Back in the olden days, if you needed a pair of socks or mittens, you spun your own yarn, and knitted up your items. It was a necessity. These days items like socks and mittens are readily available. Spinning and knitting has become a hobby, rather than necessity in the present.
Spinning and knitting is a hobby that both my daughter and I are crazy about. There are lots of hobbies out there like hiking, scrapbooking, sewing, shopping….for us, we like to play with dirty sheep wool. We buy the wool (or find it free) wash the wool, card the wool, dye the wool, then spin it into beautiful yarn that could in turn be made into a useful one of a kind item. It is quite a process, but it is also a very satisfying feeling knowing we have created something useful from something out of God’s creation.
Once a year farmers shear their sheep. A lot of the fleeces end up either in the burn pile, or used as garden mulch. When we get a fleece, it’s like a bag of greasy gold. One fleece could easily be spun up and made into a whole sweater.
Suffolk sheep are what is known as a southdown breed. Their wool is spongy and is good for making socks or other items that need to hold their shape. Some people would say that certain breeds of sheep (like the Suffolk, or babydoll) are only good for meat. I have discovered that EVERY fleece can be spun. The differences in the wool of different breeds to me is fascinating. For instance, did you know that some of the old world breeds like the Navajo Churro, are double coated?
The Navajo Churro sheep has a very soft downy undercoat, and a coarse wiry over coat. The under coat is great for making wearable items like sweaters or hats, while the outer coat makes the perfect yarn for weaving rugs. Talk about a useful animal!
Our latest find was a man who had a huge burlap sack full of about 12 fleeces. He had no idea what the breed of sheep was. He just needed to get rid of it. Come to find out, the wool is most likely from a cross breed of Suffolk. At first we were a bit nervous about what condition the wool was in, but after getting it home and getting it prepped we found out we had hit a jackpot.
The first thing we do, is get the wool washed. It is greasy, stinky, and full of what we call VM (vegetable matter). VM is a nice way of saying hay, grass, dirt, mud, and poo. When you pull out a chunk of wool, it’s hard to see the beauty through the dirt.
The second step in the process, is getting the wool clean. A few big squirts of dish soap and very hot water does the trick! I grab two large handfuls at a time, and soak them in my kitchen sink. It usually takes 2-3 baths in the hot soapy water.
Now that the wool is washed, it is ready to be carded and dyed! This is the time when you DO see the beauty of the wool starting to present itself.
To be continued!
If you would like to see some of our finished products, visit our Etsy store!
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