YARN! I MADE YARN!

Since getting my spinning wheel, I've been practicing and playing and just enjoying it! The whole process is so mellow and Zen-like; yet still meets and exceeds my creative needs!

So, my first yarn, wow! Oh, it's a mess... over-twisted in spots, too thin or thick in others; but I'm still proud of it! If I had been trying to create a novelty yarn, I would have succeeded with flying colors!

It is a two-ply (made of two strands) of Merino wool. The color is mainly blue with beautiful flecks and accents in purples, teals, a bit of green and a splash of gold!

I'm not sure what I'm going to knit it into --- maybe a scarf?

After spinning the singles, then plying it, I then made skeins using my niddy-noddy. After all the skeins were made, I wash the yarn exactly like I had washed Loki's fleece. Then I let it drip-dry. Wah-Lah! By washing and "snapping" the skeins, it sets the twist so the yarn won't unravel as you knit!

Ewelaunda

It's official... the name of my spinning wheel is Ewelaunda! I LOVE IT! Thanks to everyone who participated in my poll! I want to share some pictures of me (well, not all of me -- my hand) preparing raw fleece for spinning!

Right after my spinning wheel (ahem, Ewelaunda) was ordered, I promptly went looking for something to spin! Well, I found this great place called Houndscroft Farm in Kentucky and I purchased the fleece from two Shetland sheep Loki & Lily!

Each fleece arrived in its own bag, looking gorgeous! Smelly (like "farm" - but I *love* that smell!),but beautiful! Both fleeces (fleece? fleecae?) are black with just a teeny tiny bit of white (literally, strands) thrown in here and there. The wool felt "greasy" to the touch -- but that's not a very good word to describe it. It wasn't like Ew(e) Ha!-You-Haven't-Washed-Your-Hair-In-Days-Ick; but like Wow-My-Hands-Feel-Like-I-Just -Put-On-The-Best-Lotion-Ever! Wool contains lanolin which naturally occurs to help the sheep repel water -- basically making their fleece waterproof so the little baa-baa-baa's don't get soaked to the skin. Since our sweaters and such don't need that protection, it is important to wash out the lanolin; plus when spinning, too much lanolin can gunk-up the moving parts.

I didn't know which fleece to start with (didn't want to show favoritism!) and so I closed my eyes and picked Loki's.

(My directions were provided to me by the owner of Loki and Lily, Tamara of Houndscroft Farm.)

First, I picked up a basketball size of fleece. I looked for any obvious vegetable matter; but, since the girl's were "coated" the bits of hay and such are very small and rare.

Next, I filled the bathroom sink with hot water and dish soap. The water was as hot as my little hands could stand it. I then placed the fleece in the sink and gently submerged it. It is SO important not to excessively handle or agitate the fleece... the more you mess with it, the more likely you'll felt it and end up with a pile of unusable fiber! Once submerged, you can immediately see the first of the natural occurring dirts and grease dirtying the water. It may look gross, but it's really not. Let the fleece soak anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. But don't let the water cool -- you want to keep the temperature constant.

I gently pushed the fleece to the side and drained the sink. Keeping the fleece away from the running water (that, too, can felt it) I re-filled the basin with clean, hot water. No soap. This was the first rinse, and again, the fiber soaked for about 10 minutes.

I kept repeating this rinsing process until the water was clear. After draining the last rinse, I *gently* squeezed the ball of fiber to remove water; then placed it on a towel to wring it out (gently, gently, gently) a bit more. After that, I separated the fleece and placed it on a towel to air dry -- completely. Being that the heat is on here for winter, it took about 12 - 24 hours to dry.

Tah Dah! Fleece that is ready to be made into Punis or Rolags for woolen-style spinning! As I wrote in one friend's email, I'm a pioneer woman! Tomorrow, I churn butter! :)