Free Guide: 10 Colorful Drum Carding Projects for Fiber Artists

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Otto

Add some color to the long, dark days of winter with our new PDF guide, Color Exploration: Recipes For Beautiful Batts!

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We’ve collected some of our most popular blog tutorials into one handy PDF for easy reference. Also included are some of our best tips on choosing colors for any project!

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Play around with color placement, celebrate the seasons, or just have fun with whatever inspires you – we’ll show you how to translate your creative vision into beautiful batts you can’t wait to spin.

Make 2019 your most colorful year yet! Color Exploration is available as a FREE download when you sign up for our monthly newsletter. Already get our emails? Check your inbox, you should have received a complimentary download link last month.

Click here to sign up & get your free guide!

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Giving Back During the Holiday Season

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Otto

The holiday season is a wonderful time to help those in need, and we recently learned of an organization called Growing Peace in Afghanistan, which provides technical advice and start-up financial support to Afzenda, an Afghan non-governmental organization that is assisting women weavers in Bamiyan province with the production and marketing of items of clothing made of barak, a traditional wool fabric, in Afghanistan, in neighboring countries, and eventually in international markets. With the income from these products the women can provide substantial support to their families. Afzenda helps them develop their skills and improve their literacy.

It was our distinct pleasure to ship a Finest Manual Doublewide to Afghanistan via an order from The Woolery. When it arrived safely (despite being sent to a literal war zone), we all breathed a sigh of relief, and we were beyond pleased to see photos of these women weavers carding fiber with our machine.

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This got us thinking about the many other ways fiber can make a difference in the world. One of the organizations we are proud to sponsor each year is Heifer International, a global charity dedicated to ending hunger and poverty through sustainable, values-based holistic community development. For example, the gift of a single goat can provide a family in need with milk, cheese and butter for nourishment and a source of income through sales of extra milk and fiber, all while encouraging better crop yields by creating fertilizer and clearing land. Some of our other favorite fiber producing animals such as alpacas, llamas, rabbits, and sheep can also make a huge difference!

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We also hear countless stories about the ways in which knitters, crocheters, and fiber artists throughout the globe use their gifts to help others. Here are just a few well-respected organizations to which you can donate your time and talent this holiday season, or any time of year:

There are many more wonderful organizations out there – you just have to know where to look! Start by asking your Local Yarn Store or Knitting/Fiber Arts guild to point you in the right direction, or check out the Charity Knitting Ravelry Group to see what organizations currently need handmade donations.

We hope you’ll share this post with a friend to spread the word and inspire more good deeds within our wonderful fiber community. And of course, if you happen to use a Strauch product for your charitable efforts, please let us know by tagging @strauchfiber and using #strauchfiber in your post.

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Meet Our Makers: Hobbledehoy Yarn & Fiber

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Otto

Earlier this fall at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, we had the good fortune to cross paths with Liz Porter of Hobbledehoy Yarn & Fiber.
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Liz, a single mom, has two of our Finest Doublewide Carders that she has used over the years to help support her family by offering several batt formats along with hand-pulled roving, painted top, and various other dyed fibers.

Strauch Fiber Equipment Meet Our Makers: Hobbledehoy Yarn & Fiber

From smooth, luxurious batts to chunky textured batts packed with contrasts, there’s something for everyone. We were particularly drawn to the battlings, which are colorful blends of fibers just begging to be spun up!

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Liz dyes nearly all of her own fibers and also processes several wool and alpaca fleeces each year from small and/or local farms. She takes care to thoroughly wash each fleece before hand processing so that the resulting batts are virtually VM and lanolin-free batts. After dyeing, she plans out each colorway in advance to ensure extreme control over the layers and contrasts throughout each batt. The results are nothing short of stunning!

Strauch Fiber Equipment Meet Our Makers: Hobbledehoy Yarn & Fiber

As our way of supporting the fiber arts community, we’ll be featuring more talented makers here on our blog. If you use Strauch products in your creative business, we’d love to hear from you!

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Color Inspiration: Autumn Leaves Batt Project

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Otto

Capture the colors of the season with a cornucopia of colorful batts and this simple tutorial! Use your favorite photo of fall foliage to create your palette, or take a long walk and collect a few pretty leaves to inspire your color selection. Try adding in a little something extra to make the colors pop – we used a mix of recycled sari silk, dyed firestar, and copper angelina sparkle fiber to add a subtle sheen to the finished batt!

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

Here’s what you’ll need:

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

Your base fiber should weigh 1/2 oz.

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

All fibers should weigh approximately 1 oz together.

Divide base fiber into half and feed the first half through your carder to create a good base.

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

Begin alternating your autumn color mix with the remaining base fiber. We opted to do this at random to create a more mottled effect, as you would see in nature. If you wish to use add ins, reserve some of your fiber to use for the “fiber sandwich” method for your final layer before removing the batt from your carder.

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

Recycled sari silk, angelina sparkle & dyed firestar with reserved fibers.

Here’s a refresher on this technique:

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

Place add-ins on top of a thin layer of fibers.

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Once your drum is filled, remove from drum carder and enjoy!

Autumn Leaves Batt Color Inspiration - Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

We’d love to see your autumn-inspired batts – share them with us on Instagram and don’t forget to tag your post with #strauchfiber!

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Fibery Fall Events with Strauch Fiber Equipment

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Otto

Each fall, we close out the year with several fun fiber festival appearances. Today we’ll share some photos from 3 events we recently attended. We hope you’ll add one, some or all of these to your fiber itinerary for next year!

Shenandoah Fiber Festival – September 29th & 30th, 2018

Now in its 13th year, the Shenandoah Fiber Festival is a two-day event that can’t be beat.

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Thankfully, even hellish floods couldn’t stop the show from happening.

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With the water mostly receded, the tents went up and the fiber folks followed suit.

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And the show barn had plenty of animals to visit and learn about.

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These newly-shorn sheep weren’t too sure about their new look…

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This year’s show featured a lecture by Dr. Phil Sponenberg, a professor at Virginia Tech. He spoke to folks about the genetics of Angora goats.

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After so much learning, it’s time for a little retail therapy.

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…but not on an empty stomach, of course!

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We can’t wait for next year’s event – the dates for the 14th annual Shenandoah Fiber Festival have already been announced!

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Fall Fiber Festival – October 6th & 7th, 2018

Each year on the first weekend in October, fiber folks come together for the Fall Fiber Festival at James Madison’s Montpelier.

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We noticed many new vendors this year with a brilliant array of yarns, fibers, and other goods.

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There was plenty to see and do! From live demos…..

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To local music….

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And, of course, getting up close and personal with fiber producing animals!

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Let’s keep the kids occupied! Who doesn’t like to pet a fluffy Angora rabbit?

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We were also busy giving live demos in our booth.

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And, if you needed a snack, there were plenty of delicious treats.

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So, next year, come join the party!

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Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) – October 26th – 28th, 2018

Our final show for 2018 was SAFF, which is always held at the WNC Agricultural Center, Fletcher, NC (outside of Asheville).

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Even before the doors opened, the anxious crowds were waiting.

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We don’t blame them – just look at all of the amazing booths found in this year’s marketplace! SAFF gets bigger and more heavily attended every year.

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Thank goodness they had ample parking!

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There’s no better place to shop til you drop & stock up on warm fleece, fibers and yarn.

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Plus, you could spend some time with these handsome fellas.

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Or check out a live demo and learn how to spin!

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We look forward to seeing you at next year’s SAFF!

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Our 2018 Fiber Festival circuit is now complete, but we’ll be announcing our 2019 Show Schedule soon. You can always check our site for updates!

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Meet Our Makers: Rock Mills Farm

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Otto

Back in July, we attended the Fiber Marker sponsored by Fibernate and had the pleasure of meeting Mary, owner of the Rock Mills Farm in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Mary’s booth was filled with beautiful hand-processed fibers sourced locally.

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We fell in love with her concept of  “choose your own spinning treats” – look at all of these beautiful rolags to mix and match! All of them are blended by hand on a Strauch Petite Drum Carder.

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Mary raises a flock of pure Shetland sheep on her farm, which provides her with many beautiful natural colors with which to create her rolags. Dedicated to raising heritage breed sheep and goats while also improving the health of the soil, Rock Mills farm is also home to a herd of purebred Spanish goats and two Gulf Coast Native ewes, Bea and Cora. In addition to sourcing fleece from her own flock, Mary works with fellow shepherds in the area to source other natural fibers from the area to use in her rolags.

Meet our Makers - Rock Mills Farm on the Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

Emilio is a purebred Spanish Goat from Mary’s herd.

Mary is also involved in the Wool Aid project, which provides the very neediest children in cold climates with wool socks, sweaters, vests, mittens, hats, and blankets.  With an emphasis on sending items where they’re needed most, this community of knitters and crocheters is always accepting donations for some of their most-needed items, with the requirement that each donation is made with yarn containing at least 80% wool in its fiber makeup.

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As our way of supporting the fiber arts community, we’ll be featuring more talented makers here on our blog. If you use Strauch products in your creative business, we’d love to hear from you!

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Meet our Makers - Rock Mills Farm on the Strauch Fiber Equipment Blog

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Color Inspiration: Sock Monkey Layered Batts

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Otto

Until now, most of our batt inspiration has come from nature, but today, we’re looking to the iconic sock monkey for our color inspiration. These adorable handmade toys have a long history dating back to the late 1800s, and today they still delight children of all ages. Traditional sock monkeys have either brown or grey bodies with white and red accents, but modern versions have introduced other colors, stripes, and even hats and clothing!

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Here’s what you’ll need:

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Divide your brown or grey fiber in half and process the first half to create a good base layer on your drum carder.

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Create the second layer by  alternating with your brown or grey fiber with your white fiber until both are used up.

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For the final layer, send your bright red fiber through. For our batts, we opted not to cover the previous layers completely, but you could opt to do so if you wanted to have more red in your finished project.

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Remove your batt from the carder and get ready for some serious monkey business the next time you sit down to spin!

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We’d love to see your sock monkey-inspired batts (and sock monkeys!) – share them with us on Instagram and don’t forget to tag your post with #strauchfiber!

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Tips for a Successful Spinzilla 2018

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Otto

Fall is almost here and Spinzilla is just around the corner! Whether you’re falling back into fiber arts or preparing for a monster of a spinning week, here are some tips to make your next spinning project successful and enjoyable!

  1. 1. Need speed? Plan ahead!

    Over just 7 days, the goal of Spinzilla is for each person to spin as much yarn possible, with the winning team’s total earning the Golden Niddy Noddy. Make your life easier by doing some prep work ahead of time! Select the fibers you want to spin: the trick is to have enough to challenge you and fill your time, but not so much that you feel overwhelmed. Once you know what you’ll be spinning, use your time leading up to Spinzilla start to do a little prep work: predraft roving, or create rolags or batts for easy, quick spinning. Obviously, we’re partial to batts! If you’d like to make some batts to spin, check out our free pdf guide on Drum Carding 101.Free PDF Guide - Drum Carding Tips & Tricks

  2. 2. Tune Up Your Equipment.

    In addition to preparing your fiber, you need to make sure your equipment is ready for the task at hand. This may be as simple as clearing out all of your bobbins and dusting off your spinning wheel, but if you’re planning an intensive week of spinning, you may want to add a few more maintenance tasks to your to-do list such as oiling your wheel or changing out your drive band (or at least have a spare one at the ready). Your manufacturer should provide you with instructions for routine maintenance specific to your make and model of spinning equipment.

  3. While you’re at it, this is a great time to make sure your Strauch drum carder or ball winder is in tip-top shape! We recently shared a blog post detailing simple tasks for routine maintenance – click here if you missed it.Handspinning supplies for a successful spinzilla
  4. 3. Prep your workspace.

    Make sure your spinning chair is adjusted properly and add a cushion for some of those longer spinning sessions. This is also a good time to gather your tools so they’re easy to find in your work space: keep your oil, extra bobbins, an orifice hook, your ball winder, and anything else you may need during Spinzilla handy and accessible. No sense in wasting good spinning time searching for things!

  5. 4. Get plenty of rest.

    We’re all tempted to do marathon spinning sessions and stay up way past our bedtimes to get in just one more ounce. However, self care is important –  take frequent breaks stretch and walk around so that you don’t overdo it in one sitting. We recommend following the 20-2 rule: after every 20 minutes of spinning, get up and move around for 2 minutes. Rather than spinning that extra two hours before bed, head to bed an hour earlier so you’ll be well rested and ready to spin again tomorrow.

    REST - fluorescent Neon tube Sign on brickwork - Front view - 3D rendered royalty free stock picture. Can be used for online banner ads and direct mailers.
  6. 5. Give and get encouragement when you need it.

    Check out the Spinzilla group on Ravelry and the #spinzilla and #spinzilla2018 hashtags if you’re in need of inspiration during Spinzilla. Share your own photos and let other know that you enjoy what they’re spinning by leaving a nice comment on their post (everyone loves compliments!). We would love to see what batts you’re spinning during the event; be sure to tag your photos with #strauchfiber so we can share our favorites with our followers!strauchfiber

  7. 6. Spin it to win it!

    Some teams are quite competitive during Spinzilla, and even if you’re part of one of those teams, remember to just do your best. Spinning is supposed to be fun and Spinzilla can be quite intense. No matter how much or little you spin during Spinzilla, you’re a winner for having participated in this amazing event and supporting the TNNA Foundation’s mission to foster creativity in teaching needle arts to adults and youth in the community at large. Of course, the winners of the Golden Niddy Noddy pictured below would probably argue that the bragging rights and trophy are the reasons for the season!

    TNNA’s Golden Niddy Noddy (Source: https://spinzilla.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/golden-niddy-copy.jpg)

    TNNA’s Golden Niddy Noddy (Source: https://spinzilla.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/golden-niddy-copy.jpg)

For more great tips on a successful week or spinning, check out our blog archive here. We’re excited for this year’s Spinzilla event and wish everyone the best of luck!

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Tips for a Successful Spinzilla 2018

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Color Inspiration: Wheat Fields Batt

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Otto

Signs of the seasonal shift are starting to pop up and the first official day of fall will be here before you know it! We often think of the autumn harvest, but did you know that winter wheat is actually planted this time of year to be harvested next summer? Our latest batt project is inspired by this lovely photo of wheat fields awaiting harvest:

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Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A Strauch Drum Carder (we used a Strauch Petite)
  • 1/2 ounce of wheat-colored fiber (we used Kraemer Mauch in Jellybean)
  • 1/4 oz. light green fiber (we used a dyed merino/silk top in Glacial Green)
  • 1/4 oz. grey fiber (we used a multicolored merino roving to add color depth)
  • Optional: small amount of Angelina Sparkle fiber in any of the above colors (we used green)
  • Helpful: Drum Carding 101, our free PDF filled with tips & techniques!

supplies

Start out by dividing your wheat-colored fiber into 2 halves. Use the first half to create a base layer on your carder.

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Next, process your grey fiber through the carder. Reserve a small amount of wheat colored fiber from your second half, and process the remainder through the carder once you are finished processing the grey (note: for a tweedier batt, you can alternate these two colors until the grey is fully processed).

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Finally, process your green fiber, using it to create a fiber sandwich with the Angelina Sparkle fiber if desired.

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Finish by processing the remainder of your wheat-colored fiber. Ta-da!

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Here’s what this batt looks like when spun up into a single ply yarn:

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If you try this tutorial or create your own batt from an inspirational source image, let us know on Instagram by tagging your post with #strauchfiber!

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WheatFieldsColorInspirationBatt

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Routine Maintenance for Strauch Ball Winders & Drum Carders

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Otto

Most fiber artists rely on our products to save them time, whether it’s through more efficient winding of yarn hanks on a swift and ball winder or speedily processing a large amount of fleece or fiber with a drum carder. Aside from speeding up these processes, each piece of our equipment is built to last with very little maintenance required – leaving you more time to craft without having to fuss or fiddle with your equipment each time.

Today we’ll cover a few key routine maintenance tasks to keep ball winder and drum carder in tip-top shape!
Drum Carders
Drum Carders
In general, you won’t need to oil your drum carder (oiling, and especially over-oiling, attracts
fiber and causes build-up). Should a squeak develop with the handle, apply a drop or two of
light oil (sewing machine or 20-wt. oil will do nicely) at the point where the crank shaft meets the
small end of the black handle. If you have a chain model, NEVER oil the chain.

You will need to periodically clean out any accumulated fiber from each shaft where it enters the
bearings. If this is not done from time to time, you will find that your carder becomes
increasingly hard to crank.

And, of course, you will need to use the Doffer/Cleaner Brush to remove residual fibers from the
carding drum when you are finished with a particular fiber or are ready to change colors. Use
the center portion of the Doffer brush to contact the curve of the large drum. Starting at the
seam, swipe the Doffer brush down the drum in the same direction as the teeth on the drum.
Continue across the width of the drum. Slowly rotate the drum backwards (counterclockwise) as
you use the brush to clean the entire drum of fiber. Do not brush across the drum since the card
cloth may become frayed.
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For more specific instructions for your particular model of drum carder, please refer to your operation manual (click here to download a PDF version from our site if yours has gone missing!). You can also check out these playlists on our YouTube Channel for maintenance tips and trick for each model:

New to drum carding? Click here to receive Drum Carding 101, our free PDF guide to help you get started!

That's a big ball!-1

Ball Winders

With our ball bearing design, NO oiling or adjustments are needed, but we do recommend a few simple tasks to keep your ball winder in working order.

First, a good habit to get into once you’re done winding your yarn is to remove the drive band from the crank disc each time. This prevents it from becoming stretched and loose, causing the winder to slip when winding a ball.

Next, you should occasionally check to make sure that fiber hasn’t become lodged underneath the pulley – if you notice that your yarn balls are getting a bit sloppy, that is the likely cause. The good news is that it’s very easy to fix – we show you how in the video embedded below:

And that’s it! With just a little bit of TLC, you can enjoy your Strauch ball winder or drum carder for years to come.

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