public library fan #1

I've been using dog slicker brushes to do a kind of flick, but it's hard on my wrists and takes uhhh fucking forever. I've been working on a pound of jacob fleece for like, months.

as luck would have it, I found a pair of hand cards at my local thrift store this week. I don't know that hand carding is going to be the best method for me (see: wrists) but if nothing else I figure they might be better for flicking than my dog brush that's starting to fall apart. they're like .... really old tho. some quick searching suggests at least a hundred years old. I ordered some replacement carding cloth and I do think I'll go ahead with it and use them but I can't help but feel a little weird about dismantling 100 year old cards. the leather backing is fully disintegrating though and I figure these things are meant to be used.

the thrift store cashier said WOAH what kind of medieval torture device is that?? -- vs. -- the carding cloth really does need replaced but in testing them out a little they leave this sweet woody smell on all the wool and it's genuinely so lovely. I forget sometimes that this is a niche hobby & not everyone would be excited about sweet smelling 100 year old wood full of wire.

anyway --

it's a bit of an odd mix so hopefully there's stuff there for everyone (although I did have to manually add several books so that doesn't bode super well)

i don't think i like science fiction but for some reason i'm looking for a sci-fi book

(yes, kindred is absolutely low hanging fruit for this prompt but i read it for the first time this year okay!)

i am learning to be part of community and still practicing how to be kind

i watched amc's the terror and/or john carpenter's the thing and liked horrible stuff happening in cold places but am not into nonfiction / finished all the polar exploration nonfiction that was available through my library already

if you prefer antarctic to arctic or find details of polar exploration tedious, go for all the white spaces instead of where the dead wait

i'm gay and i like women and also i'm fucked up and a freak

sometimes i just want to walk. i dont know where i'm going

(sometimes walking without a destination can be sailing)

i am still learning how to be kind and joyous in a difficult world (part 2)

honorable mentions:

i like my gay romance with deeply tedious details of wool processing and production: swordcrossed by freya marske

i like my crime novels with serious cultural and linguistic critique without it being deeply tedious: the city & the city by china mieville

it started out pretty vm-y and was the first fleece I ever got fully raw, no skirting etc. if I cleaned it now I think I'd have kept a lot more of it than i did but it had definitely been sitting unwashed in a garage for a few years and had all kinds of bugs and things.

I'm using the no fleece left behind method to prep it (which I discovered via @milkweedman thank you!!!!!). unfortunately while it's very effective it's not the kindest on my joints so I'm doing just a bit at a time.

it cleans up into this lovely fluff with a fine crimp. not the longest staple in the world but it'll definitely spin nicely. absolutely no clue what breed or anything it is, i was just handed a garbage bag with no further information.

it's my first white fleece and there's a good amount of it so I'm thinking maybe I'll dye some of it? I have a big bag of avocado pits that's been living in a drawer of my fridge for years now.

on my wheel right now I'm working through a huge coil of top I picked up secondhand for like $5 before I really knew what i was doing. it's sooo much fiber and a really wonderful warm brown and I'm having so much fun with it