sak658

My dad had some cotton plants growing in his flower bed. It has a beautiful purple bloom. I have the wooden carders that you used to card the cotton to take out the seeds so it can be used in the quilts. Very interesting things.

scrappy happy

did u card it like they do wool? when up put in quilts how did you hold it together?

cabinfever

I'm so happy for you that you have kept the spinning wheel. You may be able to learn how to use it from a spinning group in your area. I am always drawn to the festivals of any kind where they demonstrate traditional textile crafts like weaving & spinning; & have seen them done at many celtic fairs as well as places like Williamsburg in Virginia or Greenfield Village in Detroit metro area. Since we can't all go so far, you might even find out when a regional spinning group might be demonstrating in your area.
Some of our neighbors used to have sheep, & offered some raw wool to me if I wanted to spin some, but we moved to town before I ever got a spinning wheel to try it.

bob1414

According to my contacts in Bali, a lot of cotton used for batik comes from Pakistan as well.

mzsooz

My mom cards, spins, and weaves with lots of different types of wool. She does beautiful things. I bet she never thought of growing cotton to do this. Knowing my mom the minute I mention this to her she will be out planting cotton seeds. :lol: :lol: :lol:

redmadder

What a great discussion. My great grandmother grew an acre of cotton, spun the yarn and crocheted a bedspread. My grandfather showed it to me when I was 17 and told me I would inherit it as the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter. Alas, he remarried and though she was beloved as my step grandmother, her children must have taken the bed spread. Still, I love the story. I come by my love of handwork and those values honestly.

llcanderson

IowaStitcher

I grew some 'ornamental cotton in the garden one year so the kids could see how it grew and take a few bols to grade school Got the seeds through a seed catalog - Gurneys maybe?

Nanjun

I know it is harvesed in late Sept. There are a lot of fields near my area and I notice this year corn is planted where the cotton grew last year. There was an abundant crop of cotton last fall.

galvestonangel

Maybe all of us southerners can plant some cotton, one poster said she knew how to process it. I wonder how many plants it takes to make a quilt??? I've always wanted a spinning wheel.