<![CDATA[Crowing Hen

<![CDATA[Crowing Hen - blog]]>Wed, 16 Nov 2022 15:13:27 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Dyeing with madder]]>Tue, 01 Feb 2022 18:32:27 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/dyeing-with-madderToday I dye some wool with madder.

These handspun singles are part of a much bigger projects I'm working on to produce an 100% homegrown wardrobe. Fibreshed taken to the extreme

It's taking a lot longer than I expected, but so does knitting sweaters. Single stitches. Small steps... it all adds up

Isn't it pretty.

The video goes into details about the method I choose and why I wanted to stay away from the more scientific side of natural dyeing. Whatever happens, madder makes pretty colours. It was just a matter of finding out what it wanted to become.

]]><![CDATA[Washing wool but make it fun]]>Mon, 31 Jan 2022 15:42:30 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/how-to-wash-wool3495633I love washing wool in the summer. I can do it outside, the weather is warm and the wool dries quickly.

The problem is, we have very dry summers. Everything wants water. The sheep want to drink it. The ducks want to splash it. The garden wants to hog it all for food production... Everything wants what we have only a finite supply to give.

So I have to get creative

The key is to choose a soap that is non-toxic and will quickly biodegrade in the garden. If it has insect repellant qualities, so much the better.

The chickens love that I'm spending time with them. The garden loves the nutrition from the wash water. I get my vitamin D dose and some clean wool.

]]><![CDATA[The best yarn to show off your lovely locks]]>Mon, 31 Jan 2022 15:30:02 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/the-best-yarn-to-show-off-your-lovely-locksThis yarn is the reason I have so many Cotswold sheep in my flock.

A stunning novelty yarn that doesn't require plying. But it does teach the spinner a lot about yarn structure.

The fibre doesn't need any fancy prep. No Carding. No combing. Just your finger, and clean longwool locks.

If they are dyed pretty colours, so much the better.

]]><![CDATA[One of THOSE posts - where have I been?]]>Sun, 16 Jan 2022 21:12:55 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/one-of-those-posts-where-have-i-beenI hate these posts. So so boring. So irrelevant to future readers. And yet. Here we are.

But where have I been?

Busy. Happy. Working hard.

I've been obsessed with learning YouTube. I'll be sharing those slowly on this blog. But for easier access to my videos, I encourage you to pop on over to my Crowing Hen YouTube Channel and press the subscribe button so you can get instant updates when I add something new.

As much as I love having a business website and pay a tonne of money to keep it going. I am not enjoying this interface.

It's too much like wordpress and just as buggy. I had 3 bugs just getting to a place where I could start this post, then another to add these photos. Who knows how much more frustration I'll get through to finish this post?

This website does everything possible to make blogging a chore from not being compatible with my spellchecker (instead, using the computer spellchecker which quickly shuts off for "no known language detected"). But composing it in another place then copy paste doesn't work seamlessly and has yet more bugs... and it seems to do everything possible to interrupt my train of thought.

I am just not compatible with this webhoast and if I was a little less lazy, I would be looking for somewhere else.

I'm not entirely certain the email contacts form is working either.

Hey Squarespace - I see you sponsoring lots of youtubers. Wanna give me money to switch then (if you are as good as you say) tell everyone how awesome you are?

Didn't think so.

(that's bug number 5 or 6 that came from adding a spacer than not being able to click back into this text box then when I did, the curser jumped around several times - but with the lag I had already started typing and now I have to go through and remove all the extra letters now scattered throughout the text box.. ) Scrap squarespace - hey Weebly? You want to pay me money to document these bugs? (not to mention the half a dozen accessibility issues - aka, making it difficult for people with disabilities to use the website).

Anyway, can't remember the hugely insightful thing I was about to say. Understanding this is sounding like a negative post - all the more horrid because I'm not actually going to do anything to fix the issue. There are reasons, it is complicated, it's easier to just stick with what I have for now.

If you are looking for me, I've been posting on my old blog Trampled By Geese.
And enjoying my youtube adventure at Crowing Hen Youtube Channel.

Be seeing you.
(yet another glitch adding the links... hmmm. Se why I don't hang out here?)

]]><![CDATA[Piecing fabric - my upcycling sewing project]]>Sat, 08 May 2021 16:00:12 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/piecing-fabric-my-upcycling-sewing-projectAs part of my sewing journey, I am learning how to make the most out of fabric. For this project I used a technique called piecing which combines smaller pieces of cloth to create larger.

I adore this fabric, but it belonged to a pair of trousers that were way too small. I also needed a new jacket, so I deconstructed the trousers and combined the fabric with cabbage (cloth left over from sewing projects) to see if I could do it.

I read about this technique on Foundations Reveled which admittedly is the reason why I'm needing to be so frugal with my fabric and clothing budget. The paywall isn't ... well, let's just say even though it's pricy, I'm getting way more out of it than I'm paying. It's worth spending my clothing and crafting budgets on this membership! The resources, the people, the inspiration! Learning about historical frugality! Just look at the coat - I never would have made that without the articles.

The pieces of fabric are sewn together, attempting to match the flow of the pattern as there isn't enough fabric to match the pattern seamlessly.

But you know what, it actually worked.

I lined it with some roughspun silk fabric from my cabbage stash. I probably should have done more to finish the edges, but it was an experiment and there were a lot of edges. I can see this being hand-wash only, wear in to town, not mucking out the chickens kind of clothing.

]]><![CDATA[Flax to Linen Victoria - the little seed that could!]]>Mon, 01 Mar 2021 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/flax-to-linen-victoria-the-little-seed-that-couldI am excited to announce Flax to Linen: the movie. A small documentary film I got to make with a few members of the local Flax to Linen group.

It's been a rough year and not being able to do public demonstrations hit us pretty hard. When the Victoria Handweavers and Spinners Guild asked us to do a virtual presentation on how linen fabric is made from tiny little flaxseeds, we said "Sure!"

Knowing almost nothing about making a video, we dived in. Had fun. Did a little dance (stay tuned to the end to see the dancing) and devised a COVID-19 safety plan to keep everyone safe.

I'm very happy with how it turned out. I learned a lot about video editing. I learned that I have a lot more to learn and with what I know now, I would have done everything differently. But you got to start somewhere.

If you enjoy the video and would like to see more like this, pop over to our video on YouTube and clicked the thumbs up. Or better yet, leave a comment. I've got some nifty ideas for 2021 and your encouragement helps keeps the momentum going.

]]><![CDATA[Singer 127 - winding the bobbin]]>Tue, 25 Aug 2020 16:00:00 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/singer-127-winding-the-bobbinThe following was published in my old blog, Trampled by Geese 2011

Hidden underneath a shiny silver face plate is a shuttle and bobbin. These magical treasures are what makes the sewing machine stitch lock in place. Two threads, one on top, one beneath, working together to make sewing happen. What could be more wonderful than that?

Click "read more" on the right to ...

The manual tells me to begin by disengaging the balance wheel. There is a smaller wheel inside the bigger wheel at the right of the machine. You turn the smaller wheel towards you and it stops the needle from going up and down while we wind the bobbins.

But I figured a better place to start would be to give the winding device some oil. It's been almost 50 years since last used.

I put a scarce drop of oil in the hole. I couldn't think of anywhere else where oil might go on the bobbin winder. (I later learned, that a tiny - maybe 1/4 of a drop - bit of oil on the threads and heart-shaped cam help)

Put the bobbin in place, buy pulling on the left knob. Thread the bobbin winder and tuck the thread under the right end of the bobbin. Make certain the thread guide is all the way to the right side, press bobbin winder so that the wheel rests against the balance wheel. "Operate the machine the same as for sewing".

Keep on going until the bobbin is nearly full. Try to end with the thread guide on the right hand side to make it easier to wind the next bobbin.

]]><![CDATA[It's Laundry Day!]]>Tue, 04 Aug 2020 16:00:00 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/its-laundry-dayNow that the grass has turned a disgusting shade of brown and summer has arrived with a vengeance, we're entering the next stage of water conservation on the farm. No water on the garden unless it is reclaimed water.

Most of the year, I've been using reclaimed water from washing wool or dying. However, at this time of year, it's no longer sustainable to be using water in crafting every week. We need to reserve water for human and livestock needs first. Although I am expecting to get an indigo vat going this year as it doesn't require as much water as regular dyeing.

Usually, I let the garden die, but this year, I'm feeling food insecure, so I want to get some winter crops planted to see us through the cold months. For this, I'll need to find water. What necessary household activities can I reclaim water from?

vintage Beatty washing machine and inspection crew

That's where this vintage washing machine comes in!

Click "read more" on the right to ...

I worried that this would use MORE water than my ultra-modern, super-efficient, front-loading machine. After some experiments, I find it uses considerably less, and the vintage machine gets the clothes cleaner! The downside is that it requires a considerable amount of human time and interaction to get the most out of it. But it is worth it as I not only get water for my garden, but the clothes are so much cleaner!

The key to using less water is to reuse the water.

When this technology evolved, the idea of indoor plumbing was to have a hand pump to pull water from the well in the kitchen instead of fetching it from the stream. Water was still a precious resource that took a lot of labour to acquire. One isn't going to waste water by tossing it down the drain.

This is why sorting laundry was crucial to people like my grandmother. I often wondered, why did she make such a big deal about washing my whites before my socks in a modern machine? With this vintage machine, it does matter because you run the load with the whites, remove them, then without emptying the tub, run the next load of laundry through. The same water can have two, three, or even five loads of laundry. Then empty the tank, fill it with rinse water, and start again!

Add soap to the rinse water from the first load and we have new wash water for the next load.

Think about it like washing dishes. One simply wouldn't wash the plates first then move on to the glasses and cups! (if you do this, we need to sit down and have a serious talk!) Glasses are fairly clean, especially if they are rinsed out before putting them next to the sink. Whereas plates get really dirty and greasy. Dirt and grease gets in the water (that's the point of washing up to remove the grime from the dishes and put it in the water) and if we wash the plates first, then all that dirt, grease, grime, whatever, will transfer onto the otherwise nearly-clean glasses making the effort to clean them go from a 0.02 units to a whopping 5 units of effort.

There are schools of thought that suggest we shouldn't use soap or detergent on glasses - which make a lot of sense as hot enough water will make soap unnecessary for glasses and soap leaves a film that is unsightly and can cause gastric upset if not properly rinsed. But, it's more to do with soap interfering with the bubbles in beer.
If you want my dishes rant, comment below and I might be persuaded.

mangle or wringer removes excess water from cloths

If I'm only doing one load of laundry, then yes, the ultra-modern, super-efficient, front-loading machine is best at water conservation. But if I'm doing several loads in one day, then this is the way to go!

It gets the clothes cleaner too!

Today, I'm off to do some laundry. First I will wash my sheets, then my city clothes, then my towels, then my farm clothes. It's going to take a while, but when I'm done each wash and rinse cycle, I'll have some lovely dark-grey water filled with nutrition (dirt) and natural insecticide (soap) for my garden.

]]><![CDATA[Carding Cotton - a pictorial tutorial]]>Tue, 14 Jul 2020 16:00:00 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/carding-cotton-a-pictorial-tutorialA quick series of images to show the process of transforming a cotton boll into a puni ready to spin.

first published on my old blog Trampled by Geese in 2015

Leave a comment if you want me to make a video or more in-depth tutorial on working with cotton.

]]><![CDATA[Planning the greenhouse upgrade]]>Fri, 03 Jul 2020 15:37:39 GMThttps://www.crowinghen.ca/blog/planning-the-greenhouse-upgradeWe have two little greenhouses; old cracked glass things just tall enough to have to stoop and a footprint of 8 foot by 10. They are cute as buttons and really, for the amount of hot stuff we eat, it should be enough.

Some years I plant my seedlings in the soil, and they grow like stink. Other years, like this year, I do everything right - I amend the soil with various manner, let the chickens in over winter to eat all the bugs, do all the thing - and everything fails. This year's peppers were planted with care after the last risk of frost, on a cloudy day. The next day the sun came out and scorched the poor little seedlings. The day after, it was nearly frost.

But that's the way our weather goes - hot during the day, cold during the night. And these tropical plants (mostly hot peppers) don't seem to thrive in these conditions.

Some years it works, but this year, it's been a dismal failure!

Click "read more" on the right to ...

Over the last decade, I've tried all sorts of things from heat sinks, to fans, to ... oh it's a huge list. Everything on that list took time, energy, money, or all of the above. I'm far too lazy for that!

What I need is a better greenhouse system that can give me consistent temperatures year 'round without added expense or fuss. A passive greenhouse! This winter (life permitting) I'm planning to move and rebuild the greenhouses into something prosperous. But what would that look like?

Well, it just happens that there's a Kickstarter for that!

Some friends of mine are building a greenhouse that will do all the things I could ever dream, and they are making a documentary about the process. I'm looking forward to this and already have some great ideas for my greenhouse revamp.

Here are their words about the project:

The Truly Passive Greenhouse Movie will document the designing, building, and testing of a new type of greenhouse that uses no electricity or fuel whatsoever to stay warm all year. Many greenhouse designs claim to be passive, but actually use electricity to power fans, or they simply allow plants to freeze during the coldest months of the year.

We're all about innovating and experimenting at Wheaton Labs--so this movie will take viewers through the whole process, even documenting the greenhouse's performance through an entire Montana winter.

If this design is as successful as we expect it to be, anyone with access to a little bit of space and some basic DIY skills will be able to grow plants year-round for food or greywater filtration while reducing their environmental impact and their electric bill. And if they support us on Kickstarter, they'll get gobs of amazing goodies related to permaculture, homesteading, and gardening--even if they only give us one dollar!

Check it out! It's got some pretty neat rewards that will get you excited about permaculture.

I've already got some great ideas for my greenhouse upgrade. I can't wait to see the finished video!

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