 Spring is really here! Tulips are coming up, lambs are romping around, my madder plants are emerging showing little red sprouts, rhubarb is coming out of the ground looking like an alien. And, I don’t mean to scare you, but April is National Moth Hatching Month. It’s true. I read it on the internet, along with tips from Textile conservators, the Smithsonian Institution, and Martha Stewart, for preventing, and dealing with wool moths and carpet beetles. For the clothes moth, the larval stage (larvae is the form that eats your fiber) will last between two months (a warm humid climate) and six months (a cool climate). So April isn’t the only month when we worry about these things – but here we are.
In Brief: Moths like dirty or dusty wool and dark, warm spaces best. Carpet beetles especially love beer or tomato juice-soiled textiles. Who knew? Cellulosic fibers are not immune. The larvae will munch whatever is in their path. The old saying is “Air and light are the enemy of moths.” So, sorting your stash, cleaning and vacuuming the closet/room/building where you keep your yarns and fleeces, are recommended activities, BEFORE the temperatures get up in the 70’s. Vacuum up dust – the critters can live on wool dust, hair and dead insects (ick) for months, even in a sealed space. Avoid moving questionable fibers into other areas of the house before cleaning. Wash the vacuum nozzle with dish soap and dry it between cleanings, to make sure the tiny eggs aren’t transported. Alert! Mothballs are not recommended. There are two forms of mothballs: Naphthalene and Paradichlorobenzene (PBD). Both are known animal carcinogens and possible human carcinogens. Check out the websites below for full information, and you’ll know all of what I know about moth prevention and damage control. Happy Spring cleaning! Sorting and caring for your yarn and fiber is always a responsible activity. Using it is the best! Happy spring spinning and weaving, and don’t forget to practice your knitting outside – World Wide Knit in Public Day is coming up in June! Carol Berry, 2018-2019 WWG President To read the entire newsletter please click here. To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here. To see who our board members are please click here. To browse through our "Resources" page please click here.
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 One month ago, I wrote confidently that winter was turning into spring. Then it snowed. A lot. Who besides me is working with wool? Using time indoors for weaving and sewing; baking as way to heat the kitchen; carrying knitting wherever you go, just to have an extra layer of warmth? Well, thanks to time not spent outside, my crayon challenge piece is off the loom, ready for finishing. (Yes, I made the decision to weave after knitting a few samples that didn’t quite work.) Cotton warp, in my main color – purple, first supported a weaving sample “side trip,” due to having to zero empty bobbins for weaving the “real” challenge piece. The cardboard quills I like to use aren’t expensive, so … I had a PILE left over from other projects, and no empty ones. Monday was the day. I thought I’d weave random stripes for a place mat or two. Six hours later, with a short break for lunch, I had woven two and a half yards, and emptied 60 (!) quills. See the photo.
Great stripe-y fun scarf, but I’m most proud of those empty quills. And I did replicate some of the sample striping in my “real” challenge piece, more closely oriented to my actual crayon colors. This was a genuine challenge, as I am naturally more of a “use all the colors in the entire box of crayons” type of designer. The downside of getting a challenge done early is second thoughts… what if I did that differently, changed my stripe arrangement, used a wool warp instead of cotton, what about a different weave structure…How could this be better? The best thing about fiber arts is that completion of one project leads to design ideas for several more. Plus there is always some leftover material that needs to be used. For now, I’m continuing to work with wool. As soon as the temps move up a teeny bit, setting up seedling trays on the porch is on the schedule, for dye plants and some vegetables. Spring is really going to happen, one of these days. Carol Berry, 2018-2019 WWG President To read the entire newsletter please click here. To see details about our upcoming meetings and events please click here. To see who our board members are please click here. To browse through our "Resources" page please click here. |
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