Spinning a yarn

By Lazykate

Women Behaving Madly...

If I can take you on a journey, it was a summer's day. I was tall, blonde and similar in appearance to Alex Kingston. My curls were cascading gently over my delicate shoulders. I moved like a dancer across the garden. And lo, there's Jinny with more than a passing resemblance to Catherine Zeta Jones, all dark and mysterious, admired by women and loved by men...

OK so it wasn't like that at all. It was a summer's day and obviously Jinny is admired by women and loved by men but that's about it. But if you can imagine us like that, I'd really appreciate it. We had decided to wash and card our first fleece. I'm sure my husband (Himself) was still in shock from us having driven about with a stinky fleece-inside-a-bin-bag for a couple of weeks. Little did he know it was going to get much much worse.

We took all the precautions we were told to - obviously sheep are outside in the muck and grime, hail and rain and, it has to be said, collect a fair amount of what can only be described as questionable matter on themselves - some innocuous twigs, leaves etc., and other much more suspect items; sheep poo and other indescribable... stuff. So we put on our marigolds (come on, think Alex and Catherine and rubber gloves) and we set to work.

We put the fleece in the bath. This is such a big no no. Don't do it. Your children will gag and your husband may leave. The dog will like it. The reason not to do this is that once it's wet it will be a pain in the "£* to get downstairs and onto the line. Better to use an old bin or a large container - if you can wash it in pieces even better. If you are extremely capable washers of fleece as I am sure Catherine and Alex are, you could even put it in pillow cases to keep it all in place.

So, in your container, the water needs to be as hot as you can handle it to get the 'stuff' off. Put some detergent in, the more PH neutral the better and fluff it up a bit to get the bubbles going. Lay the fleece on top and let it sink in. Try not to bother it too much as the movement in the water can easily cause it to start to felt. Let the water sink in and soak for a while but not so long that the water cools significantly. Heave it out of the container and rest it and then do it all again.

Two dippings should be enough to clean it and then you can rinse it, which is the same procedure just with clean water.

We did this as I said in the bath and all the indescribable 'stuff' floated to the top, the bath was very brown and the bathroom smelt like a postman's boot. Himself said little but there was extreme pursing of the lips. It was a good job the wind didn't change direction that day is all I can say.

After we had lumped the offending article down the stairs and onto the line, (the designer outfits we had been loaned were just ruined!) I lay on the garden catching my breath and Jinny slumped on a garden chair.

I'd love to say that we carded it as soon as it was dry and were very organised, but the weather changed as it does in this country, and before long huge sections of fleece were flying round my garden in the wind. Jinny was then sitting Catherine-like in her very clean house, while I was disinfecting anything that didn't move (and some things that did). I picked up the varied sections of slightly damp fleece from my garden and promised to do better next time.

The ladies at our local guild - "Fylde Heddles & Treddles" did an article a few months later about someone who washed a fleece in the bath - how they laughed at the stupidity! Jinny and I laughed along, perhaps a little too loudly. At least we looked like Catherine and Alex while we did it.

If you would like to have a go at washing and preparing your own fleece there are lots of places to get hold of one. See the list of some links below. The Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers will also let members have use of carders and drum carders, so why not visit them and see the things they have on offer.

To read more about Lazykate's world of spinning visit her blog at lazyblog.lazykate.net
Also in this issue: Lazykate's Lydia Scarf and Lydia Flowers patterns

Other Links
www.britishwool.org.uk
www.wsd.org.uk
www.knittingforums.co.uk