This weekend the sheep were at a Textile Fair at Duchy Square in Princetown. I was given a large bag of Devon and Cornwall Longwool which was longer than the fleece I already have. This will make it easier to spin, I hope! The bag also contained some D&C Longwool and Dorset cross which is softer and not so curly. Both fleeces need a good wash so I’m waiting for a sunny day to catch up on fleece washing’ duties.
I also received a small amount of Herdwick (dark and light), Scottish Blackface, and Welsh Black. And several sheep, including two that have been knitted by the children of a local primary school.
All the fleece was given free of charge which is very generous but also indicative of the value this fleece has (or hasn’t).
The number of sheep is now around 175 with a few on the production line for sewing up and finishing. We’re getting close to 200 which would be a fantastic achievement and down to the hard work of my volunteer knitters.
As soon as we get to 200, I’ll make another video but in the meantime don’t forget the ‘trailer’ of the first 50 sheep here.
Posts Tagged ‘Dorset Down’
Devon and Cornwall Longwool…
Posted in Events, Fleece, tagged dartmoor, Devon, Devon and Cornwall Longwool, devon wool, Dorset Down, Duchy Square, fleece, give fleece a chance, Herdwick, knitted sheep, local wool, Princetown, Scottish Blackface, sheep, South West wool, Textile Fair, washing fleece, Welsh Black, wool, wool initiative on April 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Handspun yarn for knitted sheep…
Posted in Fleece, tagged alpaca, Blue Faced Leicester, Dorset Down, fleece, give fleece a chance, grey faced dartmoor, handspinning, handspun yarns, knitted sheep, leicester longwool, Romney, Shetland, washing fleece, Zwartbles on January 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been concentrating on washing fleeces and spinning them into yarn. So far I’ve spun up the Shetland, Blue Faced Leicester, several colours of Jacob, Leicester Longwool, Zwartbles, Suffolk, Romney, and Dorset Down.
Handspun yarns using local wools
I also processed the Grey Faced Dartmoor; not a fleece usually made into handknitting yarns. The yarn I produced from it had the look and feel of sisal so I also mixed it with some alpaca to soften it. I now have sheep that represent two extremes of fleece; Bowmont, which is the finest quality and fantastically soft, and then the Grey Faced Dartmoor which is thick and coarse. I took some photos of the GF Dartmoor as I was combing it to show how like hair it is. I’m planning to do some more experimenting with this fleece, not spinning it but finding a way to showcase it more, perhaps felting?
Grey Faced Dartmoor uncombed and combed
