Tag: yarn

Tour de Fleece 2021: Day 9

Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Tour de Fleece, Day 9: Hog Island wool (washed/carded from raw fleece) results from 57g; 99 yds of 2-ply (Bulky weight) yarn.

This was definitely “rustic spun” as my drum carded batt was minimally processed, leaving much to be desired while spinning. Next time, I’ll comb AND card before spinning.

Another conservation breed fleece bought as part of the SE2SE program from Silver Bullet Farm LLC.

30+ pounds of raw fleece have arrived! (And sadly, probably the last for this year)

Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

I’ve (mostly) decided that today’s arrival is my last raw fleece purchase this year. (Unless someone decides to give me more fleeces or I get an out-of-this-world deal). I’m thinking I’ve bought approx. 200 pounds total of raw fleece–give or take a few pounds, so I should be good for a while.

I’ve been prepping fiber since April in order to participate in the Tour de Fleece this year (starting June 26th), and then, that yarn will be used to weave and knit this season’s collection that I’ll sell online and in my studio. I’ve never “officially” participated in the Tour de Fleece, so I’m looking forward to seeing how much yarn I get spun during the event.

I did move most of my fleeces upstairs to my fiber room at my home, but almost half are still in my out building until they get ready to be washed/scoured + processed.

*I am a full time textile artisan and fiber arts instructor…which is the only reason I have this many fleeces/fiber (for those who may ask “why on earth would one person want/need that many fleeces?”).

3/4 of my fleeces moved to my fiber room

Today’s shipment of 4 fleeces included 3 CVM & 1 BFL ram fleece from Cactus Hill Farm in Colorado.

4 raw fleeces from Cactus Hill Farm (Colorado)

Breeds of wool bought as raw fleece this year:

Gulf Coast Native

American Tunis

Debouillet

Shetland

Icelandic (and Icelandic crosses)

Finn/Cormo cross

Navajo Churro

Clun Forest

Dorset Horn

Shropshire

Lincoln Longwool

Lincoln/Targhee cross

Florida Cracker

Hog Island

Babydoll Southdown

American Jacob

CVM (California Variegated Mutant)

Babydoll Southdown ‘Raw Fleece to Finished Object’ knitted beanie

Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

I processed just enough of the Babydoll Southdown raw fleece (New Hope, Alabama) to knit a beanie for the lady who owns these sheep.

Even though the staple length was fairly short, my drum carder prepped the fiber enough for me to spin a 2-ply DK weight yarn from this soft, squishy fiber.

Since I bought 4 fleeces total of this fiber, I’m looking forward to trying other projects using this wool.