Thursday, May 15, 2014

Meet the Fleece

 I'd like to introduce you to Winston and Finley. They are the sheep that donated their fleece for my 2014 TdF project.

  I was thrilled about having some Shetland to wash until I found this in the carding room. I forgot all about the Shetland fleece I just bought in September. Boo, me.


 I pulled out some of the new stuff into locks to give them a quick wash so I could see what I had.


 Washing Shetland is a bit trickier than the Merino I did this way last summer. Shetland is fuzzier so it's a challenge to get it all in the jar of soap.



 It also balled up more than the Merino did when I scrubbed it on the bar of soap.


 It did come out very clean.


 There was also fewer dirty tips to cut off than I expected.


 I pulled it through the carder to straighten it out for spinning.


It's spinning nicely. I am going to make this a wheel project once the Tour de Fleece gets started but I am going to sample it on the spindle for now. I want this to be another shruggy type thing that I wore all winter so I need to figure out what kind of gauge I'm looking at here. As if I really know what I'm talking about. In other words, I'll figure it out as I go along as usual. For now, I just want an excuse to play with it.

7 comments:

  1. There's nothing like a fleece to engage your mind just right! Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not sure I've ever commented before, but I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading about your inexhaustible fiber adventures, and especially your full-steam-ahead attitude. Makes me smile every time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really enjoyed the photos of your fleece cleaning/prep process, I am really unfamiliar with it, so it gave me some insight. I agree with Tyche's Minder, it's really impressive all the different kinds of crafting you do on your own, along with the quilting with your father. It is especially impressive in the midst of taking care of your father's health. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  4. looks like so much work!! oh my goodness. Glad you are having FUN playing with that fluff

    ReplyDelete
  5. That looks likes its spinning into silvery goodness!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wet squishy woolen goodness
    and soft fluffy carded fleece. lovely

    ReplyDelete