A fine fleece

Two types of fiber, side by side

Or not

When the fleece came off the ewe in March, it shone silver gray and lustrous in the sun. I was definitely tempted to take it home then and there, but I had sworn a pact to myself that I would not bring home another fleece. I said, no. 

Later, the fleece came up in a discussion among friends and one immediately offered to split it with me. The fleece came home.

Determined not to let it sit for months, I immediately scoured it using Beth Smith's Simple and Mostly Quick method. When it was dry, I set to work carding it with visions of spinning in my mind.

Gnarly black fibers

A silk purse, it isn't

Were I more experienced, I surely would have recognized the problem, but I'm not and I didn't. 

Putting it through the carder was hard. The licker filled and the drums locked. I attributed it to poor fiber prep and spent too much time going through the fleece, pulling it apart and trying to release any sticky bits with a small comb. 

And I kept trying. But even with all the prep and  four passes through the carder, there were still lots and lots of gnarly, nubby black bits. Clearly, the fleece would not be suitable for handspinning. But what is the problem?

That was when I stepped back and examined the locks very carefully. At the base of most of the locks was a snaggly clump of black fiber. It was extremely hard to separate from the locks. Pulling on a lock did not separate it. Rather, the fibers locked together and felt like wire. I didn't have the black fiber tested, but it looked and felt much coarser than the gray fiber. (Note: These were different from the dark fibers in the photo at top right.)

Gnarls in carded batt

I took photos and shared them, along with questions, with more knowledgable spinners. 

Turns out the ewe was double-coated. She shouldn't have been. But she was. And, interestingly, double-coated sheep are typically described as having a longer, coarse outer coat and a short fine undercoat. This is the exact opposite. The outer coat is long and fine and the undercoat, coarser. Some obscure, long recessive gene had clearly expressed itself. 

Now what?

I finished carding what seemed the most suitable, cutting the base of the locks with scissors. I still have gnarls throughout the batts. And I now have a lot of carded batts with gnarls. Maybe a felting project is in my future?

I didn't even try to card the coarser black fibers. But I didn't throw them away, either. More next week.

Spinning prep

Handcarding? Been there. Done that. 

Carded batts ready for spinning

If you've carded on hand carders, you know. It is time consuming. Yes, it's important to know how to do it and, yes, some people like the process of doing it. I like to do it for about five minutes. Then, I'm ready to move on.

To speed up my fiber prep, I bought a drum carder made by David Barnett in Sussex, UK long ago. It's a beauty! Shame on me that I let it languish for so number of years. I even gave it away, but with a string attached, so I didn't lose access. Although I've been spinning more than ever, I never expected to need to card wool again. Silly me.

It happened quite by accident. The last shorn ewe at Winter's Past Farm this spring was spectacular. (There is a photo in my blog.) Kris had given me first dibs on it, but I turned it down. However, when I mentioned it to a spinner friend, she offered to split the fleece with me. And now I have half a fleece so, yes, I'll be carding wool this summer.

Renewing a friendship

David Barnett drum carder

I remember buying the drum carder at a large wool show in  England, almost certainly during a study time with Mabel Ross, doyenne of spinning and author of The Essentials of Handspinnning and other spinning books. But it's been a while--a long while. Sadly, more detailed memory of using my drum carder is sketchy. 

After borrowing back the drum carder, I put some raw wool on the feeder tray and turned the handle. The drums rotated as they should but the belt skipped. Something was wrong, but I couldn't see it. How lucky I am to have a  resident mechanical detective. Maurice quickly.figured it out and now, after a good cleaning and some oil, it works perfectly. (We used light weight, non-petroleum-based Ballistol oil.)

I wanted a little more intimate experience with it so I prepped some dyed Coopworth locks that were in my stash. I had a good laugh when I pulled out my 'dog comb' and found it labeled with the price. £1.95. Clearly it was not a near-recent purchase! 

I used the comb, which is shown in the lower right photo, to open up the tips of the locks and any other tight parts before putting it on the feeder. And now I have some lovely batts to spin.

Lock of fleece: Before and after combing open the tips of the locks.

Left, top: Carded wool on the drum                                                Right: Fiber ready for second pass into carder

Middle: wool on feeder tray ready for licker

Bottom: Unprepared locks