cleaning a fleece

Last weekend I decided to start processing this fleece.  It is an awarding winning fleece that I purchased at SAFF in North Carolina.  Getting to touch all the fiber is always so lovely.  I really do not need anymore, because I have so much to process, but I am off to the Taos Wool Festival this weekend.  More fiber.  More animals.  More mountains.  Possibly some restraint when it comes to purchasing fiber.  Maybe not.

I spent hours picking through the fleece.  Getting straw and dirt clumps out of it.  Because it was such a well kept sheep, there really was not a lot of there crap to clean out.

I washed it in the bathtub with a very gentle soap.

And now it is drying.  Soon it will be dry enough for carding and spinning.  It is another of those meditative tasks.  The problem with this fleece is trying to decide what I want to do with it.  It is just a lovely color and softness that I have too many ideas.  I do have more fleeces to process, even some I can dye.

More experimentation!