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| Spun Jacobs yarn |
So for February I have been spinning Jacobs fleece. When it arrived it came in a big bag and was transferred into a hessian sack for storage. Jacobs fleece is interesting because it comes in a variety of colours all on the one fleece. The fleece would have been picked over for big bits of straw but other than that, it is pretty much as it came off the sheep. As it had not been washed, it is called in the grease. This can make it easier to spin as it 'glues' the spin and smooths down any wispy bits. As I planned to ply this yarn, I weighed out two lots of 50g of grey/brown fleece and spun each lot as evenly as possible. Once both lots have been spun to the right, it is spun (plied) together to the left. Hopefully if all goes well, the two lots should be the same length, which they were almost.
The next job to do is to wind the yarn onto a niddy noddy to create a skein. This is tied in several places to prevent tangling and it can now be washed to remove the lanolin and grime. It is then hung to drip dry in the garage and after a day or two, it is dry enough to weigh. Amazingly it had lost 23g of grease and grime and now weighs in at 77g.
I have listed it in auction on my ebay shop starting at £3 for this skein which I can wind into a ball on my ball winder if required.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hand-spun-Jacob-wool-77g-plied-chunky-natural-browns-and-greys-skein-/331129481628?pt=UK_Crafts_Knitting_Crochet_EH&hash=item4d18dae99c
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| Jacobs Sheep |
January seemed to fly past, again. Now we are into February and so I need to choose another sackful of fleece from my garage. For this month I have decided to spin a fleece from a Jacobs Sheep. This breed has special fond memories for me as I recall first spotting them in a distance field and boldly stating that they were cows, Fresians probably. The people who were with me were far more knowledgeable than me and corrected me staying that they were, in fact, sheep. Now prior to that moment, I didn't know that sheep came in multicolours. I had previously thought that they came in either cream or black (we've all heard about black sheep!)
Hmmm. Jacobs Sheep. I was therefore delighted to purchase a fleece of these mythical creatures last year and it duly became the last addition to my stock pile.
Wiki has this to say about Jacobs Sheep ....
The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald (coloured with white spots), polycerate (multi-horned) sheep. Jacobs may have from two to six horns, but most commonly have four. The most common color is black and white. Jacobs are usually raised for their wool, meat, and hides. They are also kept as pets and ornamental animals, and have been used as guard animals to protect farm property from theft or vandalism and defend other livestock against predators. Cool!!
