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A couple of weeks back, I washed a bunch of Coopworth fleece. I can't get enough of this stuff - it's soooo pretty! I laid it all out on the front walk to have a good look at it, and make some decisions as to what I want to do with this fiber.
I wanted to get a closeup, so that I could show you how wonderful this fiber really is...
...which means that I had to walk on the fiber itself...
Oh My.
How wonderfully soft and wonderful and luscious and wonderful...
Now I know why I keep finding this...
Dixie, now I understand. I understand, completely.
You just have yourself a nice little nap, and please, don't disrupt the locks, OK? I spent a long time, sorting them out.
Sweet dog. She's my little pal. She's so prissy and dainty that she doesn't bother a thing.
Look how the fiber looks with a little bit of flash - it glistens.
I'm going to have so much fun with this stuff!!
I just want to roll in it!
Spinning is going nicely, too. I've started with the lightest shade, which is a very pale grey. I'm cutting off the badly yellowed tips, but there's still a lot of yellow in there, and I'd love to know a way to lighten or reduce the yellow shade. I'm going to look at the drugstore to see if there are any shampoos designed for this purpose. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd love to know what has worked for you.
By the way, maybe you've noticed a little difference in the way Blogger is posting photos? Maybe it slipped by you... but if you click on the picture, you can make it big, and if you click on it again you can make it full sized. I like this new development. Try it.
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9 comments:
That is a horrifying amount of fiber! I have a bit of Coopworth that was sent as a sample, and soft it is not. You obviously found a better sheep than the person who sent me the sample. Have fun with it!
There are some shampoos designed for blondes and those with grey hair that are dark purple in nature. They are particularly useful in keeping hair from yellowing in hard and heavily chlorinated water. They probably contain some sort of dye that washes out. That might help.
Your dog is a real cutie:) My siamese cat does the same thing with my freshly washed alpaca.
Sandy is going to send me some of her Coopworth in the spring so I will get to try some of that loveliness!
Absolutely lovely! I can't wait until I have my first experience of prepping a fleece! Such an adorable puppy too!
Aw, Dixie is so darling! And I want to roll around on that fleece, too. It looks scrumptious.
I spun up a Coopworth fleece last year. It is earmarked for a nice winter oversweater that will never ever pill. Love the glisten, too. You did SO much work on the locks. (I sent mine out.)
Hey Fleegle! Yup, I have almost 5 pounds of washed fiber, waiting to be spun. What a good feeling - like money in the bank. Coopworth isn't soft like Merino or Cashmere, but it is a wonderful fiber and I really like it. It's an outwear sort of fiber and my project is an outerwear sort of project, so I think that it'll be perfect. It's a delight to spin, I can tell you this! It just pours out of my hand. Ahhhh.... I love it!
Gale, thanks for the advice. I'll have a look. I'm thinking that part of my problem might be our local water. Even if I can't get the yellowing to go away, it's still beautiful stuff.
Jody - I took a photo today of my brat cat sleeping on my coopworth. I can't win - someone's always napping on my projects! You are going to like Sandy's fiber! It's top notch.
Walden, I never thought that I'd wash a fleece - I mean, why on earth? You can buy it all nicely prepared, right? But it is very satisfying to wash and pick through and get all arranged how you like it. It's worth the effort, imho.
Marcy, come on over, I'll let you have a roll! Little Dixie Doodle is my constant companion, she's a complete delight.
Laurie, I'm looking forward to knitting my sweater - also an outerwear sweater. I think that this will be the perfect fiber. Thanks!
Rosemary
I'm coming to this late, so perhaps Gale's advice already solved your problem. Sounds like what you need, though, is laundry blueing. This is basically an indigo solution. You use a few drops of it in a washing machine full of water. The very slight blue tint balances out the yellow tint to bring things back to a true white.
Blueing is why little old ladies are sometimes referred to as blue-haired. A rinse with this stuff will brighten up hair as well as laundry, but if you use too much of it . . .
Wow. That's the most...fastidious washing job I've ever seen. How lovely!
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