The Fleece Queue

Oh for the love of fleece!!

It's nearly everywhere I look!

Under the skirting table...

These are all raw, patiently waiting their turn...

...in the corner, because I can't mash anymore under the table...

Montadale and Lincoln.

...in the closets...

This is just one of three closets with washed fleece...

...and all around the house in some stage or another.
There is fleece in the combing queue as well as some new ones
that need to be photographed and uploaded to my stash page on Ravelry.

Oh, and I think I may have bought two more ...
Yep, a California Red and a Golden Cormo from Apple Rose Farm!
Well...I've never had a California Red before...
so it makes sense that I should have one, right??

I recently went through the fine wool closet to check what's
still there and for any buggy activity...oy, so much wool!!

But who's complaining, even checking the closets is fun
as I get to visit with fleece I may not have seen for a while ;)

What's on the skirting table is what's next in line to be scoured.
(I prefer the term washed, actually, it sound less harsh).

Here's the latest fleece queue on the skirting table...

This is Raggedy Ann, one of my all time favorites! She's a Cormo/Merino cross.

Beautiful long locks of a superfine Merino that you can see me spinning in a video on my YT channel!

A couple of years of Onyx, Raggedy's son.

Romney I got from a de-stash.

Gulf Coast Native that's for the Richmond guild demo spinning and weaving.

Lovely dark Corriedale!

Nash Island fleece.

This is Kiwi (another Cormo/Merino cross) from last spring. Too short for lock washing.

A Rambouillet cross from MDSW a couple of years ago.

Do I have an addiction?...well...ok, yes.

BUT...

In my defense, it's a lot healthier than any other addiction I can think of.
And there will be something to show for each of these fleeces in time...a finished
garment of some kind, either knitted or woven. Nothing goes to waste!
(And I need fleece for classes too!)

So no doubt what's on my to do list today, and tomorrow, and the next day...LOL

I hope you find time to enjoy fiber today :)

-Kimberly

Tasha Tudor Day 2016

The 28th of August would have been Tasha's 101st Birthday! 

It was my 7th year hosting a crafty get-together in her honor :)

It was too hot to have it comfortably outside, so this was the first time 

I hosted it inside.There was knitting, spinning, weaving, eating, laughing...

just a good time had by all!! 

Weaving on a rigid heddle loom.      

Happy knitting hands!      

Some serious spinning!      

Beautiful handknit sock!

Smiling. Happy. Spinning!      

One happy knitter :)      

Twins? Nah, but make 'ya look ;)      

These tomatoes were dehydrated on the hood of a car! Yes, it was that hot out!!

GFW Fleece

GFW...or Gleason's Fine Woolies to those of you who don't already know!

Joanna Gleason of Colorado raises lovely sheep with amazing fleeces...

They are Australian Bond, Corriedale and Bond x Corriedale. 

I have been lucky enough to purchase some of three different fleeces.
If you've not heard of Australian Bond or don't know much about their origin,
please see Joanna's website, as there is much valuable information on the breed :)

I learned about her fleeces through one of the groups on Ravelry.
Can't tell you which one, but with all of the eye candy pictures folks
were posting, I just couldn't resist...and this is what I got...

Below is Hahn, a Bond Ram Lamb

  Raw on the left and washed on the right.

 Then there was Ilona, a Bond x Corriedale ewe.
I would call her fleece a soft dove grey, really lovely!!

And finally there is Jillian, a Bond ewe, my favorite so far !!

 The lock structure is very easy to keep intact for washing. It practically separates itself!

Oh what fun it is to play with a GFW fleece...(sing along now...lol)

 It might not come through exactly in the pictures, but her fleece is a charcoal grey with the most amazing overtone of silver...just breathtaking in person!

Bond fleeces are easy to work with.

Each fleece got two 20 minute washes and two rinses.

 I combed all of the fleeces as my prep for spinning,
using Valkyrie Super Fine combs. It's very easy to comb.
Spinning it from hand combed top is a dream!!

I would say next to the skin soft for all but the most sensitive folks.

It's kinda hard to share about these and where I got them, 

but they are so wonderful, I just couldn't keep it to myself, 

even if it means more competition in acquiring a fleece!! ;)

If you've never tried a Bond, it's worth giving a try...

and you probably won't find any better than GFW's !!

(I'm hoping for a close to black fleece next :)
-Happy touching, smelling, staring at, washing, prepping
and finally spinning these most amazing fleeces...
(if you're lucky enough to have one that is :)
 http://gfwsheep.com/

Confession of a Fiber addict...

So to other fiber addicts, this is just confirmation that you are not alone !!

I only learned to spin just over 3 years ago...I took a class, made some
amazingly horrible yarn, just like most everybody else, got better,
decided I really liked it and went crazy buying processed fiber.
 Then while looking around online, I saw an ad for free wool...
which I know now wasn't all that great...
but it sparked my love of raw fiber and of processing it all myself.
So I made a decision one day to sell all of my bought ready to spin fiber
and only work from raw...completely from scratch...
I've become quite the purist when it comes to fiber.

And it has now come to this...

Today I walked into my fiber room and stopped in my tracks and just stared...at this...

(And there's at least two layers here)

And it's not like I haven't seen it before...it's been growing there for a loooong time...

but you know how after a while you just don't notice things that are there?
 You just get used to it...  Well, I finally noticed again...

and in the living room, there is this...

Romney on the left and Bond on the right.
The Bond I just bought...what is wrong with me?
Oh, I know...too much time on Ravelry drooling over pictures of fleeces....

Like I needed more...but being a fleece addict...you know...it's tough...lol


Close up of the Bond...gorgeous chocolate color and amazing lock formation...drool...

And if that wasn't enough,
the lady at the post office gave me a huge box of what turned out to
be more fleece...can't imagine how it came to be sent to me....
I must be sleep surfing on the internet looking for fleece... ;-) LOL


This is what was inside the box..12 pounds total of more Romney :)

They are both nice, but the one on the left is exceptional!!!
Pictures do not do it justice...

 It's the most gorgeous blue-gray color...just amazing...
and the crimp and softness...must touch to believe !!!

Oh, and I almost forgot, there is this CVM Romeldale fleece
hiding in one of the back rooms...

Isn't it just so pretty though...?

How can I resist?

There's also a Corriedale somewhere around here,
various Merinos and Rambouillets...
and let's not forget Angora bunny, Mohair, Alpaca...
Oh, where does it end ??!!!

But I have promised myself no more new fleeces...at least until
I wash all of the ones I already have...goodness knows how long that will take!!
I better be done by October...cause there will be tables of fleeces
at the Fall Fiber Festival at Montpelier just begging to go home with me !! :)
(I'll need willpower to stick to that promise)

I have been doing some washing...actually I wash almost every day.

Here is a Romney/Rambouillet fleece acquired from MDSW this year...

 Whole fleece...all 9 pounds of it...it took up my entire living room floor!

Close up of locks...sunbleached tips actually make for a nice heathery yarn.

All washed and ready for carding/combing.

 Some Romney drying...

So, I have confessed to the world...well, at least anyone who reads this,
that I do have an addiction...not exactly bad for my health,
maybe my bank account...but it's fun, I love it...it makes me happy! Yay!!

The boyfriend doesn't mind either...what more can I ask for??...hahaha...

Happy washing, carding, combing, spinning, knitting...etc.....

-Kim