I have a love hate relationship with wool. As a vegan I do not like the way that it is produced, but I love the way that it takes the natural dye. I like working with it but it irritates my skin and it itches. Up until now I have been getting all of my wool from charity shops and so on, however I have recently been given five fleeces from my mothers pet (rescued) sheep. It is the first time that they have been sheared and I am told that it is lambs wool.
I must admit that I have been lazy and left the really shitty bits of the fleeces to wash later. My method of washing is fairly haphazard, I use eco friendly liquid detergent, warm or hot water with a couple of washes and a few rinses. It all takes place outside using dustbins which I fill with a hose pipe. When the wool is dry I stitch it into old pillow cases. Before dyeing it will need another rinse as the detergent might affect the colour.
We have carding combs and two spinning wheels but my knowledge of spinning consists of a one day work shop. It was very interesting and I enjoyed the process so I am looking forward to doing something with all that wool.
Photo. Kit Miller
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