This year, we’ve changed the way we have our share yarn milled. The primary reason for the change was that I wanted our share yarn to be a better match for our retail yarn. Since we’ve changed mills several times in the past, the yardage, weight and spin of our share yarn has been all over the place, and my goal is to create a consistent product from here on out.
Of course, it wasn’t as simple as just changing mills and shipping off the fleeces- nothing is ever that simple. The new mill we are using doesn’t wash fleece, they only spin it, which meant we either had to wash the fleece ourselves or send them to a third party wool washer. After some investigation, we elected to do the washing here at the farm.
The process wasn’t difficult but it was exacting. Maggie developed a system that got the fleeces clean without any felting, but it involved three washes and two rinses for each batch. The water temperatures had to be measured precisely. It was a big job, but Maggie got it done and the fleece looks lovely.
The other difference is that, rather than store our fleeces in a warehouse until they are ready to work with them, our new mill has us ship the fleece when they are ready to process it. I actually love this, as I would rather have the fleeces sitting around my house than their warehouse any day, just to eliminate possible mistakes and confusion.
All of our fleeces are washed, boxed and ready to ship as soon as we get word that they are ready for them, probably next week. It will take about two weeks for the yarn to be finished and shipped back to us. In the meantime, I will be posting the 2010 colorway options next week.
I’ll let you know as soon as the fleeces is shipped and what it’s status is.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
How exciting! I’m eagerly awaiting my first share yarn.
Oh my! I’m so excited about my 2nd share of yarn this year. I still haven’t wound up the yarn from 2009. Though it is earmarked for a project, just need the time.
I read your posts daily and love every single word.
Thank you Susie!!
Yay! Can’t wait!
So, if I may ask…how exactly does one wash a fleece? It strikes me that it would be difficult what with it not falling apart and being on a sheep that would collect things in a year or so…I’m curious how it works?
cool!
i can’t wait till i can buy into shares again
but really glad i can still be friends anyway.
looks awesome.
Wooooooo! Thanks for the update, this is SOOO exciting! I love love love hearing about what’s going on with the fleeces. Can’t wait to see the colourways, too!
wow! how many fleeces did you wash?
Great update! Thanks so much. And Maggie I will think of you fondly with every stitch I make with my lovely (and clean) JMF yarn. Pam
You also save shipping costs since the washed fleeces probably weight half as much.
If it is not a trade secret, I would love to get a description of how Maggie has worked out to wash the fleeces–temperatures, amount of fleece to amount of water to amount of detergent, what kind of detergent. The reason that I ask is that I raise Corriedales (one of the foundation breeds of the Cormo) and when I want to process some wool at home for my own use, I have still not gotten this right. I was wondering if you and Maggie are willing to share your recipe with another wool farmer. I’ll bet the other blog readers would find it interesting as well.
Wow! Maggie, you are awesome…..definitely a hard worker. Susie has a treasure in you.
What a big job washing that fleece must have been. Not to mention wet, heavy, and back-breaking. Go Maggie Go! You rock!
Oh my goodness, I almost missed this post! This will be my first share yarn also, and I just cannot wait for the sheepy goodness. Looking forward to the colourway options!
So excited!
Jan, great idea! Maggie is going to do a post sometime next week with our method.
Just last Tuesday I got to see photos of Mary Berry’s agitator-removed washing machine and fleece processing set up. I wasn’t surprised that she knew you.
May you never have unexpected felt!!!
Susan and Maggie,
Thanks in advance. You guys are the Best!