Thursday 21 April 2011

Fleece preparation- lock picking

It seems that April has decided it is a summer month now, we are having blazing sunshine and everyone is walking around dressed for summer.


I decided to declare yesterday an early start to the long weekend so I could finally tackle the fleece that has been sitting in my dining room since last year (the benefits of working at home, will have to catch up later though!).


I took it out into the garden and tipped it out, had a quick panic on finding a giant dead moth but decided it was not a problem as it was not a clothes moth type.



My first plan had been to wash the whole lot, but I decided to be brutal and only keep the best bits.


Guide to lock picking:




  • Choose a sunny day


  • Apply lots of sun screen


  • Find a chair (suitably patriotic in this case)


  • Unroll fleece on to lawn


  • Take a large handful


  • Pull each lock out of the clump and store in a bucket


  • Be prepared for a very long day!




I was really mean with this, anything dirty, weak, overly messy at the tips or short was scrapped. I think I kept less than half. The orange bucket is full to the top with well compacted locks so I have plenty to work with and it is all the good stuff.


The "waste" parts will either be composted or used to line hanging baskets and possibly as a mulch (need to research this first to check I will not end up killing my plants.

Hopefully the sun will be back later today so I can get those locks washed and out the dry.



8 comments:

  1. Ah yes, the tedious task of skirting a fleece and determining the best parts to use. I had an awful sheep fleece picking story that I haven't published yet because I can't step away from the disappointment and money loss, especially because a mill was involved. Argh! An expensive mistake...

    Have fun.

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  2. I've heard of people composting wool, but I haven't tried it. It seems like it would take a very long time.

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  3. All the hard work of skirting will make for a better end product! I find it fun actually.

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  4. To follow Kathryn Ray's comment, human hair doesn't break down, so I'd wonder about the animal hair as well. Will want to hear the results of your research. :)

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  5. I'm glad I'm not the only one with a fleece that's been hanging around more than a year. Now, if we could just get some of the weather you've been having (jealous!) I actually could get outside and process it!

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  6. Looks like that was a big job-but those locks are gorgeous!

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  7. I love to spin, but I have not yet dared go farther back in the sheep-to-shawl process than working with combed top. I hope you will be very pleased with the results of your day with the fleece.

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  8. I envy the warm sunny weather you're having. We had 3 nice days then snow again, geez. Looks like a great day for such a daunting task though. But if you're like me an opportunity to have your hands on wool for that length of time was truly not a task at all. Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

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