So… maybe going from 0-120 mph isn’t a good idea… but I thought it might be fun. My job has produced a lot of worry recently (potential layoffs), so I’ve been doubling down on spinning and experimenting with fiber. It’s my stress relief!
I procured a few inexpensive fleeces to add to my ‘practice’ collection. I bought a few Churro fleeces and one Shetland-Cheviot-Finn mix Sheep. It appears I started with the latter, and that’s probably a good thing *hahaha*
I opened the smallest of the bags, not knowing which was which, and spent last Saturday washing the fleece with Power Scour. THAT was a fun process, which I guess I should have documented. Even though I think the fleece was relatively small, I did it in four batches, and they seemed to come out pretty nicely – no smell remains, and the water was pretty clear after the final rinse. Didn’t do much for the VM I hadn’t removed yet, but what would you expect…
So, here is the washed fleece:
LOTS of vegetable matter that I’m hoping to remove with the Viking Combs… We’ll see if *that* works.
And here it is, flicked open and combed with Viking Combs. I decided it would be fun to spin as is, without turning into roving…
And here is my attempt at reasonably even spinning. It’s not, but I think once it’s plied it will actually be interesting to use. There has been a decent amount of VM to pick out while spinning (as you can see above), but that actually has added enjoyably to the challenge. I’m SURE I’m violating every rule of good spinning out there, but I don’t care – I’m having fun. I will probably wash each single to remove the small amount of VM that’s on top (even when I pull it off, it seems static or something often pulls it back on, but I’m sure it’ll come right off with a good shake or wash).
Splendiferous Knits 