Sunday, June 19, 2011

A Garage Full 'O Wool

The wild and the wooly.

 


What an inviting chair!

 


Fleece strung on orange snow fencing.

 


A close up of very dirty fleece.

 


I managed to get my hands on a lot of raw fleece lately...

...from an area farm that raises sheep for its meat, not its wool.

This fleece is a combination of Dorset, Suffolk and Romney...

...and when clean, the colors of the wool are strikingly different!

Because these animals were not coated, nor was the fleece well-skirted during shearing...

...there's quite an aromatic scent that wafts from my garage whenever the door is opened! :)

(I can just imagine what my neighbors think when they catch a quick peek!)

I've made two quite disparate projects from it so far...

...and I'm hoping to use more of it, soon.

After all, I'm afraid that if I leave it in the garage too long...

...I may find that it's become a home for all manner of living creatures!! Shudder.

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17 comments:

Kelly said...

Have fun working with it! Are you saving it to work in the grease, or are you going to process it?

Anonymous said...

LOL, why would it be any different at your place? Mine is the same, hihihi My basement smells like a sheepstal, just the real sheep are missing.... so many raw fleeces :)

Heather Woollove said...

Kelly--I'm too lazy to clean it first...so I'll work with it in the grease. :)
Kim--Hahahaha...that comforts me!

Unknown said...

Oh! These look like fun, Heather!
I haven't tried felting in the grease yet...adding it to my summer experiment list!

Voie de Vie said...

Wild and wooly indeed. :)

Can't wait to see what you come up with for all that wool.

WonderWhyGal said...

...this is why I raise Alpacas. I don't like working with stinky, sticky, greasy, smelly sheep fleeces. It's worth paying extra to get it in roving form.

I bought some CVM roving yesterday...washed, carded and ready for my spinning wheel.

Mattie van den Heuvel said...

Looks "Yummie"!!! I know the smell very well! Even wrapped in plastic it keeps smelling in our basement... I still want to make a big rug from one huge raw fleece, but I need a weekend with nothing planned and good weather! Have fun working with it!

Heather Woollove said...

Fiona--Yes...it's great when you can work outside, use a hose...and later your FEET (or your kids'!) to felt it!
Denise--I have two projects made, but a garagefull, still...so you will probably be sick of raw fleece by the time I can get my car back in there!! :)
Andrea--You are a beautiful alpaca spokesperson...but
honestly, it's not normally this dirty when you buy raw fleece. These farmers just wanted their animals to be cool, and, in fact, had COMPOSTED all of their fleece last year, 'cause they couldn't figure out anything useful to do with it!
Mattie--Yes...it's a long project, making a raw fleece rug...but I have to say VERY well worth it!! :)

Anonymous said...

I have some - can't remember the breed - given to me by the farmer to try out felting with. I've washed it, and had it hanging to dry for a couple of weeks, looking a lot like a body slung in a hammock.

The things we do for our arts!

Heather Woollove said...

Rachel---Hahaha...that's exactly what my boyfriend said when he was dragging big trash bags of wet fleece into my garage at twilight...that we was worried my neighbors would think he had baggies of body parts or something!! :)

Michelle said...

Heather, this looks wonderful...maybe you should bottle it...I can see it now..Eau de L'Ewe!
All your felties would buy it...ha ha.

I borrowed some fleece from a local farm for a school display- haven't been brave enough to try to use it...I'm watching with interest.

Heather Woollove said...

Michelle--Eau de L'Ewe!!! That's really funny!!! :)
I probably sure smell like I'm wearing it after a whole day of felting this stuff!! XXO-

Heather Woollove said...

P.S. My boyfriend says this perfume would sure make the man in your life 'rammy'. Oooof. XXO-

Little Miss Adventure said...

Looks awesome, but having blocked just one pair of socks today and stunk the kitchen out, I fear for the smell!

Heather Woollove said...

So, Rebecca....you're still knitting. What else is new in your world?

Janee Lookerse said...

You weren't joking when you said there was alot of it!

xoxo
Janee

Heather Woollove said...

Hahaha....Janee...I know!