Great Lakes Fibers

FeltLoom

2010-12-08T21:30:00.000-06:00

Love producing felted projects.

Carding Cotton & Angora

2010-11-28T10:18:00.019-06:00

Cotton plant

My sister-in-law owns an urban rabbitry called Lilac Haven in Westerville, OH. She brought some of her angora and some cotton that she grew in her backyard to card and see what we could produce for her to spin. I have a Duncan electric carding machine that I love. I was worried that the fibers would be too short but much to both of our surprise it turned out beautifully!! By the time I got out of bed this morning she had already sent me pic's and had spun it.

Carding cotton and angora

Very soft batt

Hand spun cotton and angora

The Barn

2010-11-28T09:57:00.002-06:00

Wooo Hooooo! My barn is up. There is much more to do, but today husband and I will be working on the lean to on the back. Then there is water to run to it and fencing. I will journal my progress. In the meantime, my fiber studio is up and running. Anyone interested in working on the Feltloom or electric carder, please give me a ring. 419-366-1302.

Mongolian Nomads Suffer

2010-05-20T08:10:00.000-05:00

Mongolian Zud Tragedy

Finn Sheep

2010-05-11T14:23:00.001-05:00

My friend, Terry, owns some of the most beautifully colored Finn Sheep! Terry had an exceptional lambing season this year. Her pasture is dotted with an array of rare colored, woolly little beasts. I was lucky enough to go home with a beautiful brown fleece from last year's production and I have already washed and carded it. What a nice wool to work with!

Duncan Carder

2010-05-05T10:30:00.001-05:00

I love my new carder. It's a tabletop electric carder built by Duncan Fiber Enterprises in Oregon. Since dyeing all kinds of fiber, I am able to produce lovely batts in preparation for my Feltloom which should be completed this month.

Black Swamp Fiber Market

2009-03-31T13:14:00.000-05:00

The Black Swamp Weavers Fiber Market in Bowling Green, Ohio was last weekend...March 28th. I did not leave without finding some beautiful turquoise bamboo roving that I am having hand spun to use in a shawl. I am going to weave it with my turquoise Wensleydale/Suri yarn and look forward to beginning that project. I also purchased some loopy Mohair and some Corredale. I knew I wouldn't leave there without some booty. My mom also made some purchases and is laughing when she thinks about all the projects she has to do now. I think she is busier now that she is retired than when she worked!

Fiber Market and Dyeing

2009-03-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

I will be attending the Black Swamp Fiber Market in Bowling Green, Ohio this Saturday. This is my third year for this trek and I'm looking forward to it. I also spent last weekend doing some dyeing. I had great success in dyeing a 50/50 mix of Wensleydale Sheep/Suri Alpaca yarn with a turquoise acid dye. This weekend I will begin weaving this into a new shawl on my triangle loom. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

Skirting in March

2009-03-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

We were blessed with some nice, warm weather today. With highs in the lower 60's, it was time to do some skirting. I reserve this activity for warmer weather since I don't do this indoors due to the dust, debris and dirt. It was great fun to re-open boxes of fiber I have been collecting for this year's processing. We skirted some white suri for a new blend of cashmere, angora and suri alpaca. I cannot wait to get this yarn!! I'm off to the mill.

2009-03-01T17:37:00.000-06:00

It's like Christmas when a new box of sourced fiber arrives at my doorstep. Yesterday, I received a box of angora (rabbit hair) from a new source in Indiana. This is going to mix just beautifully with my suri alpaca and cashmere. I can hardly wait to get out to the skirting tables again!

2009-02-24T15:06:00.000-06:00

Today I launched my new web site and store for Great Lakes Fibers. I would invite any fiber enthusiast to post here. I now have some spare time to finish my latest tri loom project and hopefully skirt about 30 lbs of alapca and cashmere to send to the mill. We are working on a great new yarn line.