Let me tell you a love story. It starts on a farm far away from my home, and it ends in a trash bag. Somewhere there is a sheep I’ve never met, grazing in fields I’ll never walk myself, who gave me a gift that I am beyond thrilled with. How could it guess that, after an ignominious clip, that its now forgotten fleece would make its way into my waiting and willing arms? Newly shorn and naked; sunlight, sweet grass, and the company of its herd were far more enticing thoughts than the love of a passionate spinner and dyer. All things considered, it’s probably for the best that way, don’t you think?
Romney ram, borrowed from Wikipedia.
I adore Romney. It is tied with Blue Faced Leicester for the throne in my spinner’s heart, and both have their charms. Romney has a sheen to it, and a beautiful crimp, both of which delight me to no end. I learned to enjoy working with it when I hand carded and spun the warp for last year’s Fleece to Shawl at Rhinebeck. I fell in love with it when I dyed locks in shades of fire and autumn leaves for the weft. I swear, by all that is holy and covered in chocolate, the colors fairly glowed on the fiber. I couldn’t believe that a breed often passed over by my comrades was actually so lovely.
Going into Rhinebeck there was only one thing on my “must have” list, and that was a clean, light or medium grey Romney fleece… and it had to be affordable. As fate would have it, I found a fleece that met all those criteria (and then some) at the same booth I bought the Dark Star roving from last year, Triple R Farm. My friend Becky, who used to work in a fiber mill, looked the fleece over and gave it a thumbs up. When I went to check out with the 5lb fleece and a side order of roving, the wife told her husband to only charge me for 3lbs. So, I bought a beautiful 5lb fleece for $24. Yes, only $24.
What a fleece looks like, all spread out.
When I brought it home after percolating in Becky’s car for an afternoon, I found that condensation had dampened the fleece. There was no way I could just tie the bag closed and store it until a far away day when I felt like washing it, my beautiful fleece would have molded by then. I really did have to wash it, and quickly. I spread the fleece out in the living room so it could start to air out, grabbed my sole remaining lingerie bag, and got to work.
Raw locks, ready to wash.
The fleece was so clean that I was able to set up a three-soak system, start to finish. Fortunately the hot water for our apartment is supernova scalding, which is fantastic for washing fleeces. I would add some Dawn to a wash tub, run the water til it was smoking hot and pop my bag of fleece in there to soak. The first water dump was amber colored and smelled like a barn. The second soapy soak was barely tinted at all. The third soak, clear water only, dumped out crystal clear. Due to the weather being cold and damp, I could only do two batches a night, dried atop our radiators. Even so, I was able to knock out that fleece in exactly one week.
Please ignore our battered bathroom floor (and poor lighting). It's actually clean, really.
As each batch dried and I picked through it to check on cleanliness and how much (if any) VM was present, I was continually awed by the fleece. The locks were so luscious, the crimp so modestly wavy and plump. I wasn’t the only one that was amazed at how silky the washed locks were. This was only my second time washing a fleece, and to say I was thrilled - not only that I didn’t ruin it, but that it was so easy and fun – would be an understatement.
The first soak is always the most dramatic.
Colors in this fleece ranged from creamy sand to silver and pewter greys. Only rarely did I find a stalk or plant head to pull out. There were a few spots where the locks were tough and the VM embedded, those areas seemed to be clearly belly or leg section. All in all, I threw out two handfuls of fiber I thought unfit. The rest of the fleece is wonderful, and begging to be used.
Cleaned locks.
Now I’ve got a big white trash bag full to the brim with woolly goodness. What to do with over 3 lbs of soft locks? Oh honey, I have dye and a drumcarder, and I’m not afraid to use them. I could commit myself to a sweater that I ,designed dyed, carded, spun, and knit myself, but I fear I won’t have the fortitude to see it through. Smaller projects though… that I can see happening. I have visions of dye runs dancing in my head. Small batches of scarlet, garnet, and old rose – a hat and scarf combo. Dark sapphire, grey blue, and denim – a shawl. Pine green, sage, and redwood brown – a pair of socks. Once the three colors are carded together the resulting heathered batts and yarn would be far more beautiful than the individual contributing colors, and a joy to create.
Clean locks, mostly 5" in length like the ones on the right, and some darker, shorter locks.
Oh happy day, oh dreamy sigh! I can hardly wait to see where this Romney romance takes me because truthfully, I am helplessly in love with this fleece.
Tags: planning, Spinning
