Eye Candy

I've finished washing the last of the colored fleeces. I set two aside for Kathy to compete with at the 2011 Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival. I'm not sure how competitive lamb fleeces will be, but they were so lovely I thought someone else should see them.

As I started going through the big bag of white fleeces, I set them all out separately to see if there were any in that group that might be show worthy. As I did so, it reminded me of getting the wonderful opportunity to shadow the fleece judge, Letty Klein, at the festival this past spring.

I think (in my spare time - someone. just. shoot. me.) that I am going to skirt each fleece and practice "judging". I would love to learn to be competent at such a thing. Not only would that help me here at home, but as so many people have helped me along the way, I could try to return the favor.

Should I take some pictures?

Rumors Of My Death...

We've had a bunch of fun company and too much work to do (better than not enough...I suppose) and I had great intentions, like 3 days ago, to post a wool washing blog. I'm up to my armpits in some really pretty fiber - perfect for pictures.

Here goes - first of all, start with nice wool. Unless it's a favorite sheep and you just have to spin some yarn from her, if it's not a sound fleece (watch for fragile tips, a break in the fiber...), don't waste your time. Dirty wool makes great mulch and I've heard you can stick a big handful in the bottom of the hole when you are planting trees. Both excellent choices.



Take your nice fleece and spread it out. A fuzzy sheep's fleece will unroll and stay together looking much like a pelt. A curly sheep's fleece won't hold together. I use a smaller wire mesh to skirt curly fleeces so the locks don't fall through.



You don't need a fancy skirting table, but they are pretty easy to make. You just need something sort of solid/stable, but with holes for short second cuts and dirt to fall out.



I shake the fleece (shorn side down) and pull off anything I wouldn't want to spin myself. This includes not only the second cuts, but dirty tags, belly wool, wool from around the legs, britchy wool from around the hind legs...



It's very important to keep a cat around to hold down the sheets you use to store the raw wool. As a side note, plastic bags sweat/don't breathe and can ruin your raw fleece. If you have to store in plastic for any length of time, poke some holes in the bag. The big paper lawn refuse bags from the grocery work very well too. We gather the fleeces in old sheets as they are shorn and then transfer to paper bags as they are skirted and ready to wash.

I use my trusty old top loading washing machine. I used to do this all in the laundry room in the house and used the porch to skirt and dry wool (aka "How to get your very own wool house away from the real house" ;-). I have not had any trouble with wool damaging my machine (but I've heard it could happen) and I didn't notice any residual gunk on our clothes following a big wool washing event either. If it really creeps you out though, run a load of barn towels or dog blankets before you wash your 700 Green Bay Packer t-shirts. Don't ask.

So, how exactly do I go about the washing process? First a disclaimer - this is just how I do it. I could be completely nuts. Shut up! Do some research, see what everyone else is doing, experiment on your own...

1. Turn the temperature setting on your water heater to 135+ degrees.

2. Fill the washing machine about 2/3 full with only hot water. Don't stick your hand in there. Trust me on that one.



3. I use blue Dawn dishwashing detergent. I've tried Orvus, Power Scour, Kookabura, Tide...I like Dawn the best. Plus, as a sucker for marketing, they used that to wash the birds after the oil spill. Big points ;-).

4. I use around 2/3 cup for the first wash cycle. Just pour it in and swirl it around without sudsing it up. The water should look a bit blue.

5. Take your well skirted, nice fleece (or part of it if it's big - like don't try to stick all of Woolliam in the washer at one time. Heidi, yes. Woolliam, no.) and gently set it down into the soapy water.



6. Use something (the Dawn bottle works well) to push the fleece down into the water. NOT your hands.

7. Close the lid and let it soak for 20 minutes.

8. Pay attention to this step. After it's soaked, you want to spin out the dirty, soapy water. You do not want your washer to throw any rinse water onto your fleece. You don't want any agitation of any sort. If you don't have a setting that SPINS ONLY, shut off the water and force it to behave.

9. After it runs through the spin cycle, pull the fleece out of the washer. The first wash will probably still be kinda funky, dirty and greasy. I personally like the smell of wet sheep. This may prove I'm crazy. Shut up!

10. Wipe down the inside of the drum and then refill to 2/3 with more super hot water.

11. Add 1/2 - 2/3 cup soap for the second wash and repeat the above steps.

12. After your second wash has spun out, again pull the fleece out of the washer.

13. Usually two washes will do it. If not, wash one more time and cut the soap down to about 1/3 cup.

14. I rinse each fleece two to three (usually three) times - same fill, maybe use a little less water, but same temperature, soak 15-20 minutes, spin out, remove... If it seems a bit soapy still, rinse a third time. This is pretty water intensive, but we have the wool house machine set up so I can redirect the rinse water into buckets and tubs to use to water trees, flowers, lettuce growing in the driveway (don't ask)...



15. When your fleece is clean and well rinsed, set it out to dry. I have a couple drying racks in the wash room - the deluxe system - but you can just as easily use an old screen door, hammock... A simple box fan helps speed things along.

16. Make sure your beautiful fleece is completely dry before you bag it up. I do store washed wool in plastic bags.

17. Important!!! - turn down the water heater before someone takes an "exciting" shower. Seriously.

I'm going to post this and walk away. I'll review it later this afternoon (more company here) and see if it makes sense. If you have any questions, leave me a comment.

Good luck!

Two Bags Full

I set aside several fleeces during the shearing at Kathy's the other day. Lamb fleeces can be more trouble than they are worth, but with enough Cotswold/Wensleydale mixed in to make them strong, I can't help but give them a try. They are just. so. pretty.



Shiny soft curls.



The big commercial mills don't want any colored wool. In fact, they'll throw out a big chunk of your surrounding white wool if they find any colored wool mixed in it. I'm about as small a "mill" as you can get and I love natural colored wool. Definitely. not. trash.



Plus, now that Keebler's dad has moved to Tanglewood Farm, there won't be many more of these pretty fleeces tempting me from just down the road.

Speaking of tempting, ewe lamb #029 was really pretty. Her fleece is at the top of the white bag. Must resist. Don't need any more sheep. Even if they are one of Keebler's cousins. Maybe even his sister. Did I just send Kathy an email to have her look that up??? ARGH - send help!!!

Dinner Guest

While Saint Tim was cooking dinner the other evening I walked out to refill the hummingbird feeder and found this lovely butterfly. She'd crashed on the porch steps.

I understand the "circle of life", but still didn't want to see her smooshed by a big dog foot or chewed up by a worthless porch cat so I carefully picked her up.



I posted the other day that I hadn't seen any monarch butterflies. Best way to see one? Put it in black and white that there aren't any ;-). I've seen several now and have enjoyed looking out for all the different sizes, shapes and colors of the many butterflies hanging out at our farm this summer.



This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail had hopefully had an enjoyable time here and done what she needed to do.



If part of her job was to brighten my day, she did just that. You just can't beat the feel of a butterfly resting on your hand. Look at the fuzz on her back.



I carried her up to the big butterfly bush at the wool house and sat her on a bright purple bloom. She immediately started drinking and I felt better about her final hours. So Saint Tim feeds the people (and those stupid porch cats) and I feed the animals.

Our own little circle of life.

It's Complicated

Remember this post? Where I naively said I hoped Keebler was not a "sad Keebler"? Little did I know how, um, well, um, interesting, yeah interesting life with Keebler would turn out. When people try to tell me sheep are dumb or don't have personality... I just have to laugh. We are drowning in personality around here. Keebler especially.



Keebs, my little baby, who has basically resigned himself to the fact that he has to live with a bunch of smelly, fuzzy, loud, pushy, food hogs (sheep) for some reason that he can't quite figure out. I'm sure he's confused about why Hank has to live out there too, as they both are quite obviously Not Sheep.

Monday night he got locked into a small stall with four (other) sheep (they need to be dry and not have full tummies before professional sheep shearers come). To make matters worse, it was his stall. Where he hangs out mostly by himself, sometimes with Graham and also Hank during the heat of the day. Where everyone pretty much leaves him alone. Because they too must understand that he is Not A Sheep.



I learned early on after weaning that Keebler could get his feelings hurt. Easily. And not speak to me - his dear momma - for days. I'd find myself trying to make up for whatever I'd done - too much attention to (other) sheep, go away for the weekend and not be there to tuck him in at night, cut all his hair off...

Finally, after two or three days of grovelling, he'd decide to let it go and then I could again scratch his ears, kiss his nose, feed him cookies and he'd come lay down out in the field next to me and everything was okay. A little free time in the yard by himself works pretty well now.



As long as he stays off the wool house porch. I see you eying my geranium, Keebs!

I have to say it's kind of nice to look out my kitchen door and see Keebler under a shade tree eating clover. Don't say anything to him about it though or I'll have to think up a new "punishment" for myself ;-).