The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Lesley Silvester on July 28, 2014, 11:04:54 pm

Title: Such a hard decision
Post by: Lesley Silvester on July 28, 2014, 11:04:54 pm

I've been given two gorgeous fleeces - one a Llanwenog and the other a Zwartble. I'm just coming to the end of my WIP and can't make up my mind which to start of first. Heeeelp!!

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Fleecewife on July 28, 2014, 11:08:50 pm

Llanwenog  8)

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Womble on July 28, 2014, 11:16:21 pm

Zwartble, but I would say that, wouldn't I? TBH, either breed would score pretty highly on a triple word score - can you flip a coin?  ;D

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: SallyintNorth on July 29, 2014, 04:46:11 am

What a lovely dilemma to have  ;D

Llanwenog - great for dyeing, shortish staple, for carding and spinning woollen, makes a bouncy yarn. 

Zwartbles - not so good for dyeing as it's black to start with!  May have a longer staple and therefore be both cardable and combable, or you could flick and spin from the fold.  IME, not such a bouncy yarn, you may want to blend it and/or ply it with something else.

AFAIK, neither has any particular tendency to felt.

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Bionic on July 29, 2014, 07:58:50 am

I've been spinning some Llanwenog given to me by Backinwellies. Its quite nice to spin, although for some reason I'm not very good at plying it  :(

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Lesley Silvester on July 29, 2014, 11:03:14 pm

That's where mine came from. I think the Zwartble is going to win for the simple reason that I will have just spun up some white wool and quite fancy a change. I don't have to spin the whole fleece before I start on the Llanwenog, after all, although I would like enough to make a jumper.

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Bionic on July 30, 2014, 07:34:36 am

You could do a bit of each and make a black and white jumper  ;D

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Anke on July 30, 2014, 11:39:35 am

You probably don't want to spin a black/dark brown fleece in the winter evening - much more difficult with artificial light (I find). So I would start with the dark one now...

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Lesley Silvester on July 30, 2014, 05:26:27 pm

Good thought, Anke. Just a little bit of the white one to finish and then the Zwartble it is. Llanwenog can be my winter project.

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: BALLOCH on August 14, 2014, 01:35:41 pm

I would spin a spool of each and then ply together giving a lovely colour!

Title: Re: Such a hard decision
Post by: Lesley Silvester on August 14, 2014, 11:52:18 pm

Good idea, Balloch. I might give that a go. I do fancy a jumper in the Zwartble colour first though.