I've Been Fleeced

I received much helpful advice on fleece puchasing from my previous query - I thank you all. Once again, Adrian has proven that she is my spinning fairy godmother. After a nice email exchange, she packed up a box for me so I could get a sampling of different raw fleeces from her own stash. The box arrived Thurs, and I was so excited to open it. Adrian not only sent me little bundles of 4 different fleeces (including llama!) but all kinds of little baggies with fun stuff to play with blending, like silk noils, soy silk, some angora, and all kinds of other goodies - I am in awe of her kindness and generosity.

I set out to wash the bag you see above - about 6oz of raw Romney fleece. Here it is set free (and yes, it smells wonderful - rich, thick, sheepy scents - my husband thinks I'm a freak, but PumpkinBoy seemed to really enjoy seeing, smelling and touching the wool.)


A little pre picking and sorting later, I put it in a hot hot bath with a good dose of dish soap:

Ick. Pretty gross, huh? I would not recommend this to anyone who is easily freaked by some"natural" griminess. Luckily, that is not me.

I seem to have failed to take a picture of the cleaned wool prior to carding (WTF!?), but here are two shots that reinforce the idea that if dirt and grime freak you out, you should not be doing this. Here is my leg after carding for a little while, as well as the paper towel I kept in my lap to protect my pants.




As I sat watching the BBC on PBS last night, (can I just say, I'm so glad they've started airing Coupling again - I adore this show, and was so sad when they pulled it so that American television could butcher it) I carded it all up, and here it is ready and waiting in fluffy little rolag clouds.