Sometimes an idea just comes to me with such force that I have to try it out. I had been wondering whether to enter the Royal Show and thought perhaps not, since time has been especially tight and I didn’t have any really great ideas. Then an idea came to me. Could I spin string from leaves on the wheel? And spin shells onto it? I had to try it out (no shells to hand this moment, which is a small hitch)…
These iris plants came originally from the trading table at my Guild. I recognised them immediately because there are some just like these growing in a street near ours that I walk along often. I believe they may be Algerian Iris, (Iris unguicularis), drought tolerant iris from ‘Algeria and Tunisia but also … Greece, Crete, Rhodes, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.’ This would explain why they are doing well here, though those that were not watered over summer all died. Before I planted them, I trimmed off the leaves and saved them. Almost a feed sack full of them. How can you know when such a thing might come in handy? Ahem.
I weighed and soaked them in water in preparation. Weighed, because a show entry has to be a certain weight–I made sure I had much more than required.
I hand twisted a sample just to check concept. So far so good. Much more plausible than daylily leaves, which I had decided against.
And then, on with the apron, leaves in a damp tea towel, leaves divided into narrow strips, and the challenge of working out how to join one strip to the next began. The short answer is: insert each new strip of leaf at almost 90 degrees to the forming single, make sure it has been twisted between at least two other strips, and then move on.
Before long, I had some extremely ugly, spiny looking string forming.
It took me several evenings to have two bobbins of this, and then to ply. Before plying I soaked my bobbins, singles and all, in water to make them pliable. When I transferred the ‘yarn’ onto the niddy noddy, it was soooo spiny. I took scissors to trimming off the ends. For an hour or two.
The finished yarn is decidedly less good than hand twined string, both in looks, texture, and strength, but I can’t imagine how long making this much string by hand would have taken. So… now I have done it, and I know I can do it. But I am not sure it was worth doing! I am still thinking over whether more practice would (or course) improve the outcome, or this was just one of those things you do once and then set aside permanently…
Local & Bespoke 
Wow. You are the master of all awesomeness. It is so cool that you not only had the idea, but you DID IT. Maybe not practical, lol, but it can be done. You win.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Not practical at all, so thank you for crowning me master of all awesomeness despite this!
LikeLike
Brilliant thought and inspired execution!
LikeLike
Thank you so much!
LikeLike
That was a really cool idea. What will you use it for after you’ve entered it in the show?
LikeLike
I don’t know! And, I weighed it after I posted and it is 5g short of the required weight!! Thanks for your lovely comment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The snipping of the ends would have driven me batty for sure.
LikeLike
It sure drove me batty. I was glad there was no one home to listen to me grumble, because I didn’t really bother to grumble…
LikeLike
Yes they are iris ungularis, keep trying to grow them but with no success, which is annoying as my mother in law had them here in her garden would love to try them again. Find it fascinating what you do, such a variety. You even inspired me to knit socks again.
LikeLike
Thank you Penny, for confirming the identification and for your lovely comment. I hope knitting socks brings you joy, the way it brings me joy 🙂
LikeLike
I just love your show entries. They set my mind afire with possibilities. You are a spinning aviatrix doing loop the loops and balancing on your wings high in the air.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Rebecca, yet again, a comment to set the heart aglow, even when the aviatrix discovers she is 5 grammes short of what is needful! It is such fun to stretch the possibilities and a spinning wheel is such a versatile tool for the imagination…
LikeLike
At last, all is revealed! What a bummer that you were 5 grams short, after all that effort. One for the pool room?
LikeLiked by 1 person
5 grams short is a bit a of a drag! But I am still happy to have tried and maybe this is a sign that the version with shells has to be done…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think the skein is beautiful…and I like the spikey stuff in progress. Wondering if long strands of it might not make a wonderful natural version of a bug curtain…like those nowadays made of plastic strips or the beaded things with images painted on them….
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you! I love the idea of a curtain made from this kind of yarn even if this skein is not robust enough for the job 🙂
LikeLike
Wow!! That’s amazing.
LikeLike
Thanks, Ruth!
LikeLike
Really interesting idea – not everything works out, but maybe it’ll lead you to something else?
LikeLike
I love the way that happens… and I am sure you are right. Even if all it leads me to is trying again with what I learned this time!
LikeLiked by 1 person