October a month of Fibre Frenzy

The last month has been a real fibre treat, for since coming home after the Masham Sheep Fair, life as been one long round of fleece, fibre and spinning - absolute heaven, although Mr S might not be quite so enamored with the pile of fleeces that adorn the sitting room as I am....

I came home with three fleeces, the beautiful Border Leicester, a dreamy Llanwenog and a prize winning White Faced Woodland, all bargains, although not skirted at all - obviously Yorkshire generosity - your fleece, so your poo too!

Border Leicester

Llanwenog

 Then I was lucky enough to buy one of Pickwickflock's superb Cotswold fleeces

Cotswold Fleece

The Border Leicester, Cotswold and Llanwenog have all been shared with littlemarchhare, who in return kindly shared with me a super black Corriedale lamb's fleece.

Black Corriedale X

Which I couldn't resist washing, combing and spinning asap - the fleece was a delight to work with, despite the large mount of hay!

Black Corriedale spun skein

Then she generously gave me some more, this was already washed, what a lovely friend she is!  This is now combed and ready to spin....


Earlier this year we had been lucky to get one of bowmontmad's BoDo lambs, and so impressed were we, we just had to have some more - so another half fleece came my way.....

BoDo

After all this fleece washing, I felt that I was entitles to some spinning and was lucky enough to spot an announcement on Ravelry in the UK Spinners Forum, it read -

'......this Saturday, 2nd November The Guild of Longdraw Spinners is having a Celebration of Spinning event at Stoke Albany Church & Hall, Ashley Road,Stoke Albany, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 8PL from 10.30 - 4.30pm......' all were welcome it seemed......


This seem to good an opportunity, so a quick email to Chris, who was up for a day out - we'd go!  Mr S was busy playing trains all weekend, so what could have been a lonely day sat spinning alone, was turned into the most brilliant spinning day!

I did do a quick check on the distance, and times varied between 2 and 2 and a half hours - so not close, but all motorway, so very do-able.

We set off around 8am and were driving into the Church car park just after 10.30am - we were definitely in the right place, people were unloading spinning wheels from the back of cars!  We had arrived...

Well what a welcome we got, it seemed that we were the only visitors which was a shame. because they missed a real treat.  We had been worried that previous experiences with Guilds might be repeated - you know 'the hello, welcome, make yourself at home' and then nothing!  Everyone, and I mean everyone, made us so welcome - wheels were examined and ooo'd and aaaa'd over.  My Bliss was admired, and in returned I drooled over a couple a 'new to me' wheels, whose names to my shame I cannot remember!  After coffee and biscuits the serious business of spinning began.  My longdraw is abysmal but there was help aplenty, particularly from Colin and Michael (Sheersheep) who were amazingly patient with my feeble attempts - but I came good in the end and here is my very first skein done longdraw - nice and bouncy and very light and airy, just as it should be!

My very first longdraw skein - spun with my Not Clun

We noticed that there were a lot of people using blending boards, and as it is something we have thought about experimenting with we were very interested to see them in action!  Then Katrina sat crossed leg on the floor in front of us and demonstrated - in no time at all she had produced some darling little rolags/punis which I am loathed to spin they are so cute!

After a morning of spinning came lunch, well lunch wasn't a sandwich and coffee sort of affair, this was a super-duper, three course banquet, soup, various quiches, samosas, cheeses etc, and a pie from a medieval recipe (or should I say receipt?) followed by apple crumble and custard, and of course, coffee and tea - what a spread with everyone sat at a long table set up down the middle of the room!

After lunch Chris and I went across to the Church where the Guild's Great Wheel was set up with medieval music playing in the background!  The conversation soon turned to spinners of old and the differences between the north and south soon became apparent - with the Wiltshire broad cloth needing more spinners per weaver, than those in the northern counties!  No doubt this thread will rumble on....

Then back to the hall for more spinning, and hand smacking from Micheal as he tried to stop me from holding my yarn to tight - but all done in good fun!  At the back of the room there were examples of members projects, the most amazing sweater, done I think from Jacob's fleece, was the star for me.

Chris and I had agreed that if things didn't go too well, we could always leave early - no chance, we weren't the last, but we definitely weren't the first to leave....

The journey home was wet and windy, but nothing could dash our spirits!

GOLDS you put other Guilds to shame - thank you and we hope to come up again in the New Year and in hopefully better weather!

You get a GOLD STAR!

Even the Sparrows are Walking....

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the topic, I heard the phrase on Radio 4 in relation to the 'Great Storm' and just loved the image that it conjures up!

What I thought I would do is share is the method I use to wash fleece - I keep linking this to a project on Ravelry and not everyone is a member of Ravelry apparently....  strange I know!

So for those who haven't discovered the wonders of the knitting community here is how I wash my fleeces, with the credit for this method going to littlemarchhare - thanks for sharing!

First, perhaps the most time consuming part is pulling the locks preparatory for the process to begin

In this exercise I am washing a BoDo fleece, BoDo is a cross between a Bowmont and a Poll Dorset so all the softness of the Bowmont, but some of the crimp of the Dorset, really nice!  This one is perhaps a bit more Bowmont than Dorset than the one that I got earlier this year, but a really nice fleece all the same - and it came from bowmontmad on Ravelry.

It is easy to see the locks and you grab hold of the tip while supporting the butt, and pull so that you end up with lots of lovely locks

These are then put into a double envelope of mesh (the sort that is sold in my Pound-land for cooking frozen chips upon..)

Three sheets have been sewn together along one of the long edges and the locks then get laid in each layer and the other three edges are closed with nappy pins.

I usually fill two of these and generally I packed in more locks, it really doesn't seem to matter whether they are spread out or not!

Then into a tray of near boiling water with two squirts of Power Scour and pummel the fleece with a potato masher - you can be quite firm with this bit, and it helps if you turn the envelope over and squidge again

I use a cheap roasting tray available at most supermarkets (the other tray is for the moment a cat litter tray, but it does get a bit wobbly so I am going to get another roasting tray when I have enough vouchers for a freebie!)


Then it is transfered into the second tray, same near boiling water, but with a squirt of ECover Washing Liquid and squidged again with the masher.

Once both envelopes have been through the two trays, they are emptied and refilled with clean near boiling water for rinsing, one with just water and the other two squirts of Unicorn Fibre Rinse or ECover fabric conditioner.  Squidging the fleece with the masher in both trays - remove the envelopes (for this I use small butcher hooks through the nappy pins - because the water is really really hot!)

I then allow the envelopes to drip for about half and hour to get the worst of the water out or you can put the envelopes between a towel and press, there is no hard and fast rule over this part............

Then lay out the washed locks to dry - in the summer this would be in the sun - at this time of the year I lay them out indoors by the window.

Once dry you have lovely locks perfect for combing

into nests ready for spinning

It might seem to be a lot of work, and for speed I have been known to wash in much larger quantities putting the fleece into mesh washing bags, but at the end of the washing you still have to separate the locks if you are going to comb your fleece - with this method the locks are ready to go..

Another small problem is that it seems to be impossible to get Power Scour now here in the UK - not sure why, but it just isn't available - and believe me I have tried (please if anyone knows of a supplier please, please let me know). I know lots of people use a cheap washing up liquid, but this I have found does strip the fleece of all the natural oils and makes it feel very dry and crisp. 

There is an Australian product called Fibre Scour which contains Tea Tree Oil and Lemon Myrtle which I tried today, but it seemed to leave a film of oil on the rinsing water, so am reserving judgment until after I have combed these locks.

I have also tried with ECover Pomegranate and Grapefruit Washing up Liquid, and I think the results were similar to the Aussie Fibre Scour, so I may try the ECover Chamomile and Marigold which just might be less astringent than those based on citric fruits.

So there you are - my way of washing fleece...............

One Day at a time......

I am a day late, not for the first time, for a Woolly Wednesday............  My excuse is that yesterday was such a lovely sunny day Mr S and I went for a walk rather than say indoors!

August was a month of spinning and dyeing, the only knitting project I had on the go, fell lost and forgotten under a chair until discovered covered in Molly's hairs and only partially on the needles.........  So I frogged and started over again as part of the holiday KAL on 12shawls4ever!

So spinning and dyeing - some of the dyeing was of the natural kind for samples on the SpinDyeWeavers display.

Marigold and Eucalyptus produced paler than expected shades, but the Marigold was the best - a really beautiful pale yellow here on some Falkland Merino.

I am still collecting petals for another dye bath as I think that this is one of nicest colours I have got from nature.

Dyeing silk, is very satisfying, the colours really sing out, but I have got the best results using Procion dyes which seem to penetrate the silk better than acid dyes!  But which ever, the results are stunning, well I think so!

Golden Rain

This is one of my favourites, acid dyed with lots of white, this 50grams is enough for a shawl.

Dark Summer Morning

Continuing with the luxury theme I ordered 500 grams of Superfine Merino and Mulberry Silk 50/50 from World of Wool - wow what a fabulous fibre, so silky soft it almost drafts itself

This is the first bobbin, the second is done and I shall 2ply tonight.  I have fractal spun this, so with luck it won't be too barber pole.

Actually I haven't spent the entire month spinning, there has been the ongoing/never ending fleece washing!  But by washing using littlemarchhare's method it hasn't been that onerous.

Every morning I wash two envelopes and hang out to dry, in the afternoon I 'try' to comb the day before's washed fleece!  I have slipped a bit, but for the most part this method is working and I have lots of lovely fibre nests waiting to be spun

Also washed is some Dorset Down, Poll Dorset and Exmoor Horn samples kindly donated for the display table by David and Ruth Wilkins of Rampisham Hill Farm. I have been lucky enough to source some Clun Forest, Border Leicester from this year's clip and have been promised some Blue de Maine from next years!  But as according to the British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) there are 86 distinct British breeds so we still have a long way to go!

Great Expectations, unfulfilled..............

Imagine a chocolate coated Bond - no not the Martini drinking spy, but a sheep, whose fleece is chocolate in colour and has worn a coat to keep the fleece clean and free from debris.................

Bond is an Australian sheep created when Thomas Bond mated a Saxon-Peppin Merino ewes to stud Lincoln rams to improve the wool. I don't need to go into the background you can 'Google' Bond sheep and get all the same information as me!  Anyway we don't have Bond here in the UK, so of course it became a must have fleece!  I wanted to find out what all the hype was about, especially as I had never spun from a coated fleece, so last year I ordered a kilo of fawn Bond as part of a group purchase organised through the UK Fleece group on Ravelry.

It has been a long wait and along the way the SpinDyeWeavers had the opportunity to purchase a chocolate fleece.  Then it failed to arrive in the UK, then it was in Amsterdam and finally after 4 months at sea the fleeces arrived - I arranged to collect at Fibre East along with my Fawn - excitement was growing.

Last Saturday was the day - we spread out the fleece, its a phone photo so not the best, but take my word it was a big fleece 3.4kg and not cheap................

 

 

It was divided up between the six of us and it did involve a lot of crawling around and I believe that some derrieres were a trifle stiff on Sunday! 

In total fairness we all got two bags, the not so good stuff and the better - well Sunday I sat down to sort though my share and I really thought that there had been a mix up and I had got two bags of the 'not so good', but not the case - so all my great expectations were dashed....

I did expect some felting from the coat, but quite a lot is very felted, bent right over and bleached - which according to Judith McKenzie this could be because the coats weren’t change soon enough.

A goodly part of the fleece looked like this and when you pull a lock this what you get

You can see how dry and brittle the tips are and when you flick them they just break off! Remember this is from the better bag!

There are some locks which do live up to expectations, but not a lot (and these were on the top of the bag!!!)  However, in these locks  there is a lighter part running through the fleece! This lighter bit breaks as you pull the locks and would indicate that the sheep was stressed at this point (again as per Judith McK).

The shorter hairy fleece is quite coarse and not what I expected from a 25 micron fleece. There are a lot of second cuts, some VM and fleece encrusted with poo!

When in comes to preparing the fleece the felted ends make pulling the locks very hard which means there is a lot more waste than I normally get with a fleece - all this and more!

These are the two sample skeins that I have spun - the top is from the shorter locks and is quite coarse, the other from the longer ones, softer but there isn't much of this.............

At the moment I don't know whether I shall even bother with the 'not so good' fleece, if the better was so disappointing I am sure that the other lot will be even worse!

I have come to the conclusion that we are completely spoilt with Yvonne Hoskins's beautiful fleeces - yes they aren't coated so there is a bit of debris, but she skirts her fleeces so well that there is no poo and the quality is second to none!

At Fibre East I talked to Michael Churchmouse and he told me I would be disappointed with the Bond and he was so right - from now on I will stick to good ol' British fleece

Fleeces here, there and everywhere...............

Over the last couple of years I have bought far too many fleeces and then what with the Paralympics I got Mr S to put them in the loft in an attempt to forget the task ahead, and then last weekend despite declaring loudly to any one in hearing distance 'that I don't need/what another fleece I caved in and bought another one.

This one is a beautiful Wensleydale X from Yvonne Hoskins

and it must be good because Molly spent nearly an hour rolling and grooming amongst the dirty smelly fleece!  Interestingly she is only interested in unwashed fleece - never rolls in clean fleece

which I can leave out to dry all day and she completely ignores them

This one of the poor forgotten 2011 fleeces (another Merino X from Yvonne) and this only got a sniff from Molly so obviously the newer the fleece the greater the attraction for her............... this one I washed yesterday before the Men's Singles Final which by the way if you aren't aware MURRAY WON!

Today Mr S went up into the loft, where hanging in a row like in an abattoir, were five poor unloved and unwashed fleeces - well they aren't there now four are here and the fifth is already in the wash!

There is a Black Welsh Mountain and three Merino X's. As I am not washing these for combing I put these into mesh bags and plunged them in hot water with Power Scour, hotter than the bare hand can take and submerged with a potato masher.

Then into the spin dyer to get rid of all the dirty water ready for a rinse, again in very hot water. Fortunately we have a wet room so I can and do splash and slop water all over the place.

These trays are from Ikea, originally drawers for their Pax wardrobes (but they had silly plastic runners which broke and were long ago replaced with better wooden ones) and are the perfect size for the large mesh laundry bags.   Another spin and then out in the sun to dry.  So far in this gorgeous weather we are experiencing I have washed three fleeces and 100grams of Stein (Shetland/Gotland X bought at Unravel), spun 230grams of Polwarth and watched far too much sport on TV...............

This one will be drum carded and made into rouers (this is what Liz Northern Lace calls them) for my Tour de Fleece challenge (this day the riders go twice up Alpe d'Huez) on July 18th - long draw............

Take one greasy fleece.......

Having had the most wonderful weather here for the last week I decided to make use of the excellent drying weather to wash some fleeces.

Most I did in a regular way - hot water, power scour, rinse, spin and dry!  But for one part of the Texel fleece acquired last week I tried a new method to me.  Dyeing a greasy fleece - sounds a bit crazy but I was assured that it worked.


Here's the Recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Greasy Fleece
A good slug of Vinegar
Five squirts of Power Scour
2 litres of warm water or to cover the fleece
Dye Powder in colours of choice

Method:

First take a large pan put about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, add a good slug of vinegar and detergent of choice (I used Power Scour because I like it, but washing up liquid works or so I am told)  then top up with warmish water and submerged your fleece so that the water just covers the fleece when you press it down.

This roasting pan I bought in T...o and it just fits into my oven and on top of my little two ring electric hot plate.

Once the fleece is in the pan sprinkle dry dye powder over the fleece, leaving quite a lot of white.  I used a teaspoon of Landscape dye in three colours, Wombat, Wild Raspberry and Broome.  First I tried to cook it on the stove top.....

But I couldn't get an even simmer, so I popped into the oven (covered with kitchen foil) at 180C for 45mins.

 

After 45mins I left the pan in the oven to cool down until it was cool enough to handle, then rinsed using water at the same temperature as the fleece .

Here's the finished fleece clean and dyed and drying in the sun.  The water left in the pan was dirty and all the dye had been absorbed so I didn't add more fleece as the original instructions suggest.

But it worked and the fleece is ready to card or even just to flick the ends and spin from the lock!  Not sure that I would want to use this method on a really soft and expensive fleece - I am a bit of a fleece snob in that respect, I like to wash lock by lock and comb my more expensive purchase, but for a everyday fleece it is a super way of processing a greasy fleece.

I'm in love......

and who could resist?

These two adorable lambs are Valais Sheep from Switzerland and and unbelievably the adults are just as gorgeous - it was love at first sight.

I want a fleece even though it is very coarse and only suitable for carpets! I want one of those even though I have just been given a Blue-faced Leicester fleece.........