I have the great fortune to be a member of the RI Spinning Guild. This Saturday we met for our monthly meeting. We had a great time spinning, socializing and, of course , eating the many goodies that we bring.At this meeting Judy gave us a challenge. See the raw Border Leicester fleece in the picture above? We have the task of deciding how to process, comb and spin the two colors. I need your collective wisdom. Any ideas about what you would do with my bounty? The usual thoughts come to mind.....wash preserving the lock structure and spin from the lock, spin in the grease using the wheel, wash then card and spin on a spindle. Then there are all the color questions such as blending the two colors using hand cards or spinning each color separately and to make a rag yarn. By the way, the fleece comes from Barbara T at Seldom Seen Farm.
Give me your thoughts.......................
Out and About:
Cathy's mixing roving that look interesting.
Laurie's got 1700 feet of sweater-worthy Coopworth spun on one bobbin.
ELizabeth's working on spinning silk on her spindle and pale beast on the bobbin.
Margene's whipping up a War of the Whorls
4 comments:
I wouldn't spin in the grease, not ever. I'd put the fleece in net garment bags, put hot water in the washing machine and let it soak. Spin it dry and take it out before you fill the washing machine again so no water pours onto it - you don't want felt. Use Dawn detergent for two washes and then two or three rinses. BL isn't as greasy as merino but you don't want residual oils. After you wash it, rinse it in a vinegar water bath to restore the softness. BL has a wonderful luster but not much crimp. If it were me, I'd run it one pass through on my drum carder with both colors and only one time so the colors don't get blended. It will have a heathery look. I'd spin it long draw on my Lendrum. That's what I would do.
Blogger is being silly & not letting me post !!
Love the fleece you have and as that looks so black I personally would not want to blend it .
I have a few 'curlies' in my fleece stash which I love but I always have a dilema with them . Do I lose the curl or not ?
Re washing fleece , if they are very smelly I have to wash them even if my two dogs love them & will try and steal some !!.
I like the idea of the rag rug and keeping the colour separate
Look forward to see what you decide to do with it
Oh boy. I think that even though marled yarn has specific uses, I would preserve both fleeces' colors. Wash separately, card separately (or comb), spin separately, ply together.
Sample first to see if it does it for you.
no thoughts, i just wanna shove my fingers in it :-)
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