New Fleeces from Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium: Shetland & Icelandic-cross Lamb

May 18, 2022 Emily Wallace Handwoven1 Comment

Other than the two fleeces from my own sheep, I hadn’t bought any other raw fleeces this year. Then, Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium had a fleece sale–but even then, I was good. I only bought two: a Shetland fleece and an Icelandic cross lamb fleece.

I started processing the Icelandic cross lamb fleece today, and processed a small sample from the larger Shetland fleece. It was super hot outside today (91 degrees was the high), so I took advantage of the sunshine and dried the whole Icelandic fleece outside in a couple of hours. Then I processed about 30 grams of it (via my drum carder) and spun a two-ply sample of about 33 yards of worsted weight.

I’m still hand carding the Shetland sample, but I should have a yarn sample spun up tomorrow if everything goes as planned. The Vet is coming to castrate Sean, my surprise ram lamb born in February, so that’ll be the first order of business in the morning (and not something I’m looking forward to.)

Punkie inspecting the fleeces upon arrival

Raw Fleece to Finished Object: Gulf Coast Native Table Runner

May 17, 2022 Emily Wallace Handwoven4 Comments

Yesterday, I was looking through some of my handspun yarn from last year’s Tour de Fleece and I found a skein of GCN yarn (raw fleece from Alchemy Farms, Gurley, AL) that I had slightly felted during the dyeing process. (Yarn had been naturally dyed with crushed annatto seeds). Knowing I couldn’t use it for clothing, I decided to weave a table runner with it and another small undyed GCN sample from the same fleece.

After measuring my coffee table to decide how long to weave the runner, I set up my 32″ Kromski Harp loom and began weaving. A few hours later, my table runner was finished, and another ‘raw fleece to finished object’ had been completed. My tension got a little uneven while progressing my work on the loom (something that I usually have control over), so one side is a little wider than the other. I think I could wet block it to even it out, but I’m not really too concerned since it’s for my personal use.

I’ve been moving at a snail’s pace this year, project-wise, but I’m hoping once my health issues improve, I can really move forward with my ’52+ projects a year’ goal.

Raw Fleece to Finished Object: “Olwen” (Icelandic/Balwen Welsh Mtn) Scarf

May 16, 2022 Emily Wallace Handwoven2 Comments

“Olwen” Icelandic/ Balwen Welsh Mtn (Ballyhoo Farms, KY; photo courtesy of Madeline Rosenberg)

I sampled one of Olwen’s fleeces back several months ago (I have two shearings from her) and knitted a small cowl/neck warmer with it, but I wanted to weave some of her yarn, which required me to process more of her fleece. (When I initially sample a fleece, I only process and spin enough for a small skein of yarn).

When I pulled some of her fleece from the bag, I noticed how clean it was and how little lanolin was in it, so I decided I would try to process this sample “in the grease” –no wash, scour, etc. I’m glad I tried it, because it saved me a lot of time in the long run. I didn’t have to scour and wait for the fleece to dry– I simple put the sample on my hand carders, combs, and then, drum carder. My wrists were starting to ache from combing, so I ended up using about 50 grams on my drum carder for the spun sample. The finished yarn was then scoured before I started weaving with it.

The yarn sample was a 2-ply, Sport weight–about 46 grams and 124 yards. I used a little less than the full skein for the woven scarf. In order to have enough yarn for this project, I chose to use a spaced warp/weft technique for an open weave scarf.

“Olwen” Raw Fleece processed in the Grease

Raw Fleece Sampling: “Fiona” from Brush Prairie Farms (Washington)

May 16, 2022 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

A few of the flock from Brush Prairie Farms (Washington)

During my trip to Washington last October, I visited Brush Prairie Farms— just up the road from the friends I was visiting in Brush Prairie Washington. I contacted the farmer, Tara, a month or so before my trip to see if she had any fleeces available for me to look at when I arrived and she graciously invited me to visit. I ended up buying nine fleeces from a variety of breeds and crosses–all of which Tara shipped to me in Alabama after I returned.

This particular fleece was from “Fiona” –a mystery breed sheep. Her fleece reminded me a little of Dorset Horn and Suffolk…either way it was a pleasure to spin.

Now, I have eight other Brush Prairie Farm fleeces left to sample…

Spinning Miniature Poodle Fur

May 11, 2022 Emily Wallace Handwoven2 Comments

I met a new friend when I was on a retreat in Tennessee this March who breeds Labradoodles in upstate NY (Adirondack Labradoodles). We got to talking about fiber arts and she kindly sent me some of her miniature poodle’s fur to see if I could spin in. Because I’m always up for a challenge (and because I’ve spun Corgi fur before), I told her I would love to see if I could spin some. So, the fur arrived yesterday and I started spinning this morning. Unlike the Corgi fur I’ve spun, this fur spins fairly easily…even though the staple length is a little shorter than I like to spin. I’ve spun a small sample and I’ve got more on the wheel, and I plan to knit a swatch to send back to her when I get enough yarn from the 1.65 ounces she sent.

Shetland Raw Fleece Knitting Project

May 11, 2022 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Macchiato’s fleece was one of two Shetland fleeces I purchased from Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival in 2019. These Shetland are raised in Bagdad, KY, along with Gotland, Icelandic, Finn, and other breeds.

I spun a sample of Macchiato’s fleece last year during the Tour de Fleece, but this is the first knitting project I’ve completed with the sample yarn. It wasn’t my favorite to spin, but the end result was fine. I think I left too much lanolin in the fleece when I originally scoured it, so I’ll be washing this beanie in some Unicorn power scour to get the remaining lanolin out.

Raw Fleece samples & Radnor roving

May 6, 2022 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Life has been chaotic over the past couple of months, but I’ve still managed to get some raw fleece sampling done. I processed some of my Gulf Coast Native sheep’s fleece (Tillie) after finishing a sample from Mocha. I also spun some commercially processed Radnor top from Hearthside Fibers that I bought last spring/summer. The last fleece I started processing was a BFL/ Finn/ Icelandic cross from Minnesota that I found through a raw fleece group on Facebook.

Tillie’s fleece (Gulf Coast Native) is going to be next-to-skin soft with very little kemp (unlike Mocha’s)–based on the sample that I spun a few weeks ago. (These are my personal sheep).

Tillie’s fleece sample (Gulf Coast Native)

I found this moorit BFL/ Icelandic/ Finn raw fleece on a raw fleece FB group from a seller in Minnesota. Total fleece weight was 2.5 lbs with a 3″ staple. I washed this fleece a little differently than other fleeces–just to test a new method. I soaked the fleece in warm water and a cup or two of white vinegar, leaving some of the lanolin in the fleece. I hand carded it into small rolags and it spun beautifully. I ended up with a two-ply fingering/sport weight yarn sample. (41g; 117 yards)

BFL/ Icelandic/ Finn raw fleece (washed)

Another wool breed I got to spin last month was the Hill Radnor roving that I bought last year from Hearthside Fibers. Read more about the Hill Radnor breed here. I ended up with 184 yards of 2-ply worsted weight yarn from 104 grams of fiber. It was very pleasant to spin with occasional kemp. Even though the micron count is fairly high (31-33 microns), I could definitely wear this as a cardigan or hat.

Sheep are sheared…and I’ve got work to do

March 28, 2022 Emily Wallace Handwoven2 Comments

My friend up the road (who also raises Gulf Coast Native sheep) came to shear my sheep on Saturday morning, so now I have two bags of fleeces from my own sheep to work with in the upcoming months.

This was Mocha and Tillie’s first shearing, so I’m excited to see how their fiber turns out. I did wash/scour a couple of ounces of each fleece, but I’ve only spun a sample of Mocha’s fiber so far (see pictures below). I’ll post results from Tillie’s sample when I finish spinning it.

Baby Sean is now a little over 4 weeks old and I’m still trying to decide what to do with him–try to sell him or keep him as a pet (after band castrating him, of course).

“Surprise” Lamb from Mocha

February 18, 2022 Emily Wallace Handwoven3 Comments

I got a little shock this morning when I walked outside to feed Mocha and Tillie. Inside the shed was a little lamb…and I had to do a double take. My first thought was “who has dropped this lamb off in my shed” and then it dawned on me that it had to have come from Mocha–who was only 5-6 months old when I got her in early November–way too young to have a lamb of her own. Or so I thought.

I called the farmer I bought Mocha from to see if there was some mistake about her age. Apparently, a Gulf Coast Native ram named Aries had broken into the young ewes’ pen last fall. Because the ewes were so young, the farmer thought all was well, reproduction-wise. Guess not.

So, now we have a little ram lamb–named Sean by my daughter. Mocha has proved to be an excellent mother. Sean was clean and dry when I found him (probably a few hours after his birth) and is a spritely little fella already–hopping around by his mom’s side.

Off the loom: Another Kennedy Scottish Tartan Scarf

February 11, 2022 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Weaving Scottish tartans is one of my favorite things to do, but there are some tartan designs I like more than others. Many years ago, a grad school friend of mine asked for a Kennedy tartan for her father (who is from Scotland), so I readily agreed to weave a scarf for his upcoming birthday. Up to that point, I had only woven a few different tartans–most of which had four colors or less and were fairly straightforward patterns. The Kennedy tartan has six colors and a somewhat unconventional pattern, so I can honestly saw that it isn’t my favorite to weave–and I’ve woven three of them now. The finished results are always a pleasure to behold, however, so that’s the payoff, I guess.

Pictured below is the Kennedy scarf/shawl I finished yesterday.