Wool: a wonderful, renewable resource

I was going to title this post "Fleece and Flowers," since I am surrounded by both right now. But that would have made for a l-o-o-o-o-n-g post, so you'll have to wait for the flowers.

Yesterday I finally took time to tackle a pressing task. Aunt Janet's Fiber Mill is having a spring processing special through the end of this month, and I want to take advantage of it. But I haven't had the time or suitable material to skirt the four fleeces I have at present. Then, bless his heart, Rick brought home another section of horse panel and cut it to an appropriate skirting-table size, so I got to work. (Rick used the piece I had before to create a better sheepfold gate.) I set up on the deck to take advantage of the beautiful day:
First up was Browning's dark moorit hogget fleece. The first photo, taken when a cloud covered the sun, shows the color more accurately; the second photo is washed out but shows his lovely crimp (click to biggify!).
I was just finishing Browning's fleece when the clouds crowded together with purpose and raindrops fell. So I moved operations to the garage to work on my musket ram Braveheart's clip from this year:
Here's a close-up:The above fleece was coated, so skirting it was easy. Then I tackled Braveheart's hogget fleece from last year, which was uncoated and has been sitting in my office for a year. This one was NOT quick and easy - and still has more VM (vegetable matter) in it than I would prefer. :-(But it was well worth it - just look at that luscious color and crimp! How nice of him to pass it on to his son Browning. :-)

Today I tackled the last fleece I have to skirt for now - Brava's hogget clip from last year. It's another beautiful day in paradise, so it was back to the deck:You can see the contrast between the darker tips and the lighter undercoat; I do believe she is musket without the seasonal changes that a lot of Ag sheep show on their heads and legs. She also has nice crimp:
Now to find a suitable box and ship them off to Aunt Janet. (If I find a box big enough, I think I'll stuff in the crossbred ram fleece I got from my shearer a year or two ago. I washed it and started spinning it from flicked locks, but it has been sitting idle and really needs to be washed again.) I will pick up my roving from Aunt Janet at Black Sheep Gathering, and send my last two fleeces (Dinah's and Brava's, still on the sheep) with her to process. That is, unless someone wants to buy either of those raw fleeces; if so, let me know!

That's the fiber for now from . . .