I bought a fleece.
Me, a total n00b, who owns no drum carder or even hand cards (yet) bought a 13 freakin’ pound fleece.
It seemed like a good idea at the time (right, Kim?)
The good news: It’s gorgeous, and in good shape (I think, but what do I know?) and washes up beautifully based on the little bit I cleaned in my bathtub. No second cuts, soft like butter, white as snow, what’s not to love?
Um, it’s a fleece from a Lincoln ram lamb. Hence 13 lbs. Knowing nothing about sheep breeds at the time (I know, shut up) I looked up Lincolns when I got home.
The fleece of the Lincoln is carried in heavy locks that are often twisted into a spiral near the end. Lincolns should be very well wooled to the knees and hocks, and occasionally some individuals carry wool below these points. The staple length in Lincolns is among the longest of all the breeds, ranging from eight to fifteen inches* (20-38 cm) with a yield of 65 to 80 percent. The fleece usually parts over the back on lambs and sometimes on older sheep. Lincolns produce the heaviest and coarsest fleeces of the long-wooled sheep with ewe fleeces weighing from 12 to 20 pounds (5.4-9kg). The fleece has a numeric count of 36’s - 46’s and ranges from 41.0 to 33.5 microns in fiber diameter. Although coarse and somewhat hair-like, the fleece does have considerable luster.**
*Eight to fifteen inch staple? Yikes! That lets out fiber processing by Spinderella, our local favorite, as her carder can only handle staple lengths up to seven inches. I did find this place in Washington state, and they raise Lincolns, so I might be sending it off to the Pacific Northwest soon.
**Coarse and hair-like? Okay, I guess it is “hair-like”–whatever that means. Coarse as in thick? Coarse as in rough? But it’s so soft! Am I crazy?
More photos here on Flickr.
Suggestions? Accolades? Condolences? Jibes?
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EWE-TAH KNITS
