The “Isn't Life Great” thread
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Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
Soon, I promise! its at my friends house for now where she has the peg loom, and plenty of room to make it. Don't have a photo yet but promise I'll get one up soon as poss.
It's the perfect project for realy tatty old fleeces that you might think not much good for anything else. You can weave raw wool, but this one, washed the fleece and carded it before weaving on the home made peg loom. It's taken quite a while to process the wool, but so worth it!
Be careful of felting it; I left one in the workshop and some obliging soul decided to wash it.....ended up a wooly brick 
Oh no, how soul destroying!Be careful of felting it; I left one in the workshop and some obliging soul decided to wash it.....ended up a wooly brick
I've realy loved this project. It's been hard work, but the process is fairly simple. I'm up for doing much more, which is just as well, as we have 15 fleeces to go, and next spring will be adding several more!
I'm thinking about a wool mattress for my camp cot.
It's the carding that takes the time. Thank goodness for carding machines!!!!!!!
I was musing along similar lines. I currently sleep on sheep skins (and a short inflatable) in camp.
I don’t know whether you would want to sell a mat and I don’t know whether I could afford one but it’s well worth the experiment by someone.
We made a lot of them at one point. To bind together properly, mind a peg loom is a very open weave, they need to be felted.
As an overthrow, a blanket, they are light and warm and comfortable, but we found that they only really do well underneath if layered up.
Felting, even just pressure and use, really does help bind them....just be careful washing.
It seems such a simple concept, and it is, but it's an awful lot of work, even with a drum carder.
As an overthrow, a blanket, they are light and warm and comfortable, but we found that they only really do well underneath if layered up.
Felting, even just pressure and use, really does help bind them....just be careful washing.
It seems such a simple concept, and it is, but it's an awful lot of work, even with a drum carder.
Sheepskins are much easier to care for when you are out and about, and with the amount of work involved in making a peg loom rug, the cost of skins is probably cheaper, unless you can make a loom rug yourself, where the cost is time, and a few hours making a loom, which needs only rudimentary skills to make. You don't have to card the wool, but it still needs a wash to get all the crud out.
Future rugs will be for sale , but I make them in spare time, so it's a slow process. This one is approx 2' by 3'feet. Haven't even considered cost yet. They won't be cheap, as they are hand made . But will try to figure out a reasonable price for a totaly unique hand made Jacob wool rug. I'll let you know when I start taking orders!
Day out in the woods today with my dog. Whilst he was a pain in the backside for the first hour, he settled down and we both had fun wandering and enjoying a wet woodland day.
Was hoping to find some foragable mushrooms - nothing edible, but I still enjoyed seeing and identifying what there was.
Also made a feather stick with my new Farmer X to give it a try, and managed to find plenty of birch deadfall so yoinked a handful of bark to dry out for my fire kit.
The older I get, the more I have learned to enjoy the rain. Woodland rain with a slight mist and the sunset colours in the clouds, wet and soggy in places underfoot but loads of moss and great woodland smells. Wrapped up all waterproof and just being part of the wonderful countryside we call home.
Oh, and picked up some local venison on the way home to have for dinner! Can’t forget that.
Was hoping to find some foragable mushrooms - nothing edible, but I still enjoyed seeing and identifying what there was.
Also made a feather stick with my new Farmer X to give it a try, and managed to find plenty of birch deadfall so yoinked a handful of bark to dry out for my fire kit.
The older I get, the more I have learned to enjoy the rain. Woodland rain with a slight mist and the sunset colours in the clouds, wet and soggy in places underfoot but loads of moss and great woodland smells. Wrapped up all waterproof and just being part of the wonderful countryside we call home.
Oh, and picked up some local venison on the way home to have for dinner! Can’t forget that.
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Yesterday was a lazy Sunday. Weather wasn't inspiring, so I decided to work on a few small cordage projects.
I'd been given some scrap flax during the summer after watching a demo on preparing linnen thread for spinning, so decided to try and make some cordage from it. From a birds nest of fibres, I managed about 5 feet of string. Not fine enough for much else other than string, but I'm pleased as punch to be able to make a useful bit of cordage from what would otherwise have been thrown away.
I also managed to make about three feet of cordage from scrappy bits of sinew that had been considered too small to be of much use, (each fibre was only about 3 inches long)
It's not the neatest, but I figure it will be of use somewhere along the line.
Then I carved a couple of wooden toggles for use on pouches I want to make.
Finaly, I made a set of
felted wool insoles for my boots from bits of fleece that couldn't be included in the peg loom rug project.
All in all, a very productive day, with useful items made from stuff that would normaly considered waste.
Did I say I had a lazy day??
I'd been given some scrap flax during the summer after watching a demo on preparing linnen thread for spinning, so decided to try and make some cordage from it. From a birds nest of fibres, I managed about 5 feet of string. Not fine enough for much else other than string, but I'm pleased as punch to be able to make a useful bit of cordage from what would otherwise have been thrown away.
I also managed to make about three feet of cordage from scrappy bits of sinew that had been considered too small to be of much use, (each fibre was only about 3 inches long)
It's not the neatest, but I figure it will be of use somewhere along the line.
Then I carved a couple of wooden toggles for use on pouches I want to make.
Finaly, I made a set of
felted wool insoles for my boots from bits of fleece that couldn't be included in the peg loom rug project.
All in all, a very productive day, with useful items made from stuff that would normaly considered waste.
Did I say I had a lazy day??
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Finaly managed to post the promised piccy of the rug. This was taken just before it was finished.
That’s magnificent! I presume it’s Jacob?
I think I can see how the loom is made. What are those vertical white posts - I have some 12mm water pipe and aLOT of 18mm conduit.
Do you need a shuttle or will your fingers do the job?
Sorry for the questions - I’m seriously intrigued.
I think I can see how the loom is made. What are those vertical white posts - I have some 12mm water pipe and aLOT of 18mm conduit.
Do you need a shuttle or will your fingers do the job?
Sorry for the questions - I’m seriously intrigued.
It's easy. You can even do it in the woods and make yourself a cordage and brash mat
Prepping all that fleece that Woody girl used though.....that's work !
The loom is hand made from wood from the woodland. The sheep are home grown too.
The fleece is soaked in rain water, rinsed and drained, 3 times or so untill the water comes fairly clear, to get out the mud and crud, (no soap,) dried in the sun, carded on a drum carder, then hand woven.
The weaving is the easy bit!
It has been an amazing project.
I've totaly loved doing it, even though its been realy repetitive work at times. Gives you time to think and dream.
Yes it's Jacob. Those white sticks are the pegs.
No shuttle needed, just hand woven round the pegs, Toddy's posted video shows how much better than I can explain. Loads of you tube instructional vids. That's how I learned.
The fleece is soaked in rain water, rinsed and drained, 3 times or so untill the water comes fairly clear, to get out the mud and crud, (no soap,) dried in the sun, carded on a drum carder, then hand woven.
The weaving is the easy bit!
It has been an amazing project.
I've totaly loved doing it, even though its been realy repetitive work at times. Gives you time to think and dream.
Yes it's Jacob. Those white sticks are the pegs.
No shuttle needed, just hand woven round the pegs, Toddy's posted video shows how much better than I can explain. Loads of you tube instructional vids. That's how I learned.
It looks like beautiful fleece. I'm sure it would spin up into a lovely yarn. If it would spin like Lopi you could knit up some beautiful pullovers with it, and quickly too.
M
M
I don't have a spinning wheel sadly, only a drop spindle. I don't think I'd have the time using that, but its one for the back burner.
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