Friday, April 15, 2011

Fleece Sorting And Scouring Season Has Begun!


My favorite season, spring, and of course shearing time! I'm so pleased because this year things in the fleece skirting/sorting arena have gotten even better. I started out using old window screens to lay out my fleeces and sort them and getting the fiber ready to scour. This worked nicely for a number of years, then last year I got a look at my friends skirting table and decided I needed more room to skirt/sort my fleece too. So I picked up this nice large screen on sale at a local home improvement store. In the past I balanced it between two lawn chairs and spread out my fleece to skirt/sort. But this year I have these wonderful drying racks, complements of my friend Jan. (Thanks Jan!) They work perfectly, the screen and the racks were made for one another! I especially like the flexibility, I can work standing up or adjust it lower if I want to sit. This makes a long process quite a bit more comfortable.


Ooo, look at this gorgeous fleece! So pretty and clean I hardly had to do anything to it, and it came clean in one wash and rinse! I still have my smaller screens, which I can use for drying my fleece and something even more convenient, if I get to a stopping point and I'm not finished with the fleece, I place another screen on top and I can easily transport the fiber safely back into the garage. Saving me from disrupting the fleece, and it makes for a quick set up when I want to get working on the fleece again. All of these items are really compact and portable, another bonus.


Here's a close up of the beautiful fleece I was working on when these pictures were taken, stunning right! I already did a little test spin on my spindle, beautiful! I plan on blending this with alpaca and some other goodies.

Have a great weekend! Blessings Friends!
Melissa

9 comments:

  1. Now that is a creative sorting table. I should take a photo of what I do. I am already starting to sort for my clients and that is just finishing up last year's shearings...it will be a busy next few months sorting for me.

    Sorting while standing is the way to go and the way I was trained. Especially if you spend the whole day sorting. Have fun.

    Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

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  2. That's a great set-up Melissa. The fleece is beautiful. How long is that lock? Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

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  3. Gotta love necessity and inspiration - that's a very crafty way to go about fleece drying.

    I can't wait to see it spun up!

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  4. Please post pictures as you progress through the process ... I've never started with raw locks before, I'm curious.

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  5. I had to smile when I read your post. I also use screens because they are just so light weight and portable.

    What a lovely looking fleece.

    Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

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  6. what a beautiful fleece. Love those long locks

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  7. Very creative! I like the adjustable drying rack idea.

    The fleece has beautiful crimp and luster. What type is it?

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  8. Fabulous fleece. Makes me want some.
    The racks look great and am thrilled they work so very well for you. They served me well for some years too. Some thing I did too was spread a sheer curtain over them and could tie all four corners together and transport a bag of wool around.
    Hope to see a sample next month.

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  9. Great sorting table! I love those dryer racks. You are right they are really nice. And they sparkle! Nice fleece too.

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I'm a crafter, knitter, tinkerer, who always seems to have a project or two on the launch pad. I love to share what I'm working on and I love to see what other folks are working on too, so please comment and let me know where I can see your latest creation!