My Torture Devices: a Love Story

My ridiculously pointy combs have arrived from Canada! Actually, they arrived several weeks ago, but I got neglectful of the blog. Anyway, I decided to bite the bullet at the beginning of March and ordered a set of Alvin Ramer Super Mini Combs in cherry wood. I'd been debating for a long time about what my next fiber tool would be. A swift would be great, but Josh doesn't seem to mind holding out his hands for me while I use the ball winder. A drum carder would make me a happy, happy girl, but my guild has a Patrick Green Deb's Delicate Deluxe carder that I've been fortunate enough to rent on occassion, and that has suited pretty well. Actually, what the heck am I talking about, I fell in love with it. It's only rentable by the month, though, so when my month's up, I have to return it and put my name back on the waiting list. I imagine that I may break down and buy one at Estes Park Wool Market in June, since Susan's Fiber Shop has a booth, and she usually has a couple PG carders waiting in the wings for some weak person like me to come along. :)

But back to the combs! What can I say? They are truly magnificent. Once I got over the guilt of not ordering LaniCombs (they're local, but pricey), I reveled in all the features of these lovely Ramer Super Minis. First of all, they come with a carding station, which is a superduper plus. Also, they're actually weildable, unlike some regular combs. My arms/wrists don't get as tired with these as they did using the larger combs. They come two-pitch standard, which does the job with most fibers. Folks, I'm really, really happy with the job they do. So without further ado, the pictures...

Here is the set-up, with the combing station clamped to the picnic table with C-clamps. The picnic table is actually a bit low for combing, I've learned...larger C-clamps are in order so the station can be secured to a thicker table. The first comb is charged with a wonderful cold-soaked Corriedale/Merino/Rambouillet fleece I bought online and scoured. The wool is from Wooly Wool of the West , and it is to die for...barely any veggie matter, and so soft and lovely!

Next we have the action shot. The charged comb is turned sideways for minimal chance of impalement and the active comb is sliding through like buttah. I don't usually comb with my left hand, but I REALLY can't take pics left-handed, so there ya go.

Here's a pic of the fiber dizzing off through the (included) seashell diz. Pillowcase of happy fluff and water bottle (for spritzing the wool when it gets too static-y in this dry Colorado environment) also pictured.

Happy nests of fiber ready to spin!

What those happy nests became!