Next, a reassurance that the Yarn referred to in the title was no. where. near. any of the fiber or yarn or roving or anything that we have for sale. This debacle happened in the house, in a bedroom, in a cupboard that housed only a part of my personal, spun-loong-ago (and ignored) stash. To say I'm disgusted with myself is an understatement. It's also a sad commentary on my housecleaning skills but there is some redemption to be had in that department at the end of this story. Fiber people out there have already guessed......moths. (Picture the figure in The Scream)
Family was coming to visit for a weekend and I needed to return a bedroom to its intended purpose (instead of catch-all/storage room). With the door shut against feline mischief the room had received minimal attention for *coughyearscough*. Approaching the cabinet I saw a little white coccoon on the floor under the door......nooooooo...... I won't repeat the X rated language I used but between that and the vacuum cleaner nothing came out of that room alive.
Everything got hauled outside and assessed. Anything with angora in it was a total loss and went into the trash. Since those skeins were disintegrating as I touched them it was a sad but easy decision. Other skeins seemed to have been ignored but the majority had varying amounts of damage. They all got shaken out, retied where necessary and washed.
Some seem to have escaped damage completely.
The rest are sad. I *should* probably toss them but I can't quite bring myself to since I know there is some good sound yarn in there. Sorting it out will be my self-imposed penance for having let it get damaged, I guess. I'm especially upset about the camel/silk skeins, the llama/Border Leicester and the 2+ pounds of purple/pink which was an early satisfying dye experiment.
Now that I know the yarn is inert and de-bugged I can store it PROPERLY and plan some projects to use it. I'm thinking fulled items, maybe some rug hooking and incorporating the shortest pieces into decoration on felted wool balls.
The best news on the whole situation is that I now have a pristine bedroom for guests and I can finally reach and maybe USE my loom again! I'll have to teach myself all over again but I'm looking forward to getting back to it.
While working in the wool shop lately I've listened to 'Fevre Dream' (yes, that's the correct spelling) and now am into 'Windhaven', both by George R.R. Martin (he of 'Game of Thrones' fame). Both are quite engaging. 'Fevre Dream' puts vampires on Mississippi steamboats (sounds goofy, but it works) and had a satisfying end. 'Windhaven' is rather like 'Dragonriders of Pern' without the dragons. There's a good bit of social and political wrangling but it's not as dark and mean as the 'Game of Thrones' series and the story moves along at a good clip. Two thumbs up if you'd like some popcorn for your mind while you're doing something mundane.
Joining in with Ginny......
That's a great description of how I feel about trying to rescued mothed-up yarn: like penance for lettering it get damaged in the first place. Weirdly, I also came across some moth damaged yarn in my 3-drawer plastic storage bin while cleaning up on Weds. I'd been through that bin "just a little while ago" for Madelinetosh sock yarn for my sister to use (so great is my love for her) and to weed out a brand of sock yarn I found I really disliked (after buying several colors). The weeded yarn was unharmed but I froze it and then vacuumed it anyway. The worst damaged skeins went out on the compost heap for enterprising squirrels to nest with. I wonder if this hot summer and mild fall have kept the moths active longer than I expect?
ReplyDeleteThe handspun is gorgeous, and by the way that loom and the room are beautiful, too. Very inviting for guests. I hope you had a great holiday.
Oh no! I know just how you feel. Those darned moths seem to sneak their way in even when I try to keep them out. I do keep most stuff in ziploc bags these days, but sometimes I forget something, or think "Oh, I'm going to use that soon so I don't need one" and invariably...yes...you know the rest of the story. Your ideas for using the rescued yarns are great - I hope you can make good use of the yarns despite the damage. It is an exercise in creativity!
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