Sad Day and Drum Carding

Yesterday, I put my little drum carder up for sale. I hope I'm not the only one that gets attached to things because I really do feel sad letting it go. I have used that carder several times a week for a couple of years. Oh well. It is time to say goodbye. I don't have the room or the money for two carders and a bad shoulder is complaining loudly every time I try to turn the crank. So, I'll get a motorized carder when the little guy sells.

A note about carding: I include this because my Wild Carder was sold as a carder for art batts but I have and do use it for everything.  Like most of us, I can only afford one of these tools. My best advice, slow down. Likes snail's pace slow on the first carding.  My first step is to pull the locks apart and then, while turning (slowly), I let the fiber catch on the main drum. This helps avoids jams. After that, I separate the batt until I can see through it and feed those pieces through the feed tray. Here again, I go super slow to avoid tangling and tearing. Remember, if you start to see neps/ noils, more runs through the carder probably won't help and may make things worse. You can however pull the neps and noils out as you spin. 

To make an art batt, I make layers. First a layer of fiber, then add ins (sari silk, mohair locks, etc.) then another layer of fiber. The layers go through the carder all together again, turning slowly and making sure I can see through the layers before I feed them through.  I like textured batts so one pass through the carder is usually enough. I use either prepared roving or top for my fiber layers or I card the fiber layer in a separate step.