Author Archives: Betsy Alspach

About Betsy Alspach

Please see my about page at woolgatheringwithbetsy.com

Surprised by Musk Ox

Twice in my life-so far- I have been surprised by Musk ox.

Musk Ox

First, some background. Musk ox were native to Alaska until the 1850s when they were hunted to extinction. In the 1930s some were imported from Greenland to study for domestication. These Musk ox were set free when that project ran out of money. (Why do I want to say the more things change the more they stay the same.) In the 1960s they were studied again and it was determined they could be raised on farms. Some are on farms, some live in the wild.

I had read a lot about them in a knitting book called Arctic Lace which told about native Alaskan knitters and a co-op there. From the book I knitted this scarf. I used the fiber from an alpaca named Marcus who lived on the Great Rock Farm in Barre MA. But I digress. marcus scarf

I never thought I would work with Musk ox fiber. They grow various fibers including coarse outer hairs for protection against snow and rain and a very soft, warm, durable and highly prized by spinners undercoat- qiviut. Due to the lack of great numbers of them and the process of dehairing it generally sells at wool festivals for $50 an ounce and often only one vendor has it. That is out of my league. Unless that is the only thing I want to bring home which it never is. So I would enjoy touching it when I came upon it and then move on.

Then my opportunities changed. A few years ago on a summer day a package arrived for me from my sister-in-law. She had been to Alaska and sent me silk/qiviut yarn and yarn with the outer hairs and undercoat blended together. It felt like Christmas. Very exciting. I knit the silk/qiviut into a small cowl I wear whenever I am going to spend time outdoors on a cold winter day. So warm, light and luxurious.

Silk/Qiviut Cowl

So I enjoyed those yarns and continued to touch the qiviut at festivals and walk on. Until a few weeks ago. Elizabeth at the yarn shop where I teach, Auntie Zaza’s Fiberworks in North Easton, told me she had a present for me. A man had come in with a small dirty bag of musk ox fiber he had collected 20 years ago while hiking in Alaska. Musk ox do shed all year long so it was possible. He had thought he would do something with it but realized he never would and was passing it along. What great provenance. What a fun challenge!

Musk ox in zip lock bag

The fiber weighed about 2 1/2 oz and expanded greatly out of the bag.

2 1/2 oz of raw musk ox fiber

No moths, no deterioration, looked like much can be spun. It will be a labor of love because I must dehair it and get rid of some other things in the fiber. It might be years before I finish it because unfortunately other things in my life are often of higher precedence than picking at qiviut. I never feel anyway that I have to spin up yarns quickly, even those I sell. I enjoy the process of it all so much that when they happen to be done, they are done. I also believe that since there are enough things in life that we have to do that we don’t enjoy much, spinning should never be pressured, always be kept fun.

I have made a sample.

Flick carding qiviut

I dehaired it, flick carded it gently to get out other things, then hand carded the locks together to get a bunch to spin at a time.

Qiviut on hand card

Not being a perfectionist- I don’t think handspun yarn should look like a machine made it-I took it off the card, drew some out and spun it with a lot of twist since the fibers are short.

Qiviut ready to spin

Qviut puni

I could have made punis which are small rolags which are rolled off the hand card in this case with a knitting needle. But I wasn’t in the mood so I didn’t. I made one for show though since they are so cute.

I then took it from the bobbin and put it around my hand to so I could ply it. There is such a small amount that this is easiest. Please note that the bobbin on the right is not full of qiviut! I spun it on top of an almost full bobbin because in a class on spinning exotic fiber with Robin Russo she recommended we do that to reduce the pull on the fibers. I take everything she says without question!

This sample made nine yards. It didn’t even weigh one gram and could even be spun finer for more yardage. Light, soft and warm!

Spun qiviut sample

In other news we have opened an Etsy shop with yarn, hand dyed batts and locks for spinning and felting and fiber in a few other form. We decided to focus on promoting the rare breeds of sheep whose numbers are also small. Each item is 50-100% rare or unusual wool. We call it Eagle Lake Fibers since we met when we both lived near Eagle Lake. We do want to try using some of its water for dyeing just for fun.

We will not however follow the precedent set long ago by those who ran the old empty woolen mill that is still on it. I remember an elderly man years ago saying that as a kid they would go and look at the color of the water gushing into the lake since it could be red, green, anything depending on the dye they were using and pumping back out into the environment. Oh gosh. Glad we got to swim in it and ice skate on it when it had only its natural colors.

January Joys

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Here are some things that I am enjoying and appreciating as January so quickly draws to a close.

Luxurious home made soap given to me by a friend. These are way beyond anything I have made or probably could make.

Luxurious hand made soap

A gorgeous winter sunset we happened upon as we left Tractor Supply with chicken feed.

January sunset in Taunton MA

The fun of getting ready to teach our second workshop this month which means our second opportunity early in 2016 to get unsuspecting people addicted to spinning and fiber. Sure, they know they are coming to an introductory spinning workshop. They don’t know it is about to captivate them and take over their lives.

Let the magic begin!

Sourdough bread taking over my kitchen since I can’t stop making it. Talk about magic!

sourdough breads

Sourdough waffles, rolls, bread and bubbling yeasty smelling starter to make more.

The cutest sheep hat in the world made just for me.

Ewes and lambs

A typically nervy cat. She has learned that she isn’t to eat our food as we eat it much as she wants to. But apparently she isn’t against pushing the boundaries with my water and this time getting away with it using the element of quiet surprise. Of course she has a bowl of her own! What she is doing maybe isn’t a joy but the amusement, companionship and love she provides is.

Thankfully we have a dishwasher.

Here is hoping everyone has many of their own joys this month.

Slooow Wool and Slooow Bread

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This is a cozy time of year around here. We’ve only had a little snow so far and I don’t usually need a jacket when I go out to quickly get the mail or to check on the chickens. But on cold days we get to experience that gratification that comes from going from the cold into a warm house. Making a hot beverage. It’s nice.

I have been gravitating to hibernating activities this week. Hibernation time is never fast and feels so right when it arrives.

First, I am making some sourdough starter. It is magic to mix some flour and water and within a few hours find it bubbling with yeast. What I am told is that there is wild yeast in the air that will join it. We can’t see it or smell it or taste it but it is there waiting for some flour and water to come along.

Sourdough Starter Keeping Warm. It will be covered.

For a few days I will take away half of the starter that is there each day and add more flour and water. In time I will make tangy sourdough bread with it. In the meantime I can throw what is removed each day into other baked food to add flavor and texture. Yesterday I threw it willy nilly into banana bread I was making and suffered no repercussions. One day it will be in waffles. My next sourdough adventure will be a new one. I will dry what I remove that day as a way to preserve it. There are claims it can keep up to a year or more dried and quickly be alive again. I guess that is why the early settlers used it so much.

But for now my little concoction is living quietly on top of the tv. Not so I can keep an eye on it like a helicopter parent but because the box is warm and yeast likes warm. I wasn’t about to put a heating pad under it or even keep it in the oven with the light on which is recommended if you keep your house below 68 degrees which we do. Finding something that already gives off warmth is best I think.

From a more colorful perspective I decided to dye wool with marigolds and onion skins that I have been letting dry for probably two years now. I do both chemical and natural dyeing and decide what to do based on my inclination at the time. Natural dyeing with plants begins with soaking them for several hours in tap water so that they can give out their dye. Isn’t it pretty at this stage?

marigold and onion skins soaking before dyed

Marigolds and Onion Skins Soaking Before Their Hot Bath

This dye is very strong willed. Some of it comes out even in the cold soaking water. I can dye more than one set of fibers in the same warm dye bath because the dye doesn’t get used up quickly. The jar on the left is dye that came out in the cold soaking and the dye on the right is from the hot dye bath. I diluted the dye from the hot bath when I used it.

I simmered the botanicals for an hour, took them out, added my fiber and love the results. Some of this fiber was light gray initially before its golden bath, most fiber was in the first bath, but others in the second and third baths because the dye just kept hanging around. The blue/yellow/green one that sticks out so much was an experiment. I sprinkled a little of a chemical dye that is blue on top of the bath to get the variety.

The appeal to me is not to spin miles of yellow yarn but instead to use it with other colors for colorful spinning batts and unique yarn. The only problem is that I have to let it dry overnight. I have trouble not touching it and pulling it apart a little to see how it will spin or how the dye permeated it. It would felt if I did that and right now I don’t want felt.

Kerry Hill, Cotswold, Bluefaced Leicester, Leicester Longwool Cross and Gulf Coast wool

So, this a calm time when slow projects, that cost very little money because you use what you already have, are fun to pursue. I have really only just begun both of these activities because in time there will be bread to bake and colorful fibers to combine at my whim. In time.

It’s All About the Solstice

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I have never understand the hoopla around a new year arriving on Jan. 1. It is just another date on the calendar to me.

What does attract and motivate me are the solstices. As I have mentioned before, in the winter the snow and cold don’t bother me and I am happy to put up with them because I love New England and I don’t want to live anywhere else. But I don’t like the early darkness. I look forward to the winter solstice, the day with the least light, almost as much as a former co-worker did when she said it is better than Christmas. After that it will get lighter. I have coping strategies which help. One of our rooms gets the last light of the day and beautiful sunsets.

Gentle pink sunset today

The morning sun floods our kitchen so I work there when I can be home then. I am not the only one who uses morning sunshine for contentment.

A warm Pippi dozing

Ancient people kept track of time passing by the phases of the moon and notching wood. They knew when to celebrate the solstice and the light that was chasing away darkness. Even more ancient people must have felt they needed to stay in favor with a god so that the light would increase. I would do both if I was around then! Can’t be too sure. I wouldn’t forget to do the notching chore if it was mine in fact I would demand to be the one who made the notches so I would know it was accurate. If I wasn’t allowed to do it I would keep my own record secretly. Furtively. Stealthily.

Some people must have used the darkness as a time to spin by the fire. Thank God for electricity and central heating in 2016. I can do those things whenever I want. I am back in a batt making frenzy and have pulled out the fiber I put away before Christmas to make the house neater. It does distract from darkness. Here are the makings and some results:

A creative mess

Loveliness that rises out of the mess

We have 2 workshops coming up to teach this month so getting ready to create new addicts- giving free stuff first really does help- also dispels darkness.

The chickens are happy to stay out a little longer too. They are back to laying after the molting ended. Sometimes in winter we literally get up before the chickens and find them still perched up high and looking at us with the “what are you doing here so early?” look in their eyes. Yes, chickens have moods too.

Chickens ready for winter with a snow fence and the cord from the electric water heater

I am looking at the FEDCO catalog and dreaming about spring planting. We have an excellent farmers market a mile away that comes twice a week during the growing season so I am idly thinking about planting asparagus and a perennial kale and getting the rest there. We have no snow so I could put down newspapers covered by a tarp to kill the grass in the areas needed. But at the moment just winter day dreaming is fun.

I am reading these three books I received for Christmas. Actually I told the givers to get them for me so I suppose I sort of ordered them.

Books for any momentary whim

So, the days are slowly getting longer. I do like to feed the wild birds, light candles, and can appreciate not needing to go out and weed but instead can read or spin. I do like to settle in with these activities for awhile. Since I know the darkness won’t last.

Holiday concerns?

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The other day I was thinking about concerns and stresses around the holidays. I now know that I don’t have any. In contrast to the world at large I have nothing of importance in my little life to make me anxious. How lucky I am.

I didn’t feel that way a few weeks ago. Prior even to the attacks in Paris I was feeling some discouragement about the increasing violence in our world, the materialism, the economy and the challenges facing our succeeding generations that were not a part of our world at younger ages.

To get off this depressing train of thought I decided to banish some of the inner and outer darkness by putting up some outside lights. Never before have I cared about outside decorations or even many indoor ones. Now these lights feel to me to be vigilant, kind of like prayer flags, sending light out and up. They give me comfort. They are at the back of our house so only briefly seen from the road. They are for us to see.

outside lights Dec 2015

My only self imposed- I don’t even know what to call it because it doesn’t rank as a concern in the larger scheme of things-deadline maybe? this season has been to get presents ready to mail off to family and friends. Just creating them also gives me comfort. Today most went. To get ready I have been:

Making mint scented soap:

soap Dec 2015

Yarn ready for the church fair:

Fleece I washed, dyed and spun for the yarn from Lenox the alpaca and Lucinda the Bluefaced Leicester sheep.

A scarf in progress. Will it be done in time or given on the needles with a promise to finish? 🙂

scarf gift on needles Dec 2015

Here is the remaining yarn being made into a skein on the wool winder.

Polwarth/silk yarn

Batts for spinner friends:

batts to mail Dec 2015

One project that isn’t even on the radar for this year but will be for next:

Cotton dishtowels

See the threads that look different from the other weaving? That’s not a mistake, oh no, it is a design element.

Anyone who has the money for these materials, a healthy family and a peaceful home in which to make the projects has no personal concerns this holiday season.

Unity

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I find that I don’t have words to express my feelings about the terrorism currently racing around our world. We all have many feelings but to just name them isn’t all that helpful and mine are not unique. Being the ever practical person that I am destined to be my first thought is “what can be done, what can I do?” Nothing that seems all that largely effective has come to me.

Every November the people of faith in Sharon MA hold an interfaith Thanksgiving service. Last night the service was held at the Catholic Church and there was standing room only. A few days ago a deep layer of sadness was added to this community when a young Jewish man was killed by a terrorist in Israel.

As one part of last night’s service the rabbi from Temple Israel, a Conservative Synagogue and the Imam from the Islamic Center in Sharon stood together and spoke to all of us in unity.

Their actions and words made practical sense to me. To summarize their words would only diminish them. I have copied a letter the Imam wrote after the killing of this young man. Above it from facebook is Rabbi Ron Fish’s response. I have heard it has gone viral.

After you read it please scroll way down to my last thoughts. I tried to move them up but wasn’t successful and right now little annoyances aren’t that important to me.

Rabbi Ron Fish:

My heart is so profoundly touched by this expression of grief and shared humanity from our Muslim neighbors here in Sharon. I am grateful for leaders and friends like Imam Ahmed.

I know it helps me to picture this unity. Sometimes it feels as if it is all that we have. But maybe from that great place we can discern the little steps that each of us must take to help this changed world.

As Bono of U2 says in his song One:

One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
One life, but we’re not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other

Harvest and Permaculture

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I have been thinking about fall being a time of harvest in colder climates such as ours in New England. I do believe we see effects of climate change here because twenty years ago we would have a hard frost by the end of September and it would have stayed cold until we had a few days of warmth called an Indian summer. Our first frost now comes well into October and we no longer have an Indian summer because it doesn’t follow the pattern of getting really cold and then warming up for a few days. It stays warmer longer and just gets colder over time. We get frosts at night but the days remain warm so it isn’t the same. Today it was 63 degrees.

The Harvest Moon is the name of the full moon that occurs in September. I am sure most know that this year it was a super moon which meant it was full when it was closest to the earth and so it looked really big. The lunar eclipse added to the excitement. It is called the Harvest Moon since that was, and still is despite warmth, the time when most crop harvests were brought in for the winter. I harvest some typical things but I began to wonder what more I could harvest.

The chickens helped me with this little challenge. They recently began molting for the first time since they were not old enough last fall. It is a little ghastly and we still aren’t used to how they look. Next year maybe we will take it in stride. It is a natural process by which they lose their feathers in spots at a time. Which means we see areas of bare skin that do begin to fill in with new feathers but the chickens look as though they are abused and neglected rather than being cherished as all our pets are/have been. They don’t peck each other so we have never seen their skin bare. Their necks look especially ugly. They don’t seem to mind it and get enough warmth from other feathered areas as they only come off in little spots at a time. I look them over each day to be sure they are healthy so I have to look at those areas too. Quickly. I won’t take any pictures of them now!

But it was molting that got me to thinking about harvest and history. Their outer feathers have the purpose of keeping rain and dirt away from the body much as a dual coated dog or sheep get with their coarser outer coat. The expression “madder than a wet hen” comes from the fact that if they get wet they are at a greater risk of developing a respiratory disease. Chickens easily succumb to respiratory diseases. So they don’t like wet. The undercoat is soft, downy and keeps them warm. As I saw these feathers around I began to think of what people did in the old days when they were used everything that came their way and wasted nothing. What could I do with feathers that have come my way?

Buff Orpington chicken molted feathers

I don’t need to use the quills for a pen. As a left handed person it would just mean that I would get ink on side of my hand that was on the paper since my hand goes over the writing, not before it. So it’s good I don’t need that. But then I realized I could bind together the long outer feathers for a feather duster. So I am gathering them and gently soaking them to be sure they are clean. I don’t know how well it will work or if it would have been the soft undercoat that was used. I am not motivated to gather the undercoat this time because it seems dirtier and more work to clean. I could use them to stuff a pillow I weave. Maybe next year.

So I am harvesting the feathers for me and our kitten. She likes this new toy. She is so very fierce.

Pippi’s feather encounter

Inline image

I have always harvested other more typical things. I froze our tomatoes and dried our herbs. I had many green tomatoes which I brought in before the frost and let them redden up inside. My grandmother would put her geraniums near a sunny window in their huge Victorian attic to overwinter and I have done that also. I put them in my fiber studio upstairs as my attic window is small. They get a bit leggy for lack of the full outdoor light they want but it works out.

Geraniums over wintering

Marigolds for natural dyeing

! have brought in marigolds that I will eventually use for a natural dye. I add onion skins to the dye pot and a bright yellow results. The tint of it varies from pot to pot each year which also makes it interesting. I am also drying some of their seeds for next year. More on that risky possibly scary outcome next time.

The continued warmth means I can continue to harvest the sun to dry my clothes. The compost heap can still be fed because it isn’t all frozen yet. Next spring the chicken’s composted manure, bedding, and all the vegetable and other scraps that they don’t eat will provide a rich nutritious compost to help my plants grow like weeds.

The smaller feathers in the coop get buried in their bedding with their manure. I harness/harvest their manure during cold weather to provide a little warmth for them. Odd as it may sound to non chicken people, and it sure did to me, a neat nick, there is a method to use their manure to help them overwinter in cold climates. My first criteria for a breed was one that was winter hardy but we still make changes to help them stay warm. Deep bedding means I don’t put the manure in the compost heap now as I do in warm weather. I bury it deep into the bedding and keep the bedding layer deeper in the winter. The idea is that the manure breaks down and provides some warmth just as a compost heap is warm internally in the summer. Being buried every day or so the books told me meant it didn’t smell. I was skeptical but it really did work. They never had behavioral changes that indicated they were cold.

We do not lack for fallen leaves and much of them are composted. I take others to put in the back of the hen house for bedding. My husband doesn’t want them in the front area where he walks because he can’t tell what may be camouflaged that he wouldn’t want to step on. I can respect that.

I have found on our one acre that there is plenty to harvest. There is a term called permaculture which suggests we should look at patterns in nature on our properties whether a farm or a tiny lot and apply those patterns to our management of our property. Following permaculture even to a small degree enables us to be more ecologically responsible because we will waste less, work with nature and be more resilient and more self sufficient. It is a holistic approach and its application varies depending on each person’s location and resources. As with any idea I pick and choose what to use. For example, a more dedicated permaculturist than I would eat those chickens when they stop laying eggs. Not me. But I think it is a fun challenge to see what parts of it fit me and then to try them. I figure every bit helps.

Autumn Leaves and Lessons

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In early October I decided that twice a week I would get up before the chickens, Lilac, Marigold and Daisy-Dandy, to watch and appreciate the sunrise.

I sat on my deck steps and waited. I watched to the east where I had noticed beautiful colors other early mornings while going to get the paper before work.

But there was no special color in the sky and it got brighter. I was disappointed. I waited a few minutes, looked up again, and there was still no colorful sunrise. But then I saw the red, orange and yellow autumn leaves on the trees. The red geraniums next to the barn. Hmmm- plenty of rich color when I stopped feeling disappointed about what I had hoped to see and looked at the other good things around me. One of those life lessons that I need to be reminded about over and over.

Autumn leaves in Massachusetts on the granite bench next to the barn

To be honest I did not get myself out there again as I had pledged. But I never get tired of looking at the beautifully colored autumn leaves around me.

Pippi and Portland

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A little more on our recent trip to Portland OR.
We went on a tour of 7 tiny houses. The houses always fascinate me. They are so cute and the idea of winnowing down one’s items so that there is little to clean has an appeal. Actually living that lifestyle might be another thing! Here we are standing in one of the largest ones which had a footprint of 160 square feet and a loft for sleeping with 60 square feet. The width of it is 8’ so we took this picture for perspective. I of course am under no illusions I know I would need one for living and another one for a fiber studio. I won’t winnow down that far!

Tiny House Portland OR

Of course we ate and ate and ate. I love their clusters of food trucks. Never before have I knowingly eaten Viking Soul food. There was a troll snack but what I learned of trolls in Norway made me reluctant to try that.

We had to visit Rimsky’s. It is open only for dessert at night. It is in an old house that has a creepily fascinating décor. It kind of has to be seen to be believed. On our last visit our table very very slowly rotated. Another one reportedly slowly goes up and down on its own.

Billboard bag

I also shopped at my son’s girl friend’s shop, Johan. Lots of beautiful ceramics and many other items most made locally. I can’t show many pictures since I was Christmas shopping. But for me I bought this bag made out of old billboard signs in Portland. So unique as is everything else in her shop. The bag is extra good when filled with my fiber.

Laura and Johan, Portland OR

The only thing we did not do that was on my list was to visit a cat café called Purringtons. Next time.

We returned home to…a kitten.
It will probably come as no surprise to any cat lover that as a friend says “Oops- I adopted a cat when I wasn’t looking!” Well, we went to a shelter to talk about fostering a mother cat and kittens because I wasn’t ready to start a permanent relationship with a cat but wanted cats around. Yes, I admit I did look at their web site the night before and saw a calico kitten who had been homeless and needed a quiet home at which to gain trust in people. Kind of the same story and type of cat we encountered when we adopted our dear departed cat. So, I asked to see her. The people at those shelters are very good at their jobs and they quickly plopped her in my lap and she snuggled down and suddenly I was ready for a permanent cat! Well, within a few days she came out of her shell with us and now voluntarily jumps into my lap to attack my hands. Steve called her a pipsqueak and thus came the name Pippi. Pippi and I share common interests. Beverages for one.

Combing fiber

Also intensely combing fiber until it is just right for spinning.

In the end I am not sure if she sees my value as a companion, or as a place to nap and as a chew toy.

Either way I will take it!

Portland

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We just returned from a visit to Portland Oregon. Our son is the coffee bean roaster at Upper Left Roasters.

Portland sign

This was our second visit and I can attest that there is never a dull moment in that part of the country!

We saw some mind boggling wildlife. In Astoria we saw at least 300 sea lions who park themselves on the boat slips and won’t be budged. Noisy barking creatures. Who needs Sea World?

Sea lions Astoria OR

Swifts going into chimney Portland OR

One evening we sat in Portland with a few hundred people to watch thousands of migrating swifts careen around in the air before going inside a large chimney for the night. They go in like a spinning tornado. They do this during the month of September and unlike the sea lions will move along. Now I understand the name chimney swift. In this not so good picture they look like smoke coming out but they were headed in.

We also watched the lunar eclipse.

Of course fiber was a part of this trip. Unfortunately this fiber arts center was closed but I did get to stand next to a Sasquatch sized crocheted person.

Crocheted person

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival was held while I was there. I was able to spend it with a former East Coast spinner friend which was fantastic. My favorite part of any festival is the animals. We saw lots of animals including Pygora goat kids which are what young goats are called. The cutest little things. Pygora Kids, Carl Farms, Pygora Goats They, Goats A Crosses, Baby ...

A highlight was a goat obstacle course in which goats and their handlers go through various challenges. Goats being goats they were not too into it and the most fun was watching them balk and the handlers trying to get them to cooperate. The funniest I think was the woman who just picked up her 5 month old Pygora goat and weaved around poles carrying it.

Mohair locks Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.

One of my favorite acquisitions were these mohair locks. Mohair comes from angora goats. These locks were in a couple piles of glowing colors. Mohair has a nice sheen to it which, as with all fibers that have sheen, shows through the dye. I got to pick through the piles to take home just the colors I wanted.

We saw the coast and the mountains. Here is the beautiful Cannon Beach. I found the giant boulders fascinating because they dramatically rest on the sand in different groupings.

Cannon Beach Oregon

Sunset Cannon Beach Oregon

Oregon coast

Then another day to Mount Hood! This was my view from the historic Timberline Lodge where I enjoyed sitting and knitting and reading about spinning as Steve and our son hiked. I had found that the hike- or maybe it is called a walk by some-from the parking lot up to the building was enough for me.