BUMPS FOR SPINNING AND FELTING

'Our boys' were put in the paddocks predominantly to save the trouble of slashing in preparation for summer bushfire season.  However an added bonus is the wonderful fleeces provided after shearing in September.  When we bought the boys, I visualised myself sitting on the verandah calmly spinning fleeces as the wind blew through the trees.  What I didn't know was what was involved to get the fleeces to this stage!  The shearer divides each fleece into  3 bags - 'saddle' (the prime part which I use for spinning),  necks and legs (next best part which I use for felting) and 'rubbish' (all the rest which is good for mulching around trees).

The first stage is to take the fleece and CLEAN IT!  My boys looove to roll in the clover burs with a follow-up roll in the hay and the day would not be complete without at least one dust bath.  So cleaning the fleece involves pulling the whole fleece apart and removing all the vegetable matter and dirt - work clothes advised.   I have spent 12 hours cleaning one fleece.  The next stage is to wash manageable sections in wool wash.  Beginners beware - my first attempt at this resulted in one big felted mass as I was not aware that you can't agitate the fibre in the hot water.  After an hour of passive soaking, the fleece is rinsed in clean water and carefully wrung out - again no agitation.  I then lay it flat between two pieces of tulle and as we have enormous supplies of sunshine, it dries rather quickly on the paving. 

The dried blobs of fleece must then be separated and fed through a carding machine which produces wonderful 'bumps' ready for spinning and felting.

So what I am saying is that it takes 3 full days to produce what you see here and these are only small fractions of complete fleeces.  The top left is TopDeck, the alpaca who has our superior fleece and the other bumps are llamas.  You can have some fun with the carding machine and feed two different colours to produce a multi coloured bump - see the white and henna mixed together.

The alternative is to go to Jenny, an alpaca breeder with the commercial machinery to do all of this for you - and I have done this also.

Now, to sit on the verandah and spin with the wind blowing through the trees and two sleeping cats for company.