This past Tuesday, we (friend of the 8 fleeces and I) gave our presentation to our local knitting guild chapter and, happily, it was a great success. The ladies came out in force and seemed quite interested in all we had to say. I had built a PowerPoint presentation of the steps in the process going from the sheared fleece to a finished project. In the case of the Border Leicester, a gorgeous purse Peggy knit from our fleece's yarn was lined with silk and even had a label with our endeavors' name 'The Fleece Connection'. We also had on display the various stages the fleece 
goes through from 'in-the-grease; cold-washed; hot washed; teased & picked; hand-carded; drum-carded; spun singles; 2-ply worsted weight yarn; skeined; a ball ready for knitting and the finished swatch (in Peggy's case the wonderful purse). Everything looked quite impressive laid out on tables and shown together in a basket...but
we think most of the ladies would probably just head to their LYS for their yarn. I gave a spinning demonstration which was also very well-received and the entire proceeding had lots of energy...we were pleased that every one enjoyed it.The Dorset was not left out, although being white without lots of lustre or sheen, it definitely takes a back seat to the Leicester (which my English friend Paula remined me was pronounced 'Less-ter' not 'Lye-ster'...try as I might-I really am not a Brit.
Not being as creative as Peggy, my swatch looked exactly like a...SWATCH. The drum-carded
Dorset is truly gorgeous however, it looks like puffy white clouds. I am spinning this at closer to an Aran weight and the swatch did make us all say 'Aran sweater'. This is the fleece we have the most of and a lot of it will be in the dye pots we are planning for later in the Summer or eartly Autumn...another endeavor of 'The Fleece Connection'. Who knows where all of this will lead us...but we are having fun, even though it is very time-consuming to go from 'Fleece to Fiber'. Going through this entire process (the only thing we have not done is raise & shear the sheep) certainly does give you an appreciation for the time when there were no yarn shops!
Not being as creative as Peggy, my swatch looked exactly like a...SWATCH. The drum-carded
Dorset is truly gorgeous however, it looks like puffy white clouds. I am spinning this at closer to an Aran weight and the swatch did make us all say 'Aran sweater'. This is the fleece we have the most of and a lot of it will be in the dye pots we are planning for later in the Summer or eartly Autumn...another endeavor of 'The Fleece Connection'. Who knows where all of this will lead us...but we are having fun, even though it is very time-consuming to go from 'Fleece to Fiber'. Going through this entire process (the only thing we have not done is raise & shear the sheep) certainly does give you an appreciation for the time when there were no yarn shops!
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1 comment:
Very interesting post. I keep thinking of all the women over the years who have done this. What a connection.
I had to laugh when you wrote TRY AS I MIGHT, I CANNOT BE A BRIT. I know how you feel. I can't be British ... or French either -- try as I might. :)
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