The end of the peach season has arrived here in New England. A mere ten weeks and it's over. Freezing peaches works wonderfully and is really easy. There are directions out there for canning them but this method is so much easier.
Cut a small slit in the bottom of each peach and drop them into boiling water in manageable batches (say 5 or 6). Wait for about thirty seconds and remove them with a slotted spoon into a giant bowl of ice water. Peel them(the peel just slides off) and slice them off the pit into another bowl*. After you get them all done, ladle them into zip bags, squeeze to get most of the air out and pop them into the freezer. They will last through until the next peach season. This method works equally well for tomatoes.
I've done both tomatoes and peaches this year and I know I'll be glad when there's snow on the ground.
*Peaches turn brown when they are exposed to air. Add some fresh lemon juice to prevent this and, if they do turn brown, they still taste great.
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| Core spun |
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| Beehives |
It occurred to me that I hadn't taken pictures of all the current spinning works in progress. These are yarns that I've spun from various fleeces. I have an end use in mind for all of the yarn*. For example, Hector, a Jacob sheep, will be a sweater; the brown Bond will be a scarf. Icepick, (another Jacob) will be a shawl and etc., etc.....
* Until I change my mind.
Poor Travis in his e-collar. We are hoping that he'll leave his foot alone and we can set him free at the end of the week.
Here's Jake; looks like he has a cigarillo.
If you have never been to a country fair, go.
Consider buying a bobbin winder. These are more typically used for weaving but they are a boon for the hand spinner. First, if you have an antique wheel (I have a CPW), it probably came with only one bobbin*. It costs around fifty dollars to get a new bobbin made and while it is being made, you'll be without your wheel because the wood turner will probably need the flyer assembly to make a bobbin that actually fits. Using a bobbin winder and weaving spools or bobbins for storage allows me to spin as many singles as I need for plying on the CPW. Even a modern spinning wheel bobbin can be pricey; the Aura's are about fifty dollars
Another reason to invest in a bobbin winder is the improvement in plied yarns rewound bobbins afford. There are folks who have been spinning way longer than I and who know way more about spinning than I ever will. They recommend winding off to storage bobbins and plying from those. The action of winding off leaves you with a neat and tightly wound bobbin from which to ply and gives you a chance to even out the twist in a single.
Cost? I got my winder from Fiber Artists' Supply for about $65.00. The bobbins are Leclerc styrene spools from Webs....they are about four dollars. So, for about the same cost as a new bobbin for my CPW, I have a winder and a bunch of spools and I make a better yarn. Seems like a bargain to me.
*My CPW probably had only one bobbin when it was new. On the flyer arms, there are visible grooves where yarn rubbed the wood as it was wound yarn directly off the bobbin. I recall reading somewhere that the bobbin was rarely removed from these wheels.
