Spinning in the grease, outside, in the sunshine. Sheer heaven!

Once I had the laundry on the line (I love sheets and towels that are dried in the sunshine), I had a chance to open out the Shetland fleece I'd bought in Wooster. It was well-skirted but I only wanted to flick card the best parts, which would hopefully be plenty for a garment.

Full fleece, minus the neck wool

 

Nice lock structure!

The first photo shows the entire fleece minus the neck wool which I've already removed. I'm standing where the neck wool used to be and if you squint your eyes a bit, you can see the outline of a sheep if it were laying on it's tummy with legs splayed out. I also pulled off the 4 leg sections; the neck and legs were a bit matted, shorter and have a different feel than the back wool which is the stuff I want to use. The legs/neck will be washed and carded into a different preparation--maybe matching hat/scarf/mitts?



Usually, wool is washed before being carded and spun, but I love to work with a fresh fleece in warm weather. The fiber slips through my fingers, sliding past each other with ease, due to the natural lanolin present in the fiber. Not every fleece lends itself to grease spinning, they need to be neat lock formations, not too filthy (that dirt will deposit on your hands), and free of hay and grasses. The spun yarn will be washed in nice hot water with Orvis paste, rinsed and hung on the line to dry. I'm so happy to be spinning in the grease again.


The cut side of the fleece has short fibers (about 1/4") evenly distributed throughout. They are not second cuts (a second cut is created when the shearer goes over the sheep's skin a second time to get a closer shave, and they make nasty little bumps in the yarn if not picked out). In the past, Shetlands grew double coats, with a short, soft warm fiber close to the body and longer, tougher fibers that discouraged insects and other bothersome things. They also lost their coat naturally each spring (called 'rooing'). I'm assuming, since this is a Shetland lamb's fleece, that it's a manifestation of the double-coat genetics and the new downy wool has begun to grow before the old wool is removed. I knew these were present when I bought the fleece and I knew it wouldn't be a problem to remove them with a few flicks of my dog comb.

And here's the start of the first bobbin. I'm shooting for a 3-ply yarn that will be Aran weight. I want to knit up Elizabeth Lovick's Swing Jacket. I've had the pattern for a couple of years and want to use handspun but haven't been able to find the right fleece until now. I have to be careful with natural colored fleeces, the suntanned tips of the wool often lend a yellow tone to the yarn that just doesn't go with my complexion. This fleece spins up a nice taupe color, just perfect for me!

And just because it makes me happy to have a groundhog-free garden, FINALLY!

Lookit! Peas and beans that are growing, not eaten to nothing.

Lettuce and kohlrabi growing and not eaten to the ground!!

It's enough of a buzz to teach the animals that they don't want to be there, but not so much that it would harm humans. Nevertheless, we have signs for the folks who have to investigate those two lower wires by grabbing them.