There's nothing quite like it; the call of the fleece, that is. You know it when you've been bitten by the fleecelove. It's so hard to resist. So maybe you've learned to spin and now you want to start from scratch. It's a great place to start! There's something so organic about starting with raw fleece. But, you might have some questions. I'm here for you.
Selecting a good fleece can be daunting if you don't know what to look for. Keeping a few key things in mind will make fleece selection easier. So let's say this is your first fleece. Awesome. For first-timers, fleece prep is much more rewarding if good quality medium wools are selected. I would recommend Corriedale, Romney, Finn- or something with a staple length of 3-4 inches for beginning spinners.
Fine wools like Merino, Cormo, or Rambouillet are much more time consuming to scour due to the the fine crimp and excess grease particular to finer wools. Obviously if you are looking for fleece with the utmost durability for weaving a rug, you'll want something coarse and with a long staple. But for our purposes here, let's assume you just want to jump into preparing a medium soft fleece for spinning a variety of yarns.
There are many reputable fleece sellers to be found on Etsy and Ravelry. Personally, I can't resist the pull of the fleece sales at festivals like Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and Rhinebeck. It is important to me to really inspect my purchase. That being said, there are definitely online fleece suppliers I trust, but the ideas herein are geared more toward selecting your fleece in person.
If price matters, you can begin to narrow your selection down by pulling a few medium wool fleeces that are in your price range. Don't be surprised if you fall in love with fleece that is above your price range. That's practically a guarantee! Don't lose heart, though. Friends are often willing to go in together to split the cost of a prize fleece.
Once you have narrowed your selection, ask to examine the whole fleece by unrolling it. It should smell nice and sheepy. You don't want a musty smelling fleece. Here's what you're on the look-out for:
A skirted fleece in which all of the vegetable matter, dung tags, etc. has already been removed is ideal. However, many great quality fleeces have not been skirted. The key is to avoid buying a fleece with excessive amounts of vegetable matter or debris like burrs, hay, thorns, whatever barnyard riff-raff that finds it's tangled way into the fleece. If you don't have access to a picker for the removal of VM, expect to spend a lot of time removing debris by hand. You cannot card it out...carding just breaks up the VM and spreads it throughout the fleece! If you don't mind combing and want to prepare your washed fleece in a worsted fashion, then go for it. Just make sure the price reflects the condition of the fleece. You have the option to choose a fleece that has worn a coat to protect it from VM, but expect to pay more for a coated fleece.
Second cuts. You don't want a fleece with very short fibers left behind when the shearer makes a second pass after not shearing close enough the first time around. When fleece is sold by the pound, no need to pay for a bunch of unusable second cuts wrapped in.
While the fleece is still spread out, inspect a staple from several areas of the fleece to check its integrity. Look for relatively even crimp and unmatted locks. Give the locks a gentle tug. If the tips are weathered and break, you may want to avoid this fleece because the final yarn may show strains in the form of pilling.
Look for stains like canary stains caused by bacterial growth and combined secretions from the animal's oil and sweat glands. Canary stain will affect the color of the fleece more than the integrity. Bacterial overgrowth can be a factor in fleece rot and can be identified by green, blue, brown, even orange or pink discoloration.
Scurf is the presence of skin flakes in the fleece. Scurf is much more visible in dark fleeces. It looks like dandruff and is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to remove. Steer clear of the scurf!
So there you go! Enough info to start diving in.
There's such beauty in natural fleece prepared by you!
Hopefully, these initial tips will have you well on your way to selecting your very own fleece! Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, held May 5-6, 2012, has a terrific array of fleece to choose from. If you are ready to take the plunge, I invite you to consider joining a group of like minded fiber enthusiasts on Monday May 7th at the DragonFly Fiber Studios in Kensington, Maryland for the Fleece U workshop. Bring your fleece and we will hold your hand through the whole process from skirting and scouring to carding, combing and dyeing fleece. It's always a party at the clubhouse. Hope you join us! Details
here!
I have spent the most wonderful few weeks in Maui. I know...I can't believe it either! So unlike this conservative chic. Here's the deal. I have the most amazing husband. He has cherished me from the moment we met. I realize how huge this is. I am incredibly blessed and every moment I appreciate it. So, on the occasion of our 25th wedding anniversary, he had some big plans in store. He hinted around a bit about going somewhere crazy, but was met with my gazillion objections like: " Most people celebrating 25 years of marriage are in a totally different position. They have a couple kids, maybe 19 and 21 years old. You, know, self sufficient. Not 4 years old! Or 5! Or 8! Or 11 even! Definitely NOT 7 kids to make arrangements for! It ain't easy, friend. But on the other hand, here I have this hardworking, amazing, thoughtful man proposing a very long trip free from the day to day schtuff. Every day is so full, it was hard for me to even imagine adding something so outrageous into the mix. I know, crazy, right? But really, I thrive on simplicity. I don't need much to make me happy. I'm already so incredibly grateful for my life. Yet, above all I do know that life is a precious gift and we need to celebrate every last moment. This man o' mine? He knows this better than me even. He just went and planned all this. I am still shocked by the enormity of it all.
He is a kind and loving and generous man. Gifts are his love language. He wanted to show me what 25 years meant to him. So, here it is.
Black Rock. This is the view from our balcony. People jump off Black Rock all day long. According to Hawaiin legend, the spirits of warriors left the earth to meet their ancestors by leaping from this rock. I wasn't ready to meet any ancestors. No leaping from me. Also, the snorkling around this large black lava rock that divides Ka'anapali Beach in half is amazing because the rock is almost completely encrusted in coral.
We had some cool adventures. Here is a photo from the potentially hazardous Haleakala volcano.
Ever wondered what the inside of a volcano looks like? Here ya go:
Notice, at 10,ooo feet elevation, the volcano is above the clouds! Pretty cool stuff.
We also traveled the Road to Hana. Yes, it is every bit as breath-taking and terrifying as people say. Those tiny windy cliff hanging roads are scary! The views are beautiful. We stopped to hike the rain forest to Twin Falls. Yup, I swam under a waterfall!
Here are some other views along the way.
Lots of gorgeous waterfalls!
From a cave on a black sand beach...
I wish the camera could have captured the absolutely turquoise waves.
We sailed on a catamaran out to the island of Lana'i to one of the top 10 private beaches in the world to snorkle and picnic. This company was da bomb!
We saw tons of dolphins and a seaturtle. This was the little seaport town of Lahaina from which we sailed.
Of course, we had to experience this!
It was cheesy, but whatev. We had fun!
There were tons of these:
I think I saw more rainbows than I have in a lifetime.
But these just might be what I remember most.
Here's to the next 25 years!
Mahala~
