Current Projects Now That School is Out.

OMG!  Thank the Universe that school is out.  This has been one of the hardest years for me in teaching.  Now begins ten weeks of rest and Fiber Projects.

I started a spinning class this month and that has opened many new doors.  The only problem now choosing between knitting or spinning.

My spinning teacher recommended that I go to Black Sheep Gathering, my first ever fiber festival. Of course, I did and ended up spending way too much money.  My goal is to go from fleece, to yarn, to finished product.  The problem I experienced when I was down there was which fleece and how much.  My instructor told me what to look for in a good fleece and what types were good for beginners.  Anyway, I couldn't make up my mind and several fleeces that I was interested in were nabbed.  I finally cornered a volunteer who knew her stuff and recommended a really nice fleece.  It's ten pounds of Romney Coopworth cross.  It's a fab charcoal grey.  Here it is in all of is stinky greasy glory.

Well, I then thought that I should get two different types of wool just in case.  So, I bought six pounds of Corriedale.  Here's a shot of it.

Well, then there came the issue of how the hell am I going to process all of this wool.  Enter the drum carder.  So, now I'm set.  However, I still have to clean all of this wool.

I was very worried about this process.  There is a ton of information out there about the "correct" way to clean fleece.  I decided on separating the locks and putting them into mesh bags and do all of the cleaning in the washing machine.  I was surprised at how easy this was.  Also, everyone was correct about sheep being really dirty.  This is a really clean fleece and the wash water was GROSS!

Anyway, here are the lovely clean locks drying.  Hopefully, they will be ready for the drum carder tomorrow.