Shearing, Fleece Processing & Spring Weaving
Over the last month, I’ve washed close to twenty pounds of raw fleece–and picked and carded about a quarter of that. And, I managed to drum card close to a dozen batts for the local sale I had at the end of April.
I’m also processing two mystery fleeces for a fiber friend–so, my evenings after work are spent hand picking wool while watching episodes (that I’ve already seen many times over) of Midsomer Murders.
In between picking and carding wool, I’ve thrown a few projects on my loom to break up the monotony (and wrist pain that comes with picking). I started with a handspun wool weft table runner made with Dorset Horn (raw fleece to finished yarn) with a warp of commercially spun Kent Romney from England.
My second project was another table runner–this time using 100% linen yarn (chain construction) from Shibui Knits. I normally steer clear of linen, but I actually enjoyed weaving with this yarn, and since I have loads of it, I’ll probably be weaving with it again in the near future.
Another project was a scarf–woven with a warp of wool/yak/viscose and a weft of 100% brushed alpaca. This scarf is going to be lightweight and cloud soft. Then, I woven another with merino wool (American) warp and brushed alpaca/merino weft. The last one that week was a merino wool warp and a novelty yarn weft.
I have officially signed up for the Rocket City Scottish Festival (first Saturday in October). I wasn’t sure if I wanted to vend again this year, but since I did so well last year, I figured I might as well. I don’t plan to weave as many tartan scarves this year (only a little over half sold last year), but I do plan on including more non-animal fibers in my weaving for those who have a wool aversion.
I also applied to be a vendor at the first annual Alabama Fiber Festival (near Montevallo, AL), but I won’t hear back from them until the middle of May.
My sheep were sheared the weekend before last and we’ve added a new addition to our flock–Little Lori–the half sister of our wether Timmie. Lori, like Timmie, is full blooded Gulf Coast Native and comes from my shearer’s GCN flock.
Last photo-“Is some of that mine? What’cha going to do with it?”
Been doing much of the same here, except the washing part! We sheared just over a month ago, so I've been picking lots of fleeces. Your weavings are beautiful! I may have missed it before, but what kind of loom are you working with?