Some of the sheep:
The fleece, partly unfolded, pre-skirting and pre-washing:
And an alpaca, because they are cute too:
The fleece is in pretty good shape. It from last years shearing, so I need to get it skirted and washed, like, yesterday. So far so good though. It looks like they got the major poopy bits taken off so all I've been picking out so far is the really gross bits, VM, some feed corn (whatever, I guess someone was a sloppy eater), and really short cuts of wool that are just going to pill up. I've got the fist load already washed up and drying and it looks quite nice. I think it will need a second trip through the wash (I only did one wash and one rinse this time) and nearly all the yellowish color has come out leaving a nice snowy white fleece. The staple length is about 4 inches, and the crimp is very fine and tight, similar to the shetland I was working with for the Greenland hood, but the hairs are not as fine.
I think it will work up into a nice soft, lofty yarn. Right now, the plan is to drum card it and spin it with a short draw, aiming for a semi-worsted yarn. I'm not sure if I want to use this for knitting or weaving yet, or maybe some of both. I have enough, I should be able to some of both. The breed isn't a Medieval sheep, but I think for most things no one other than me (and maybe 4 other crazy people) will care, so I could use it for an SCA weaving project. Which means more singles for weaving. I'm not sure how the drum-carding will effect the yarns suitability for warp though, it seems like a semi-worsted yarn might not be a sturdy as a true worsted. I guess that's what wool-flavored jello is for!
I also got 8 ounces of really lovely alpaca sliver to make an ear-warmer headband thing for the Hubbs out of, and maybe some fingerless fliptop mittens as well, if he's really good. I HATE making gloves, the little finger holes are a huge PITA, but he really wants gloves he can text in. So, yeah. At least it's only half a finger. I love spinning alpaca. I've just got to do this thicker than the spiderweb lace I usually end up with when I spin alpaca on auto-pilot. Maybe a lower wheel ratio? That's been working well for me on my warps, I at least have to pay more attention to what I'm doing and not rely totally on feel.
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