Dryer Balls

I spent some time on Sunday making dryer balls. I used wool that I skirted off of fleeces for sale in the raw. This is wool that is really dirty or kempy so is not as desirable for spinning, but dryer balls are a perfect use!

 The first step is washing your wool.  I prefer lingerie bags & a tote basket. I have my water heater set up from normal both for wool & myself. Wool for dryer balls does need cleaned & free of lanolin. You don't want that gunking up your washer.  I use warm water for soaks inside to get most of the dirt out. Change your water until it is clear.  Then I move into a hot water wash with dawn to remove the lanolin. Follow with hot water rinses. may need more than one hot water wash to get lanolin out. 

You don't really need this wool to dry unless you prefer a different method of creation. I like to let mine dry enough to get the dripping water out, I'll even squeeze mine out. 

Then I like to stretch it out & fluff it a bit.  I roll it up a bit & squash it down tight.  Continue rolling until the ball is the desired size.  I try to get mine about baseball sized. Then I secure them into a bit of panty hose tied off. 

The balls above are ready for the washer.  A few good hot water washes felts them enough to hold together.  I find this is a perfect time to wash any blankets or towel loads.  Then pop them into the dryer with whatever load you ended with & dry as normal.  When you remove them from the dryer, untie & remove the balls from the panty hose.  

Dryer balls are used in place of fabric softener.  They are a natural & chemical free way to actually soften your clothes.  They do not effect the absorbacy of towels or cloth diapers. They fluff your clothes & redistribute moisture, letting your clothes dry faster & more efficiently. They can even be scented with your favorite essential oils.

The cost of 1 set of dryer balls pays for itself in a year or less compared to buying commercial fabric softeners and you can feel better about chemicals in your families clothes. 

I sell sets of 4 for $20 or 6 for $30. 4 is the minimum you want to use.  The more you use, the quicker they will dry.  I have both natural colors & dyed balls. The dyed balls are remnants from my spinning projects & are only food safe icing dyes. 

Feel free to email me to purchase your set or additions to a set you may have! 

Productive Weekend

It was such a beautiful day on Saturday. There were the usual plentiful household chores that needed done so I decided to work outside.  LOL. I did actually get some laundry done.  Including the comforters & hung them on the line to fresh dry! My favorite! I also finished up some yarn that was spun & let it dry outside as well.  The left is the polwarth that i bought as a dyed roving. The right is some very special shetland for a personal project. The fleece is the only shearing I was able to get from a ewe named Beauty. I bought her as a bred ewe & she didn't stick.  Before i could breed her back last summer she fell sick from a bad infection. I nursed her for 3 days before she passed. She was my friendliest ewe with a great personality.  So with no lambs & only 1 fleece.  There's a part of it.

Then i did a little scissor shearing on Lynn who decided to act like a terror who had never been touched.  LOL. 

 Before, well barely started anyway. 

 after with a Dolly photo bomb. 

All three of these girls also needed a hoof trim.

 these are my trimmers. Thanks Mom for the great present!

 Here's Dolly sitting for her pedicure.

 Here's a good picture of Dolly's foot with 1 side trimmed & the other not. Sheep & goats need their feet trimmed on s regular basis similar to horses & people. Done properly this doesn't hurt them at all.  Generally speaking trimmings are done around 4 months. However many people keep a rock pile for their sheep or goats to walk on keeping their hooves worn down naturally.  As I don't have the fencing finished, I trim. 

 This is my thanks from Loretta for keeping her feet healthy.  She kicked just as I went to cut. I stabbed my own thumb. It bled way more than I thought it should & I ended up having to pause my trimming to clean & bandage it. 

Sunday brought another beautiful day.  I helped a friend with dog trimming they needed done. I came home and worked on Dolly's fleece shearing. 

 Here's a partial done picture. 

 I also worked on as cotswold cross fleece that was sheared in 2014. I've done a bit with this fleece & it gives a nice spin with some of the signature shine that cotswold has.  I've got it all skirted & seperated into locks. Now I will work on getting it all washed. I plan on offering some dyed & spun for sale. But I'm going to do 1 skein for myself to take to the Blue Party at Hillcreek Fiber Studeo in June & dye with a natural Saxon blue.