Sunday, March 22, 2009

Merino Arrives


I'm not really a "sheepy" person, but, oh, my, I get so excited when a big box (13 pounds) of this beautiful merino arrives from Desiree and Andy. Isn't it gorgeous? It will live on my kitchen counter for a while so that I can walk by and bury my hand in it, then take a little huff. I must have been a shepherdess in one of my past lives 'cause I love the smell.

I'm always amazed at how clean the McMurrys can keep their fleeces without covering them. Remember, Smitty and I had BabyDoll Sheep for a year and they were covered all right, with poop, straw, and all kinds of VM. Yuck!



My original plan was to have an 80% alpaca/20% merino yarn spun at the mill. Now I'm not sure because I'm getting low on white roving. I carded up some of the merino yesterday to see what it will be like. My carder was happy to have a little lanolin, I was happy because it came out lovely. Now I'll spin a sample, wash it up, and knit a little swatch to get the true picture.

6 comments:

Mare said...

Wow! 13 pounds of that fluffy stuff! That must be a huge box! :)

Sunrise Lodge Fiber Studio said...

You are so adventurous!!! I can't wait to see;)

Jody said...

Hi Maple,
I bought fleeces from the same place and was alittle disappointed in mine.

Anonymous said...

I love the smell of sheep's wool too. I'm often disappointed in commercial wool because that smell is washed out. Pity.
Have fun playing with your Merino!

Alpaca Farmgirl said...

That's terrific! I have wondered about the blending with different fibers like merino. Do you blend with silk often?

Look forward to seeing more. Thanks for participating in Fiber Arts Friday!

frolicnfibers said...

That fiber looks sooo lovely, I just want to reach out and bury my hands in it :) Have fun with it, and let us know what you come up with...I'm sure it will be fabulous!

Map