The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Bionic on September 17, 2014, 10:41:03 pm

Title: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Bionic on September 17, 2014, 10:41:03 pm
I have a lovely shearling fleece taken from the Coloured Ryeland ram I sold a couple of weeks ago. I want to make something nice to do him justice.
I was thinking of maybe crocheting an afghan so that I can wrap myself in him on cold winter evenings. Anyone got a better suggestion?
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Lesley Silvester on September 18, 2014, 12:11:16 am
A big thick jumper for seeing to the sheep on a cold winter's evening?
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Fleecewife on September 18, 2014, 12:55:24 am
I like the idea of the Afghan  :thumbsup:  :spin:  :knit:
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Bionic on September 18, 2014, 08:18:28 am
Sorry Lesley, the afghan is still in the lead
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Louise Gaunt on September 18, 2014, 08:30:19 am
I like the idea of an afghan too, keeps you warm and every so often you can give it a little stroke to remind yourself where it came from!
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Lesley Silvester on September 18, 2014, 09:59:25 pm
Looks like I'm outnumbered.
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: devonlady on September 19, 2014, 09:38:23 am
You can always wear the Afghan to see to the sheep on a winter day :)
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Fleecewife on September 19, 2014, 11:36:44 am

Come on Sally - hurry up, we want to see the pics  :roflanim:
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Bionic on September 19, 2014, 12:06:05 pm
Oh Fleece wife, I have lots of things on the go before I get round to dealing with Tonto (brown fleece).
I have been working with the fleece from one of my white girls. Dyeing it with all sorts of natural things. It has more or less all been carded and next I am going to blend it together before making myself a jumper with it.
But even before I blend it I am going to use the naturally dyed fleece for a competition at the Llandover Sheep Festival on 27th/28th Sept.
I have dyed with the following
Fruit tea, black tea, ground coffee, Ash bark, nettles, dock leaves, himalayan balsam, rosebay willow herb, turmeric, onion skins. and blackberries
I intend to have a small batt of each colour and then list the names of all the things I have used for dyeing and the children will need to guess which batt is dyed with which ingredient.
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: fsmnutter on September 19, 2014, 12:22:33 pm
Can you put photos of those batts on here so we can all play too?
Sounds fun!
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Bionic on September 19, 2014, 12:57:23 pm
Ok, I will put up a picture in the next couple of days. Don't know who realistic the colours will show up on here though.  Watch this space
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Lesley Silvester on September 19, 2014, 09:57:17 pm
You can always wear the Afghan to see to the sheep on a winter day :)


 :roflanim:
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: BALLOCH on October 06, 2014, 07:15:00 pm
we were at llandovery buying a new blackwelsh ram!
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Lesley Silvester on October 06, 2014, 11:40:26 pm
I now have a Castlemilk Moorit fleece to work on. No idea what I'm going to do with it but I so love the colour.
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Bionic on October 07, 2014, 08:14:45 am
I now have a Castlemilk Moorit fleece to work on. No idea what I'm going to do with it but I so love the colour.
[/quote
 
I didn't get on well with the CMM fleece I had but agree, its a lovely colour]
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: ellied on October 07, 2014, 09:32:13 am
Wear the afghan to get warm *after* doing the sheep!  I keep coming in soaked and/or freezing and have a warm cardi that fits over fleeces after yet another change or shower!  It's only fair one of the sheep warms you up after the rest make you get out in all weather..
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: SallyintNorth on October 16, 2014, 12:05:47 pm
I now have a Castlemilk Moorit fleece to work on. No idea what I'm going to do with it but I so love the colour.

We did Castlemilk Moorit on our Deb Robson workshops, and found that, counter-intuitively, spinning it straight from the (mini) combs was the easiest way to spin it and gave by far the best results.  I'm so pleased I can now use the fleeces my two grow!  (Not to mention the remainder of Brucklay's clip - we cleaned her out for two workshops here and another two at Fibre East!)
Title: Re: Suggestions for my fleece
Post by: Lesley Silvester on October 17, 2014, 12:12:32 am
I was just thinking how lovely it must be to have your own sheep and loads of fleeces when I realised that I have NO sheep and loads of fleeces.  ;D