Some Samples….
When Liz and I went to Black Pines Sheep we got to see the shed where Myrtle skirts the fleeces. We got to pet many unwashed ones. Then, Myrtle allowed us to have a handful of fleece from four different ones. I’ve since spun up two of those samples…
For the Wensleydale/Lincoln cross the fleece was washed, dried and then teased by hand before spinning from the lock on a CD drop spindle. I got 18-yds from the 4gm sample. This was my absolute favorite in the lock form. It looked like curly tarnished silver. It has really good luster which I don’t think I’ve managed to quite capture digitally.
Here is the Teeswater. In the first picture you can see from left to right the flick carded locks, the original washed locks, and the handcarded rolags. The tiny skein (4 yd, unmeasureable on my postal scale in terms of weight) in that photo was spun from the flick carded locks on a drop spindle. I found it awfully slippery to have much luck from the locks on this one, though I’m thinking it could be easier to accomplish using the wheel. So, I turned to hand cards I’ve had on a seriously long loan from Snow. It carded quite nicely even though the staple length was about 5-5.5 inches (I didn’t actually measure) and I later read handcards are best for staple lengths of 3 inches or less. I found it much easier to spin on the drop spindle from the rolag in the case of the Teesewater. The third photo is a 28-yd skein spun on a drop spindle from the rolag. I also *really* like the overall appearance of this one, as it is soo shiny you’d swear there was a good percentage of silk in there though once again the digital realm doesn’t really do it justice.
Both of these are quite hairy yarns, I think due to the way I processed and spun them. They both still have a lot of luster. Howver, the Wenselydale/Lincoln cross as a really nice, soft hand. The Teeswater isn’t quite as soft. It isn’t harsh, but some wouldn’t want it next to the skin. However, I think combed Teesewater would be *heavenly*! And, Lizzy B told me that Teeswater takes dye exceptionally well!
I think I can say without a doubt that some of both of these types of fleeces will enter my home at some point. The real question is when? :-)
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