Next, wool is laid out. This is more of that gigantic box of undyed Romney that I got from a LJer a while back. The wool is laid out lengthwise, then it’s covered with another layer positioned crossways to the first.<\/p>\n The scarf is wetted, then rolled up in the bubble wrap around a core. Our core is a pool noodle from the Dollar Store, sliced into a manageable length. Then we secure it and start rolling it. And rolling it. And rolling it. It gets checked after about five minutes, then re-wrapped from the other end and rolled some more. Back and forth, back and forth. I think I wound up rolling it at least a half hour.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.tvini.org\/images\/spinning\/silkhankyspun.jpg\")
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\nI have several of these hankies, but frankly, when it comes to spinning, they kick my butt. So when I saw that project I thought this would be a good use for one that’s not quite as high quality. Plus I still have oodles of undyed wool. I sent out an e-mail about this project, and Turtlegirl76<\/a> came over to join in the fun on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nStep one. Lay out the hankies in the desired pattern. My hankies were these dull red ones I’d gotten from Spinner’s Ridge in Greensboro a while back. They’d had a lot of fiber pulled up and weren’t that smooth anymore. When you’re separating hankies from one another, they catch on any tiny patch of dry skin on your hands. They’re feather-light and thinner than paper. It was a challenge trying to separate these and lay them down. Here they are laid out on the bubble wrap which we’ll use to enclose them during the agitation phase of the project.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nFinally, another layer of silk hankies is added. We don’t want a one-sided scarf. I used every bit of the hanky – I think this particular hanky was a little light on actual silk.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nAs I sat on the kitchen floor with Turtlegirl, the two of us on our knees, repetitively rolling our pool noodles back and forth on the floor, I felt oddly like I was in some foreign country, pounding grain for the evening meal. After about ten minutes, I was very grateful that I lived where I did with the luxuries that I take for granted. Like takeout.
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\nTurtlegirl had to leave before we were completely done. However, I can tell you this: hers looked like a gorgeous, vibrant, colorful, fiery phoenix. Mine looked like… well… let me share this exchange.<\/p>\n