Fiber Fridays

Hi Crocheters, "Fiber Fridays" will be periodic Fridays when I post about the fiber world.  I thought I'd start with wool because that seems like a logical place to start, and there's a raging debate going on right now between animal rights activists, who feel that shearing sheep is cruel to the animal, and wool yarn providers, who point out that domesticated sheep need to have their fleece shorn.  I think you know which camp I fall into, though, like many debates these days, I also believe there's a middle ground that should be satisfactory to most.  Of course I believe there should be a lot of attention paid to sheep being cared for and properly shorn; and, if that's the case, then wool yarn is a great asset to humankind.  That's why I did a lot of research and wanted to know where my wool comes from before adopting Chausette from Owens Farm and having her fleece spun into beautiful yarn.

*If you'd like to learn more about the details of the debate, please read and follow Clara Parkes!  She encapsulates the discussion far better than I can and makes the case for shearing in an informed and rational way.

So, why is wool yarn so coveted?  Well, first I should say, "wool" is a very broad term; there are more breeds of sheep than breeds of any other livestock species (with the exception of chickens and other poultry). Worldwide, it is estimated that there are more than 1000 distinct sheep breeds, with over 50 breeds in the United States alone.  As a result, the different properties of each breed of fleece yields the different textures and qualities of different types of wool yarn.  I'll be going into more details in future posts, but suffice to say for now that insulation is the primary characteristic of wool that makes it so great for clothing.  A woolen sweater keeps you cozy and warm by trapping air between its fibers. It also allows perspiration to evaporate (wick) through the fabric, which helps keep your skin dry and comfortable.

Chausette will be sheared any day now, so stay tuned for before and after pix as well as the beautiful yarn her coat will produce!

R.I.P. Princess

Well, I guess the title says it all...  Caroline called me Monday morning at 8:30 am (I knew it couldn't be good news).  Well, apparently, after the flock had been checked on Sunday, Princess once again managed to get away from the flock and get herself stuck upside down somewhere and just wasn't discovered in time.

By chance, Caroline happened to have her camera with her on Saturday while out in the pasture and got this great picture of Princess and two of her triplets (the third is hiding in back).

She sure was a beautiful sheep, and I hope she did not suffer...  I'm happy to have had a small part in her time on earth and cherish the fleece and yarn that she gave me.  I hope she's frolicking happily in a better place...  And I do so appreciate that Caroline called to tell me in person, it's a loss for her too, but I'm sure as a farmer, this truly represents the cycle of life.

Caroline has another sheep for me to adopt, and I hope to introduce you to her soon.  But, this post is about Princess and my appreciation for her.  Long Live the Princess!

It's Fleece Time Again!

So it's shearing time on the farm again!  And Caroline Owens has been kind enough to send me before and after pictures:

Mmm, her wool is looking as nice as it did last year, and the yield looks pretty good too:

I asked Caroline to send it off to the processing mill this year instead of directly to me, since I still have the bag o' washed fleece from last year!  Though I'm excited about the possibilities of taking a spinning class this spring at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria VA.  A friend of mine, who also adopted a sheep from the Owens farm, has signed up, so I think that'll make it even more fun.

Now, poor Princess is shivering again!

Princess the Sheep Update

It's been a busy time of year for the Owens Farm, but I got an update recently from Caroline Owens, who writes that Princess and her lamb are doing just great.  "Baby" is a whopping 60 lbs now (compared to the flock average of 40 lbs) because, as a single, she got all the milk and got off to a very good start.  She went to "Sheep Camp" recently and is now halter-trained.  In the mean time, Princess and the other ewes are out to pasture, regaining the weight they lost during lactation.  This is their summer vacation -- They won't do much except graze, nap, and chew their cud until Fall breeding time (sounds pretty good, especially the napping part ;-).

I have not yet followed up on the carding of the fleece -- it continues to sit in a very large bag in the corner of my bedroom!  I have the feeling that there are going to be wafts of fleece floating in the air if I try to do this inside, but it's too hot to do outside right now, so it's going to have to wait a little while longer...

Washing Sheep Fleece

So, the big box of fleece in the dining room has almost all been washed!  Now, how did I come to do this myself rather than shipping it off to a fiber milling company for processing?  I contacted The Yarn Spot, an LYS that has spinning classes, and Jennifer has been kind enough to correspond with me about the process and to recommend a company in Frederick, MD, Singleton Fiber Processing (http://www.singletonfiber.com/), that would "skirt", wash, and "card" the fleece.  Having been trying to do it myself over the last few weeks, I now think that the price that they charge is probably quite reasonable!

But, I decided to do a little more research about the process and came across an article by Fuzzy Galore that gives many compelling reasons to do it yourself and also walks you through the process.  Here's my experience:

1.  First, be prepared!  You'll need rubber gloves, sturdy scissors, lingerie bags, a dish pan, Dawn dish washing liquid (the original blue version), white vinegar, a salad spinner, and a place to spread out the fleece to dry.

2.  The raw fleece is pretty messy, with "vegetative matter" scattered about.  Your first step is to cut and pick out as much of the junk as you can from the edges.  Don't be surprised if you end up throwing away almost half of what you started out with.

3.  Next step, fill up the dish pan with as hot water as you can.  Then, drizzle some Dawn dish washing liquid into the water, but don't make it bubble up, just gentle wave your gloved hand through the water to dissolve the soap.  Place some fleece loosely in a lingerie bag, put it on top of the water, and gently press it down into the water.  DO NOT AGITATE in any way.  Articles I read on this process emphasized that agitation is the reason that wool felts, not the hot water (which you really need to help dissolve that vegetative matter and the lanolin in the fleece), so you want to handle the fleece as little as possible.  Let it soak for about 10 to 15 minutes, dump out (I did this in the kitchen sink), refill the hot water, put a bit more Dawn, and repeat the process another 2 or 3 times.  Then, fill the dish pan again with hot water, but don't add any soap.  Let the fleece soak for about 10 or 15 minutes in the water to help rinse out the soap.  In the second or third rinse, you might want to add white vinegar to the water to help keep the fleece soft.  You need to be patient and keep doing this until the water runs clear.

4.  Ok, now you've got some washed fleece!  Gently press out as much water as you can, and place the whole bag into a large salad spinner and spin away.  You're going to want to do that a couple of time, throwing out the water that gathers at the bottom.  Then, go ahead and take the fleece out of the bag and put directly into the spinner and spin some more.

5.  I spread the washed fleece out on a large thick towel to dry.  It takes about 2 days to dry completely.  There will still be little bits of stuff in the fleece, so you might want to pick as much out as you can, but I'm hoping the remaining stuff will come out when "carding" the fleece (that's the next step, and I need to learn about that before the next blog post!)

I have to say, it has been very fulfilling to do this myself and has really raised my appreciation and admiration for all the women and men from generations past who had to do this!  Stay tuned for more of the saga :-)

Adopt-A-Sheep!

I just adopted a sheep for the upcoming year!  I'm so excited because, when shearing time comes, her wool is mine!  I haven't even thought about what I'm going to do with it, but this is something I've wanted to do for a while, so I just did it :-)

She is a Coopworth ewe, a breed that was developed in the 1970s for New Zealand's grass-fed sheep industry.  Caroline and David Owens, the Pennsylvania family behind Owens Farm, purchased her from a breeder in West Virginia last year, and she apparently really stood out from the rest of the flock through her friendliness and curiosity.  And she sheared a gorgeous fleece and ended up having triplets!!  And she managed to feed them all so well that each is "chunky and vigorous" (which sounds good to a non-farmer :-)  But, they were all rams, and the Owens are hoping she'll have some ewes this upcoming year to perpetuate her characteristics.

I'm looking forward to more updates from the farm and will share as they come in!