Tomorrow I’ll bring my wool to the Vermont Fiber Mill to be cleaned and combed and turned into yarn and roving that I’ll sell in the spring.
This batch is not going to be like the others because I have Romney wool from Constance, Merricat, Robin and Lori. And guest Llama wool from Vanilla.
Last year Lori’s wool suffered from the stress of being pregnant and giving birth to Robin as often happens with sheep. Her wool that grew over the summer is as soft, long, and as luscious as the wool of the three younger sheep.
My plan is to mix Lori’s wool with Suzy’s Border Leicester wool as I did in the spring. But Lori’s wool is much darker than it was then so I don’t think I can dye it. I’m counting on the combination of wool being a dark gray. I’ll make half into yarn and leave half as roving for spinners and felters.
I’ll keep Constance’s black wool natural. I’ll do the same with Robin’s wool, making it into a bulky yarn.
I’m going to mix Merricat’s white wool with Liam and Kim’s. I’ll keep some of it natural and dye some. I’m thinking of a light blue because it will go well with all the natural colors.
And this time I have a bonus wool that I’ve never had before and won’t have again.
Yesterday my friend and Batik Artist Carol Law Conklin gave me the wool from her llama Vanilla. It’s a mix of soft brown and white. Since Vanilla is old it took him three years to grow the wool Carol gave me and he probably won’t live long enough to be shorn again. Carol isn’t going to be using the wool so she asked me if I wanted it. It’s very soft and longer than the wool I usually bring to the mill so I’m hoping it can be processed by their machines.
I’ll keep Vanilla’s wool natural too and have it made into yarn.
So next spring I’ll have a lot of natural wool to sell. I’m excited to see what the wool from the young sheep will look and feel like.
If any of this wool sounds like something you think you might like to look forward to getting in the spring, let me know, I can put you on my Wool List. That means I’ll contact you before I post the wool for sale in my Etsy Shop and you’ll have a better chance of getting the wool you want. Just email me at [email protected] .
Yes, Vanilla does look very alert and proud, a handsome specimen of his kind. I like his white headband; makes him look like a hipster llama. And his wool looks like swirls of melted caramel!