An unfinished project

There's been lots of discussion on the Spin List of late on Bluefaced Leicester fleece and how wonderful it is to spin. Actually, it was the first roving that I bought when I was learning and it really got me hooked on spinning. I bought my roving from Copper Moose and can recommend them highly. Their fibers are wonderful, the prices are good, and the service is excellent.

BFL is a long and lustrous fiber that spins like butter, and it feels good against the skin. A while back I bought two lamb fleeces from Robina Koenig of Tumble Creek Farm. I washed them when they arrived, but thought that I had felted the butt ends so I hadn't done much with them since. All the discussion made me go get them out of storage and I sat down to really take a closer look. These fleeces have so much crimp, that when I would try to pull some locks out, it would make the cut ends tangle together in a knot. This morning, I very carefully began at one edge and pulled out individual locks, combing the tip and butt ends with Bailey's grooming comb. It's a slow process, but looks like I'm going to be able to use just about everything with very little waste. The fleeces were beautiful, clean, and well skirted, so it wasn't a problem with that. The problem was my impatience and inexperience in washing them. I really should have taken the time to do smaller batches. You could probably equate it with washing an afro. I'm just going to to have to chalk it up to a learning experience and look forward to spinning the final product some time in the future (this is going to take a LONG time). In the meantime, here are some pictures of "Mab" and "Piper". Sorry but I've forgotten which is which.


Fleece 1 - Notice that the locks on this one are longer, thicker, and with a little less crimp than the other fleece. This one will be easier to card so I'm saving it for last when my resolve may be running low.


Fleece 2 - This was actually the first one I washed and is the more matted of the two. Add that to the fact that the locks are a little shorter, finer, and with more crimp, and I'll be working on this for a long time. This shot really shows how fiber practically glows.


This is my original sample showing some washed locks and carded fiber.


This is a batt that I carded on my Louet Jr. drumcarder. I'm having a hard time not jumping in and spinning it!