Washing fleece - A request for advice

Greetings and Hi! I am new to posting in this newsgroup. I have been
knitting for about two years and I am now thinking of spinning my own
yarn.

A week ago, I visited a sheep farm and bought two dirty but nice
fleeces. The sheep were sheared on the same day when I took the
fleeces home. I have read quite a bit on how to wash, card, and spin
the wool. While I have some knowledge about how to process the fleece
with what I have read so far, I have absolutely no idea how much time
it will take when one actually gets down to doing the practical part
of it, I mean in terms of how many man-hours?

On the day I bought the fleeces, I did not know that I would be
traveling and away from my home for the next four months (to go
overseas for some family matter during that period). So, I am now
stuck with two raw fleeces that I have no time to work on. I would
appreciate it very much if anyone in this newsgroup can kindly tell me
how long can unwashed greasy (and a bit smelly!) fleece be kept in
storage in its current state? I have not washed them since I took them
home a week ago. As I am very busy in the midst of packing and
preparing for my overseas trip, I am not sure if I would be able to
find any time to wash the two fleeces before I leave in ten days time.
Can I just pack them in two big boxes and leave them in the garage
till I come back in four months time?

My questions a

1. If the dirty greasy fleeces can be kept in storage for four months,
what is the best form of storage to ensure minimal damage to the wool?
in boxes in the garage? or in pillow cases? how to prevent them from
moth attacks? Both of the fleeces are still in the original state as
they were just after the shear. Each fleece is still a complete piece,
one from each sheep. Do you think I should sort and cut them into
smaller pieces before I store them, or should I just store each fleece
as it is now in one complete uncut piece?

2. If they cannot be kept for that long in the unwashed state. I will
try to find some time to wash and dry them before I go away. My
question is how many man-hours do you think it will take for me (being
a first-timer) to sort, wash and dry two fairly large fleeces? I do
not want to begin the wash if I learn from you that the number of
hours required is more than what I can commit, considering my tight
schedule now. I am just afraid that I might leave them in a worse mess
if I begin the washing process and find that I do not have the time to
finish a good job in washing and drying them properly.

I would like to keep the fleeces very much because I know I would
enjoy learning and spinning my first yarn when I have the time after I
return from my trip abroad in four months time. I know it will take a
lot of work and I have so much more to learn. But I think it will be
really nice to knit with yarn that one has prepared from start to
finish, right?

Please advise me what to do. I am at my wits end!

Thank you very much :-)

Lynn

On 17 May 2004 14:47:53 -0700, (knitlynn) wrote:

Greetings and Hi! I am new to posting in this newsgroup. I have been
knitting for about two years and I am now thinking of spinning my own
yarn.
1. If the dirty greasy fleeces can be kept in storage for four months,
what is the best form of storage to ensure minimal damage to the wool?
in boxes in the garage?

If you must store grease fleece, wrap it in brown paper (grocery sacks
will be fine, seal all the seams with tape, and store in a cool
location. Assuming the tape holds and the dog doesn't chew a hole in
the bag the fleece should be fine for many months.

2. If they cannot be kept for that long in the unwashed state. I will
try to find some time to wash and dry them before I go away.

I can skirt and sort a fleece in well under an hour, but because I
(usually) drum card I'm not particular about the sorting. I reserve
the longest locks for combing, the rest goes willy nilly into the
carder.

Time for scouring depends on your facilities. I can process one pound
per 90 minutes using the washing machine. Load the machine with hot
water and detergent; shut it off, stuff in a pound of fleece, poke it
down with a stick and walk away for 20 minutes. Go back, spin it out,
remove the fleece, rinse out the drum, refill with hot water and
detergent. Two detergent soaks, two clear rinses and on to the next
batch.

Store scoured fleece as described above. Leave some space in the bag
- ie, don't pack down the fleece. The fleece will continue to exude
moisture from scouring for a while and it'll need room to be able to
travel out.

In article , Slinky
wrote:

On 17 May 2004 14:47:53 -0700, (knitlynn) wrote:

Hello

Slinky more or less said it all. I would like to add that you can't store
a wet fleece. If you do not have the time to wash and dry your fleeces,
you can store them unwashed in white plastic bags as well. White as in
clear plastic that will let the light in. (moth do not like light) Your
biggest problem may be critters...from moth to mice etc. Fleece stored in
clear plastic bags that are well sealed, will be fine until you come
back. I have stored fleeces for several years that way.

Els

PS I have just found great storage containers. They are made from very
fine woven (nylon) material. They are sold flat and have a memory wire in
them. When you undo the toggles, that hold the circular bin flat, you
will end up with a pop up round bin of about 23" high with an eighteen
inch diameter. The top closes hermetically (spelling) with a round lid
that zips closed with two tabs. I bought one for $10 Canadian at the
Super Store (Loblaws). I love these so much I bought 4 more for fleece
storage. I spin my milled pin roving right out of this bin. Keeps
everything neat and tidy and also keeps the moths out when the lid is
zipped closed.
EvD


snip snip

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Els? How much does a fleece cost and how much yarn would you generally get
from one?
Thanks!
laurie

In article Autqc.523271$oR5.130950@pd7tw3no, "Llaurie"
wrote:

Els? How much does a fleece cost and how much yarn would you generally get
from one?
Thanks!
laurie

Laurie, I take that you are talking about having your fleece milled
(sorry can't think of the proper wording here) I can look the price list
up for you from Marie in Crofton. It all depends on how much your fleeces
weighs in the first place, as well as how dirty it is. There can be great
weight loss when a fleece is loaded with sand and soil. Is this fleece
skirted already (did the farmer take all the tags and felted little bits
of the outside (rim) of the fleece. How much vegetable matter is still in
the fleece etc. Let me find the price list and I will E-mail you with the
prices. You can have the fleece sorted washed and put into roving, but
you do not have to have it washed if the fleeces is relatively clean.

Els

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Hi Els and Slinky,

Thank you very much for your advice.

May I know how long does it take for the fleece to dry, considering
average spring weather now?

Thanks,
Lynn

thanks again Els I did get your email privately but for some reason when
i answered it just bounced back?
I dont have a fleece.. i should have been more specific. I'd like to have a
fleece to spin. Or whatever the fleece is called when it is ready to spin?
Lovely site of that supplier in Crofton!
laurie

"Average spring weather" varies greatly. Where I live I might have
30% humidity and clear skies when I roll out of bed, thunderstorms and
95% humidity by noon, and clearing skies and falling humidity again by
bedtime.

Scour it well to remove all the grease, fluff it as it dries, and
don't store it compacted while you're gone. It should be fine.

On 18 May 2004 15:46:50 -0700, (knitlynn) wrote:

Hi Els and Slinky,

Thank you very much for your advice.

May I know how long does it take for the fleece to dry, considering
average spring weather now?

Thanks,
Lynn

Hi Els. I don't think I'd store a fresh fleece in a sealed plastic
bag. The thing will sweat and mildew if it doesn't felt too. I
bought a fleece that had been stored in a plastic bag, back when I was
a new spinner and didn't know any better. Never again.

On Mon, 17 May 2004 20:02:25 -0700, (Els
van Dam) wrote:

In article , Slinky
wrote:

On 17 May 2004 14:47:53 -0700, (knitlynn) wrote:

Hello

Slinky more or less said it all. I would like to add that you can't store
a wet fleece. If you do not have the time to wash and dry your fleeces,
you can store them unwashed in white plastic bags as well.

In article ,
(knitlynn) wrote:

Hi Els and Slinky,

Thank you very much for your advice.

May I know how long does it take for the fleece to dry, considering
average spring weather now?

Thanks,
Lynn

Lynn after I washed my fleece, I separated the locks one by one, and laid
them out on a very large beach towel on my weaving room floor. It took
about a day and a half to dry, this was two months ago. Oh yeah, I live
on Vancouver Island and it is not all that cold but there is always a lot
of moister in the air. Open locks of wool tend to dry quickly, I find.
Slinky what do you think, how does this work for you, and Helen you are
another person to do this as well.

Els

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