Day Is Done

I have been picking cashmere. Last night it took me three hours to pick 30 grams of cashmere. I know you are wondering what in the world is she picking cashmere for... you're probably wondering if I mean to pick out cashmere as in a special type of cashmere... or to pluck at it. Well, in this instance I mean to pluck at it... as in plucking all of the hair out of it.  You see, cashmere in the raw state can have a lot of hair in it... so it needs to be plucked out before it can be spun. Also known as dehairing. So tuft by tuft the hair is pulled from the fibre and then it is ready for blending in this case and then spinning and so on... This plucking job is being calculated as part of my level 4 150 hour project.  It has to be done and though I have not finished all of the other questions I thought I would start working on my 150 hour project a little in between doing some of the other questions.

I decided to stuff sandwich bags with the fibre to be blended, 5 gms of merino, followed by 2 gms of silk and then 3 gms of cashmere (plucked) to give me a 50/30/20% split. After I have done up 10 bags I will blend them and spin them... and then I will make up another 10 bags... and so on.  But suffice it to say that my 150 hour project has begun.

The darn hair is dastardly to pluck out of the cashmere fibre. I sit with my legs stretched out on the couch with my bag of cashmere in my lap, the folding table with my weigh scales by my side and some paper towel to catch the hair from landing in my lap and making me look like a Sasquatch. I surprisingly don't really mind it too much... I started last night while the Daughters were watching a movie, and I carried on with it again tonight. My shoulders do ache after a while.

Meanwhile Teapot and the Daughters are off to bed because this is the last day of March break...It's back to school tomorrow for them. This past week has been lovely and mild and we have been barbecuing dinner ever since the turkey a few days ago. The girls have been spending inordinate amounts of time out of doors and the sunshine would cheer the worst mope these last few days. (And believe me, we have needed cheering since last weekend... after Tootsie died).  It is funny how we have pulled together over this last week... it's like family first and everything else can come later.

Teapot managed to get two of my shelves in yesterday and and finished all the shelving in the pantry. He also got the table/island finished too.  We are finished with the kitchen... and it is a great job. There's one last shelf to put up but it is cut so all I need to do is buy the shelf brackets that will hold it and that won't happen until I get to the nearest hardware store. Tomorrow, I'm going to get going on our bedroom.... in between spinning and plucking. Yup, more spring cleaning... I think I'm on a bit of a roll.

I'm off to dream of plucking the hair out of cashmere. All is quiet and there's no longer any movement on the upper floor since all members of the household are now snoring peacefully. Day is done.... but there is always tomorrow.