The old Siamese sheds 24-7. I can brush him three times a day, each time getting as much hair yield as the time before. And if I brushed him a fourth time . . . it would be exactly the same. The Maine Coons are (according to the standard of the breed) only supposed to need to be brushed once a week. However, there is much sibling rivalry. When I call "pretty kitty" all three line up. So away we go with various brushing tools, including a gizmo I got from the vet called a "Rakomb" which looks much like a hackle, only not sharp. But more about that in a little bit.
One day, I was surrounded by kitties demanding their "pretty kitty" and my son and his wife were here. They asked me why I wasn't spinning the cat fur I brush/combed out of the Maine Coons. So by golly, I gathered up as much "fluffy fiber" as I had on the "Rakomb" and grabbed my lightest weight spindle, and began spinning. As near as I can tell, it's either heavy laceweight or very very light fingering weight. Gracie is a brown, grey and golden mackerel tabby spayed queen; Peaches (aka "The Mighty Peaches") is a warm buff classic tabby neutered tom, weighing in at 18 pounds. Some of the fur on the spindle is blended using the "Rakomb" as a sort of hackle (I promised there'd be more about that!), and some of it is gradiated.
There's quite a bit more of it now, as this is an old picture. Because of the unique Maine Coone double coat, their underfur is really soft and fluffy and spins up rather like angora, only with a much shorter staple length; maybe an inch to inch and half. It takes twist well, and feels quite soft against my neck (my test area for yarn softness, lol). Gracie loves being groomed, but only yields a decent quantity of fluff every 2nd or 3rd day. Peaches yields fluff daily, but does not really like to be groomed so gathering his cat fluff usually involves a variety of distraction techniques including kitty treats.
I've not decided what in the world I will do with the cop of cat fur once it gets too unwieldy to remain on the spindle and demands to be plied. Nor am I at all sure what I will do with the resulting yarn. My dad suggested knitting blankets for baby mice to ensure that the kitties have a plentiful supply of food. I think he was joking . . . but with Dad, there isn't any telling.
I finally broke down and bought a couple of Golding spindles, one large, one medium and one micro. The micro is fantastic; .6 oz of lignum vitae spindle, with a rather short shaft (a disappointment) but an incredible looooooonnnnnnggg spin time. The med. weight (1.5 oz Kingwood) is equally wonderful. It's currently in use spinning some merino/possum blend that is in a very difficult, dense carded thin batt form full of VM and other "stuff". It wants to be spun very fine, but does not want to respond to a woolen long draw. I like the Golding for it because the spindle will just spin while I tease out (or yank out, in some cases), these recalcitrant fibers. I'm ready to pull it apart with my dog slicker "handcards" and make rolags if it doesn't start behaving better! At least that way I won't have to stop every few inches and remove foreign objects from the fibers.
The large vintage Golding is on its way to me from Alaska. And I've been lurking on Golding's site eyeing still more . . . I wonder if there is a 12-step group for spindlers . . .
The advent of the Goldings created serious overcrowding in my fiber cabinet. And spinning on the ringspindles is so much easier on my poor aching right shoulder (my spindle hand), I'm contemplating de-stashing some of the spindles I have loved in the past. I took pictures this morning, intending to put them up on Ravelry. When I put them back in the fiber cabinet for safe keeping (kitties like things that roll around!), I was swamped with a wave of nostaligia, remembering the fibers I put so much work into spinning . . . and I haven't posted the pictures. Then I looked at Golding's site again . . . drooling . . .
Hmmm. Maybe I'll post the de-stash pictures after I find that 12-step group for compulsive spindle buyers . . . .
One day, I was surrounded by kitties demanding their "pretty kitty" and my son and his wife were here. They asked me why I wasn't spinning the cat fur I brush/combed out of the Maine Coons. So by golly, I gathered up as much "fluffy fiber" as I had on the "Rakomb" and grabbed my lightest weight spindle, and began spinning. As near as I can tell, it's either heavy laceweight or very very light fingering weight. Gracie is a brown, grey and golden mackerel tabby spayed queen; Peaches (aka "The Mighty Peaches") is a warm buff classic tabby neutered tom, weighing in at 18 pounds. Some of the fur on the spindle is blended using the "Rakomb" as a sort of hackle (I promised there'd be more about that!), and some of it is gradiated.
I've not decided what in the world I will do with the cop of cat fur once it gets too unwieldy to remain on the spindle and demands to be plied. Nor am I at all sure what I will do with the resulting yarn. My dad suggested knitting blankets for baby mice to ensure that the kitties have a plentiful supply of food. I think he was joking . . . but with Dad, there isn't any telling.
I finally broke down and bought a couple of Golding spindles, one large, one medium and one micro. The micro is fantastic; .6 oz of lignum vitae spindle, with a rather short shaft (a disappointment) but an incredible looooooonnnnnnggg spin time. The med. weight (1.5 oz Kingwood) is equally wonderful. It's currently in use spinning some merino/possum blend that is in a very difficult, dense carded thin batt form full of VM and other "stuff". It wants to be spun very fine, but does not want to respond to a woolen long draw. I like the Golding for it because the spindle will just spin while I tease out (or yank out, in some cases), these recalcitrant fibers. I'm ready to pull it apart with my dog slicker "handcards" and make rolags if it doesn't start behaving better! At least that way I won't have to stop every few inches and remove foreign objects from the fibers.
The large vintage Golding is on its way to me from Alaska. And I've been lurking on Golding's site eyeing still more . . . I wonder if there is a 12-step group for spindlers . . .
The advent of the Goldings created serious overcrowding in my fiber cabinet. And spinning on the ringspindles is so much easier on my poor aching right shoulder (my spindle hand), I'm contemplating de-stashing some of the spindles I have loved in the past. I took pictures this morning, intending to put them up on Ravelry. When I put them back in the fiber cabinet for safe keeping (kitties like things that roll around!), I was swamped with a wave of nostaligia, remembering the fibers I put so much work into spinning . . . and I haven't posted the pictures. Then I looked at Golding's site again . . . drooling . . .
Hmmm. Maybe I'll post the de-stash pictures after I find that 12-step group for compulsive spindle buyers . . . .
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