They will laugh harder when they find out that this fleece defeated me.
Meet the Merina da Beira Baixa, a breed listed as endangered by the European Wool Association. They come from the mountainous region of north-central Portugal, and have been raised both for wool and food. Their milk produces Serra da Estrela, a lovely mild, soft cheese.
As you can see, the fleece is short and compact, and on closer inspection comprised of very fine fibers, most of which have exceptional crimp. The staple length on my fleece was around 5-6 cm (2″), some quite a bit less depending on how closely the sheep was sheared.
I think the individual sheep who provided my fleece thrived on rolling in the mud in fields of sticker burrs. The fleece at first glance looked pretty normal, and it was only when it went into the first bath that it became clear that mud was deeply embedded in the tips of the wool. The number of burrs was significant and it was going to take hours and hours to pick them out by hand.
After the 5th wash (3 two-day water soaks and 2 overnight detergent soaks), I gave up. To remove the mud required separating locks almost into individual fibers while dunking up and down in the wash. Even as careful as I was trying to be, there was quite a bit of instant felting and only a minimal reduction in the amount of dirt. The fibers quickly became tangled and matted as I tried to rotate the surfaces in the wash, and I really only salvaged a few handfuls of fiber that I thought I could spin. Even that had to be further picked to remove more vegetal matter and burrs. My smallest cards were of little use, and I ended up having to comb the locks with a cat comb. I really only salvaged a few handfuls of fiber that I thought I could spin.
Another feature of this fleece is the amount of lanolin. It really didn’t come out in my mild wash, and you can see the yellow color throughout the wool. It would have likely taken very hot water to remove it, and I didn’t have that available on our balcony.
Handling the wool was nice on my hands, which softened right up, but spinning it reminded me of spinning in the grease with Shetland wool. I’m sorry, but spinning in the grease creeps me out.
This is my mini supported spindle spin.
I am stopping here because this afternoon I am taking out my Majacraft wheel and setting it up. The remainder of the merino will be spun on that, and then I would like to get back to the piles of fleece waiting in the wings (or the bins). So until next time, stay calm (if possible), and craft on.