Yarn

I have a rival. At least it's out in the open.

The demonstration at Riverdale Park on Saturday was given by a knitters and spinners guild that Danny djjo joined recently. We arrived shortly before he was to start knitting at noon, with a few minutes to look around. But one of the organizers quickly spotted him and ushered us into a barn where spinning wheels and other yarn paraphernalia were set up.

Down in the barnyard someone was sheering sheep and bringing up arm loads of raw wool, but it was far from ready for Danny's capable hands.





Yarn is the end product of a labour intensive process. The raw wool is dirty and greasy. It must first be washed. The lanolin oil extracted from it is refined and used in cosmetics. Then the fleece must be disentangled, a process called carding. The old-fashioned way involved large wire brushes. A more recent invention, the carding machine, basically a rolling drum with wire bristles, makes the work easier. Unfortunately it doesn't produce as fine an effect, so smaller carding brushes are sometimes used. Finally, the carded wool is ready to be spun into yarn using the familiar spinning wheel or a smaller, portable tool called a drop spindle. Somewhere in the process the wool may also be dyed, though its natural colours are attractive, too.

( The process: 2 images )

You should have seen Danny's eyes light up when someone handed him some freshly spun yarn. He would happily spend the next three hours knitting samples.

( eager hands )

About that time I realized I might as well disappear into a graveyard or something.