February 22, 2005

The wool house presents 2

Welcome back y'all. (Or is that "y'alls" I can never figure that out. I was in a "Waffle House" in Tennessee once and the lady who poured my coffee said "Y'all want cream in that?" which confused me, since I was alone. Clearly, "Y'all" must be the singular, which perplexingly must mean that "y'alls" is the plural...right? Maybe this is something else Laurie can tell us, since she's an English professor.) Laurie is back today with the one I've been waiting for, since I suffer a pathologic inability to Diz.
I'd also like to draw your attention to the sweater Laurie is wearing in the photos since it's made of the yarn that this tutorial teaches you how to make.

Combing and Dizzing

My husband went to some trouble to record this whole process so I offer here some pictures of my combing and the process of removing the fiber from the combs with a diz. So this entry is short on text, but picture-rich.

Laruiec2-1

Lash fiber onto comb. Turn comb sideways and lock in place (I use a Canadian comb set from Ray’s Woolcombs that locks into place nicely but so do a lot of others).

Laurie2-2

Start combing by swinging your moving comb into the tips of the lashed on fiber. I find that about a third of the way in works well.

Laurie2-3

Pull comb back (This is the “action shot” of which my husband is most proud!) Once you have combed the fibers off from the stationary comb, you comb them back ON from side to side (right to left):

Laurie2-4

Note that I lash the fibers back on the stationary comb and then sometimes reach around to hold them stable behind that comb. This strategy lets the OTHER comb do the straightening of fibers.

Now onto dizzing. First stroke the fiber into a nice cone and twist the end a bit:

Laurie2-5

Now you will pull that little tail through a diz; I use a small hook for the purpose, but a small crochet hook would work just as well:

Laurie2-6

You then pull the fiber back about a staple length, and then reach forward next to the diz and repeat:

Laurie2-7

Laurie2-8

Basically you are repeating these gestures until you finish the fiber on the comb:

Laurie2-9

You then coil the long roving into a nest and get ready for stuffing the pantyhose. I usually let the combed rovings rest for a little while before stuffing them into the amputated pantyhose legs, so we will take a break here to contemplate the joys of combed fiber. We can also consider whether the rovings are just too yummy to dye at all!

Prettycoils

Steph here again...just a note, I have to tell you that Laurie and I have been friends for some time now and we talk on the phone, and see each other once a year and because she lives far from me I have never been in her home. This means that I have to tell you that I am absolutely shocked at how tidy it is in these pictures. I had expected more of a kindred approach to housework.

Posted by Stephanie at February 22, 2005 11:44 AM