Wool Swap

What a creamy, dreamy idea. A wool swap. Better yet, a raw wool swap. The idea was that the participants would swap samples of raw, unwashed, uncarded fleece. Not a full fleece, but a sampler, one that would give the recipient a taste of a new type of wool. Prior to this, in the Raw Wool Lovers United group on Ravelry, we'd been discussing breeds of wool, and cross bred sheep. I'd expressed an interest in cross bred sheep, and so was really pleased when my swap included a cross. This is the wool of Beatrice, whose lineage is diverse and marvelout. Beatrice, at the time of this shearing, was just a lamb. Her mother, Brownie, is an Outaouais Arcott, and her father, Shaemous was a cross between a South African Marino sire and a Rambouillet mother.

The first photo is a peek into the package. When I get raw wool, the first peek into the package is always exciting. I am expecting the perfume of a sheep. The second and third are a closer look. This is just loveliness. Look at that crimp. The fleece looks creamy because it has the sheep's natural oils saturating it. Washed up, it was white, but still had the lock formation. Now I'm carding it, and it is, as you might expect, soft and strong and sound, wonderful fleece.




What a treat this was. Thanks, Val. These pictures will remind me.