Mary Had A Little Lamb

Some of you may remember my dismay this spring when, as I was nearing the finish line for getting my first-ever fleece processed and spun, my husband threw it away.  And by "dismay", I mean abject histrionics.

In an effort to restore my Fleece Peace, I purchased a new one.  This time it's the first shearing from a Coopworth lamb, named Gigi. 

There are about 4 pounds of her, before processing:

This is the shot that shows why I fell in love with Gigi:

So crimpy! So luminous!  And not even washed yet!  I can hardly stand it.  I decided to make string while the sun shines.  I started by washing it lock by lock, same as I did for Caora Dubh.  I'm not sure this is the best way to handle the washing for this fleece though, because while it works really well, it's just so time consuming.  My limited (nonexistent) tools dictate that a worsted preparation (keeping the lock formation) would be best, but maybe this fleece shouldn't be spun worsted-style? 

Kindly weigh in, Gentle Readers?  If you have been down this road before, I bet you won't hesitate to set me straight.

In the meantime, here is one thing I will definitely be doing differently than last time:

This is the bag Gigi will be living in until I have her safely spun up.  

Caora Dubh = Caora Done

Five Skeins

Five Plies

Finally Finished

Five July

1,677 yards, sportweight.  Yarn Finshed.  Spinner Smug.
 

Process Milestone: Combover Complete

One of my goals for vacation (Really? Who sets vacation goals?) was to return home with all of the combing done on Caora Dubh.  To that end, I enlisted the help of two of my favorite smallies:  Lindsay, and Susie's son, Adam.  Lindsay is exactly three weeks older than Adam.  When they were really wee, Lindsay took to calling Adam "Baby" as soon as she learned that she was older.  He somehow put a stop to it around the time they turned three.  But I digress.

Lindsay taught Adam how to comb the locks, and keep them pointed all the same direction, lined up and ready to spin.  What could be cuter than smallies with fleece and dog combs?

I have no idea what they are plotting here, while I spin along innocently in the background, but you can bet they are up to something.  Not for nothing:  The photographer here is none other than Campbell.  Something's clearly afoot.

The smallies got a lot of combing done, and while I didn't make the goal, I was able to complete it this morning.  It didn't hurt my motivation that the new coopworth fleece arrived while we were gone.  In a bizarre fit of self-control, I told myself I couldn't open the box until the combing was complete. 

Here is the finished Pile O' Fluff, ready for spinning:

I can now officially state that it's all spinning from here on out.  No more processing left for Caora Dubh.

Let's hear it for Child Labor.