I got home with the box, with only enough time to open it up and pull it out of the box before having to get my kiddos from school/the sitters. Let me tell you, there was bubble wrap a flying! It was like one of those videos you see of a kid ripping into a Christmas gift, where there's a terrible mess everywhere afterwards. I was so excited to finally have it! So of course I had to leave my new Kitten at home to get my kids, and there it sat until I stuck the pizza in the oven. I set the timer and told the husband to listen for the beep and take it out when it was ready. Downstairs I flew, with a handful of random assortments of fibre (I've been collecting the remnants of my tops and rolags, the stuff that didn't fit onto the last bobbin in a cubby in the entertainment unit for a while now) And then this happened:
Don't worry though, I managed to get the whole thing cleaned off and looking almost brand new again.
This is what the final batt looks like, chunky funky and down right hideous.
But hey, it's my first try right, and I was just experimenting with what would happen if I do this, or that or what ever?
Then supper was ready. Boooo! And then Hubby went out to wing night. Double boo!!! And THEN the kiddos refused to stay in their beds! Triple BOOOO!!!! So of course I got no drum carding in at all after that, and before I went to bed myself.
But this morning, I made these ones, while the kids watch Thomas the Tank engine and Cailou movies.
I'd say that's a pretty drastic improvement, eh? I've discovered that I need to manually feed the fibre onto the top of the carder in order to not waste as much of it... But somehow I think that's wrong, and I'll be asking the kindly folks over on the Fancy Kitty Lovers group on Ravelry.com why I'm ending up with so much "waste". "Waste" I will spin into something cray cray.
Anywho, This has really been keeping me distracted from what I really should be doing, my homework. But I'm still bound and determined to be done by April 1. I've signed up for level 2, so I really do need to finish!
~Kara
Exciting to see you working on a carder - you will soon learn which fibers can and can't be feed thru the normal carding process. Also depending on how you wish the batt to look like will also determine the process. Have fun, breath and know this is all part of the learning curve.
ReplyDeleteIt's super fun! And I've figured it out better now. Just had to adjust the drums a bit. I'll be posting more when I actually get time to finish up the 6 oz of BFL locks I dyed a while back. The Fancy Kitty seems to like hand preped fibre better then tops. Still fun though!
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