Be Ruthless!

I'm working my way thru 4 pounds of delightful Bond. I might comb some of it but I'm using my drum carder (Fancy Kitty, 70/90) for the vast majority. When I first started processing raw wool, I tried so hard to use every little bit for spinning. I just couldn't bear to waste any of the wool that I'd worked so hard to get clean and carded. Well, after more than a few years, I've gotten pretty ruthless. If I see the slightest hint of a nep, a noil or a short cut that escaped my notice, I pull it out of the wool as I card it. Those little bits seem to have the power to reproduce as they go through the carder and I really don't want to pull them out as I spin. So, I'm ruthless.

Here's a pic of what I pulled out of about 5 ounces of fiber. It weighs 1/3 of an ounce (about 10 grams). So there really isn't that much waste; it just looks like a lot. Also, you can see the neps and noils and tangles when light is shines through the waste.


The truth of the matter is that you don't have to waste any fiber. Also, spinning yarn with lots of lumps to remove as you spin is a pain. So, you can use hand combs and make rolags from the carder waste for a nice woolen yarn. If you don't want to use hand cards, use the waste in textured yarns. You can even give the waste to the birds for their nests or use it for mulch in your garden. Be ruthless with less that less than perfect fiber as you process it. I think this makes for a much better yarn and more fun spinning.

Here's a pic of the finished batts:

Bond Fleece

This is Willis' fleece. Willis is a Bond; these are pretty rare in the U.S. and I'm so glad to have 4 pounds of this delicious wool. 

Look at that crimp! The color is so pretty too. It is what I'd call beige but it does have a lavender undertone. It should take dye beautifully (off- white fibers often take dye better that pure white), if I can bring myself to dye it.

A couple of things that I learned in handling this wool: it is greasy as it is related to Merino and it is a lot stronger than it feels. I didn't use hot enough water during the first wash and had to rewash a whole lot of fiber. Also, when I started running it thru the drum carder, I was going very slowly and feeding little tiny bits of fiber with the carder set on its slowest speed. It was taking forever to get carded so, on a whim, I turned the carder up as fast as it would go and everything seemed to work better. The licker in was picking up more of (the few) second cuts and the batts had fewer neps/noils and etc. Who knew!

Here's a pic of one the batts held up to the light. They really did turn out nicely.

I'm spinning this on my Schacht- Reeves. Here's a bobbin shot of some yarn left over after plying. I'll post some pics of the finished yarn when it dries. 
Bond is delightful to work with; I'm really enjoying this fleece.