By Denise Renee Grace
After Spinzilla last year, Paul Ellwanger, who is our master molder and Cranbrook Loom builder, joined the ranks of the spinning enthusiasts here at Schacht. He then took Maggie Casey's spinning class where she teaches how to process and spin from fleece, and then dye the yarn using acid and natural dyes.
After the class, Paul was hooked on spinning and jumped in with both feet and bought a 30" Schacht-Reeves. As a new spinner, the office staff had recommended he buy a Ladybug—which he got too!
Since Paul really took to spinning from fleece, I introduced him to my local shepherdess and we picked out a fleece together. We decided on Agatha, a beautiful chocolate fleece with hints of grey, white, and black.
Paul and I also got into carding together. We had a bunch of dyed Louet Corriedale fiber in a range of colors, and we came up with a blend of French Blue and Silver Grey with a touch of Snowflake. This made a fantastic turquoise color that reminds us of sipping umbrella drinks on a white sandy beach while looking out at the rich saturated hues of the ocean.
Colors clockwise from the top left: French Blue, Silver Grey, Snowflake.
Since Paul simply adores his Schacht-Reeves, his Ladybug doesn't get much attention. He's decided to give his "other wheel" more of a workout and started bringing it to work where he spins on his lunch hour and breaks.
After spinning both Agatha and the ocean yarn, he decided to ply them together in a barber pole yarn. We all like the way it turned out! We look forward to see what he comes up with next as he progresses.