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
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.
ReplyDeleteSorting 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!
That's a great set-up Melissa. The fleece is beautiful. How long is that lock? Happy Fiber Arts Friday!
ReplyDeleteGotta love necessity and inspiration - that's a very crafty way to go about fleece drying.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see it spun up!
Please post pictures as you progress through the process ... I've never started with raw locks before, I'm curious.
ReplyDeleteI had to smile when I read your post. I also use screens because they are just so light weight and portable.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely looking fleece.
Happy Fiber Arts Friday!
what a beautiful fleece. Love those long locks
ReplyDeleteVery creative! I like the adjustable drying rack idea.
ReplyDeleteThe fleece has beautiful crimp and luster. What type is it?
Fabulous fleece. Makes me want some.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
Great sorting table! I love those dryer racks. You are right they are really nice. And they sparkle! Nice fleece too.
ReplyDelete