In addition to giving Gwen and I the gift of Chilkat Weaving, Marsha is also giving us a gift of learning our first piece on Mountain Goat Wool. It is very rare, in this day and time, to make a robe out of Mountain Goat Wool. Most robes today are made from merino wool.

Marsha, Gwen and I met to go over how to prepare Mountain Goat Wool. Marsha went over the process of how to pull the hair from the Mountain Goat hide and what part of the hide are the “prime” areas. Then she showed us how to clean the wool and how to create rovings. You use the rovings to create the warp for the robes.

Gwen, Jamie (Gwen’s friend) and I traveled to Klukwan to meet with Marsha at the ANB/ANS Hall. We spent the day learning how to dye the weft. On the way to Klukwan Gwen and Jamie stopped to gather some pure mountain water so we could use it for our dyeing.

I found the dyeing process very interesting. We ended up dyeing both merino wool and some Mountain Goat wool. The yellow that we dyed was outstanding. Beautiful. But there was a difference between the merino wool and the Mountain Goat. It was very noticeable. (Mountain Goat is on the left, Merino is on the right)

We also learned a very important lesson. The weft that we dyed was only 75% merino. We noticed something was off with the weft after it was dyed. There was a pattern that was emerging of a darker color and a lighter color. We realized that we will need to be careful of the weft that we purchase and use as the manufacturer had done something to the weft when it was made.

Gwen and I are spinning the warp for our first “official” piece. The wool has been gathered, prepared, cleaned and is now being spun. The weft has been dyed and the discussions have been had. Now Gwen and I are spinning 15 yards of Mountain Goat Wool for our first Chilkat piece. As we spin the warp…..get your hands a little wet, make sure the wool is wet, make sure the yellow cedar is in, press down but not hard, go down let it spin, then go up then pinch and repeat….the words of Dorie from Disney’s Finding Nemo keeps running through my mind…just keep swimming, just keep swimming….but my words are…. just keep spinning, just keep spinning….I can’t help it. It makes me smile. Gwen has finished her 15 yards and I have to catch up to her….just keep spinning…just keep spinning.