Hair of the Dog

I hate throwing anything away. I also enjoy creating something wonderful from nothing. That's why I spin dog hair. It's a great fiber to work with and you just can't beat the natural colors. Most people think "Ew! Yuck! Dog hair?" but have you hugged a long-haired dog lately and felt how soft and warm their coats are? Well, all you have to do to get rid of that "doggy" smell is to wash the fiber multiple times to wash out the body oils from the dog. This step must be done prior to spinning. After spinning it's much more difficult. Once those oils are removed your finished yarn won't smell like wet dog every time you wash it.

Just like any other fiber, if the dog hair is at least 1" in length and has a crimp to it, it can be spun by itself. But I have actually spun Bichon Frise for someone that was the consistency of dryer lint. I had to put a significant amount of twist in it to keep it together but it worked.

I have also blended shorter fibers together with wool. I have done this with cat hair because the customer didn't have enough hair for the project she wanted to make. I blended her cat hair with merino to match the fineness of the fiber. And she made a lovely tam (beret) out of it. Softness is something to consider when spinning dog hair. I have spun german shepherd before that was mainly guard hair. The result was a bit scratchy. Plying with another fiber can also double the yardage you can get.

For one of my state fair entries last year I spun my golden retriever and chocolate lab and plied them together. The entry called for two 2-oz skeins. I was literally chasing my dogs around the house with a brush to get the required amount!

If you own a long-haired pet, I recommend spinning or having your pet's hair spun into yarn. I still have two skeins I spun from my very first dog, Petey, a Keeshound that I haven't decided what to do with yet. Petey's been gone since 1996 but I love the fact that I still have a tangible part of him with me still.

Etsy Musings and a bit of Bathroom Humor

I've been working on promoting my fiber business for oh, about 15 years now and I'm still trying to make it "big". I started going to craft shows and wool festivals when I was in high school. It was a lot of work then setting up and tearing down the booth for not much return. It's still a lot of work and as I get older it seems less and less worth it. Back when I started, the internet wasn't really being used as a social networking tool. I realized this morning though, just how much technology has changed and how it's affecting how we small businesses are doing business. Having a full-time job, a husband and two lovely dogs doesn't allow for much time to absorb everything there is out there on the web. Mornings are especially tough as I am trying to get everything ready for the workday. My routine is pretty much the same, get up, take a shower, poke the husband to get out of bed, let the dogs out, make coffee, let the dogs in, feed the dogs, get lunch ready, make breakfast, unload the dishwasher, load it back up, put the dogs in the crate and out the door for work. In the midst of this routine, the couple sips of coffee do the trick and I realized, instead of grabbing the morning paper or magazine on my way to the bathroom, I've been grabbing the laptop! Why not, right? I have to check my email, my etsy store, my twitter account, my blog, not to mention catching up on reading the valuable etsy articles on selling and marketing. But this is now how business is done, on the computer. It sure beats all the hassel of packing up inventory, driving across the state to set up a booth for the weekend, staying in hotels, and packing it all up again the next day and coming home. I've cancelled all but one show for this year. I'm focusing on my etsy store and bringing my products to people across the country. I have a long ways to go, only 5 etsy sales last year, but I am hopeful. It's still a lot of work being on the computer, but I'd much rather do it from the comfort of my own bathroom.