Yes! Am doing the same here - although I do 1-3 each day, 6 would be a marathon for me
I do them stood up, with their head in a headstock. I sit on a milking stool to do the sides, neck and belly, and stand up to do the back and rump. I love it but it takes me ages! I don't attempt to get the fleeces off in one piece, and tend to skirt as I go, clipping off a good chunk for the "spinning" sack and then some edges and unders for the "garden" sack. When I sort the spinning stuff further, any usable but coarser bits will go into the "peg loom" sack.
Because I like a mix of sheep, it's hard for me to collect up 10kgs of any one type/colour for the Natural Fibre Company to process for me. (10kgs is the min quantity for rovings, 25kgs for yarn.) I just want to get more of my fleece ready to spin so that we use more of it. And NFC rovings are gorgeous to spin - my fave prep. As long as you only put the good stuff in, of course...
I had some tender fleeces last year, so they all got a mineral drench in winter this year and hopefully there will be more usable this time around. I collated barely 5kgs of medium-long staple soft white last year, but if I can get all of Yin and Alice's white fleeces and Lessa's white bits, fingers crossed that will get me up to the 10kgs of that. Otherwise it will be 2022!
I am on Rampisham Mill's email list and had hoped they might be taking in smaller quantities by now, but nothing heard yet. So I will continue to collate all the medium-long soft grey in another bag; doubt that will get to 10kgs this year. I clipped Mr Pie on Saturday, and he will go into that bag, along with some of Pugling's, but I don't think I want to mix browns and greys, and I am dubious about mixing very long lustrous staple with the less long softer stuff...
![Thinking :thinking:](https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/thinking.gif)
I do have Quincy's last year's Shetland x lamb's black fleece to come off. It's possible that could go in the "greys" sack, but I won't know until I get it off and have a feel. It may not be soft enough, but it doesn't look to be too long, so fingers crossed
![Fingers crossed :fc:](https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/fingers_crossed.gif)
I have wondered about piling Quincy's marvellous lustrous steely blue Wensleydale in with her Romney x son Skyhawk's gorgeous white fleece. Similar fibre, and would mix to give a pale grey. I taught two of our newer members to spin last year. Zane made socks from Quincy and Dan is making a jumper from Skyhawk but there is still loads left of each. Between what we haven't used from last year, and this year's, that could make 10kgs. And NFC process Sue Blacker's own Gotlands, so I presume can handle the longer staple...
![Thinking :thinking:](https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/thinking.gif)
There are several sheep in the fawn to light brown range, not long staple and quite soft. Again it will take a few years to get 10kgs of that... I clipped Thunder on Saturday, he's Pugling's son from last year and his will go in that sack. I think his sister Puggles' fleece may have that special Icelandic quality which means it goes straight into Sally's Spin Now pile...
Fizz, Manx x Shetland (Dot Cotton's last lamb, a bonus lamb born October last year) has the most wonderful rich toffee-coloured fleece. Too amazing a colour to mix with anything else! But she's a small sheep, so it would take
years to collate 10kgs. I shall have to prep and spin hers myself...
Last year, some of Hannah's fleece went into Sally's Spin Now pile. She's Shetland with a touch of BFL on her mother's side, and Skyhawk (Wensleydale x Romney) is her dad. Huge dark fleece, browns and greys with a Long staple, not the softest but has that "Spin Me" quality that a good Romney does. Fab for socks. She's had her first lamb this year so it's possible her fleece won't be as good - I find that sometimes it takes them a year or two to balance the workload and still produce a nice fleece.
I could go on... and probably will, later
![Wink ;)](https://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
Pic of Fizz attached, with her mum Manx Dot Cotton nearest the camera, Hannah with her lamb Corky behind.