Wool Processing Class

Ok. So I am way way behind on my blog and I have so much to write about and share pictures of...and as my friend from Cornerstone Nigerians, the place where our beloved little Moon Pie was born, reminded me, I've also got some exiting BIG news to share, as well.

First I want to talk about the wonderful Wool Processing Class that I was invited to attend last weekend at Ironwood Farm Project, hostessed by friend, Jenny.

We were all asked to bring any fiber from our own animals, so I decided to clean up some of Luna's Mohair that was sheared a couple months ago. It was pretty dirty and full of straw, seeds, burrs and all sorts of organic matter.
As you can from ths photo, all of the 'clean', but not washed, mohair on the right and the dirt on the left.
Jenna wanted to show off my awesome handmade feed bag bag created by Michelle at Sugar Creek Stuff.
Bags of fleece from Jenny's Churro Sheep.
The beginning process to clean the wool is called 'winnowing'. Basically taking a wire or stick and beating the wool over a wire mesh to remove foreign matter.
Some of Jenny's Churro Sheep wool

Next step in the process involves washing the wool.
Washing in hot and then cold water alternatively and stirring gently without causing 'felting'.
Gently pressing out detergent and water.
All throughout our instructor discussed all things fiber and wool. Here you can see the crimp in this sheep's wool.
Jenny's fun loving and joyful kids provided some wonderful entertainment.

Our instructor wanted to try creating yarn from Jenny's Churro Ram.

The texture was more wiry and hair-like


But it made some some wonderful twine or thin rope
There was lots of laughter and we took a break for lunch and enjoyed a potluck with some delicious, healthy, mostly locally produced dishes. I brought egg salad sandwiches, made from our hens' eggs, of course.
There were boxes and bags of wool to process.
We learned how to hand-card the wool. This was easy and very satisfying, especially when we were able to create rollogs, ready to be spun onto the wheel to be turned into yarn.
We all got pretty good at hand carding, and some got into some 'fancy moves', too. hehe
Friendly critters stopped by to make sure we were all relaxed and happy.
There was spinning......Yes, I tried my hand at spinning and have come to the
frustrating conclusion that there is a huge learning curve involved in spinning. Those 'zen-like' moments don't happen overnight. So, I have decided to sign up for a Spinning Class at our local Fiber Shop, called Good Fibrations. They promised me that they could teach anyone, even me, to spin proficiently. I can't wait to put them to the test! hehe
Jenny was very concentrated on her spinning. She seemed like a natural.
Jenny's daughter is a bucket full of sunshine. I just had to take this photo of her laying near my feet (ignore the au-natural, ranch girl feet, please) loving on her chicken.
And this photo could have been considered a 'dud', but I love how relaxed the chicken is while a very active boy plays beside. These kids love their chickens.

After the class Jenny took us on a tour. We met her beautiful Churro Sheep.

Some cool mechanical processes on her family's farm.
Not far from their home is a game cock 'farm'. Until recently, cock fighting was legal in New Mexico. There are still places in New Mexico that raise them, because ironically, it's not illegal to raise these fighting birds. This place was like Fort Knox and a little bit creepy feeling.
This sign is a little ironic now, don't you think?
Jenny's family has some impressive and amazing mechanical equipment. Many of them still work, too. Here's our instructor, Gwen being silly.
Their place is like a magical "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'.