The locks are spinning up nicely. In absence of spinning tools, I separated them a bit by hand at first, and with the advice of Kitty Kitty and Javajem, brushed them with hairbrush. Actually they recommended a flicker and a dog brush, but I don't have those either.

I barely pre-draft now. I tug at an inch or two, then start spinning right away. Almost all of the curly bits disappeared. I'm learning how to retain some of them when I attach a new piece. They will probably disappear in the final knitted project.

It spun up really fast until I had all this on the spindle. It seemed like it was getting too full, so I wound it on the ball winder. Indeed, it was beginning to felt on the bottom where I set spindle in motion, so now I know to wind it off a bit sooner.

Felting's going to be a factor in the knitting project I choose because these locks are not superwash. I'll probably knit socks. Who cares if they'll wear like Russian felted boots?

How will I keep it from felting when I wash the plied hanks? A question for the experts.

I just learned that it's possible to freeze whole citrus fruits and tomatoes, and lots of other food too. Read Mark Bittman's article in last Wednesday's New York Times.