The rest of the table has other things on it: paperwork, dyed tops, tools of various kinds and even a little bit of free space.This pile is the small bags of fleece I've bought for my Certificate Spinning course. We've been learning different spinning techniques in each class. Each technique is best done with a different fleece type. Starting next class we're going to be looking at different fibres--that means fibres other than wool. So I've got two different types of alpaca and some mohair as well.
My first challenge is to keep it all straight in my head. I'm learning to identify the different fleece types, but for now I'm also making sure that I label each bag. My next challenge is to wash it all. The wool needs to be scoured to get rid of the lanolin as well as any dirt--and you can see there's a lot of dirt in some of the fleeces. The alpaca is best washed with shampoo or wool wash, since it doesn't have any grease, but it has lots of dust in it. And I need to be absolutely brutal with the mohair--apparently the dishwashing detergent I use for my wool won't budge the "greasy goat" residue that is in this fibre. It may be a luxury fibre after it's prepared, but until then I've been told to wash it in "handy andy" or "white king"--stuff I'd normally associate with cleaning the bathroom!
So, today while I get on with the damask weaving, I'll be doing some washing.
2 comments:
hehehehe... just as well there's no cashmere in there or we really would think it had been breeding like bunnies! :)
Bunny fluff is coming up later in the course... in the meanwhile the only bunnies multiplying at my house are dust bunnies. If only I could learn to spin them up nicely!
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