Fluffy gets a wash

So this is day 1 of the 'Fluffy Project'. 

Yesterday I collected Fluffy's fleece from her owner. I had a lovely time finding out about the sheep, their story of being raised on a Lancashire farm, and what was planned for the fleece. As it was pouring with rain, I left Fluffy in the car overnight. 

Today is a lovely sunny summer's day, so I got Fluffy fleece out of the car and laid it out to inspect it. 

Now comes the hard bit, being patient and waiting for the water to cool. 

What a beautiful fleece this is. It's so soft and so clean. What an honour to work with it. Having laid it out fully, I have decided to prepare it in chunks rather than all at once. 

Next to assess the wool. I know it comes from a cross bred sheep. There's some mule, blue faced Leicester and who knows what else in the heritage. The staple ranges from 4 inches to 8 inches.

 Picture shows 8" staple.

There is some crimp in the staple, which I will look at under a microscope to ensure I know what twist would be best for the fibre.

Next comes the cleaning. Using my regular cleaning materials (hot water and washing up liquid with a drop of vinegar) I put a section of the fleece in to soak, taking care not to agitate it too much, I don't want it to felt. 

Next comes the hard bit, waiting for the water to cool before a series of rinsing cycles occur. Once clean, the fleece will be left to dry naturally before I card it into Rolags (cylindrical tubes of fibre containing lots of air). 

Once I have lots of Rolags I will be able to start spinning. The next instalment of this blog will pick up the story where I've left off....