Fat Cats Corner

  Day Two - I reached into my 30 Breed Sampler from Wool Gatherings and came up with Cheviot. " The Cheviot is a breed of white-faced sheep which gets its name from a range of hills in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders."   Wikipedia Google Image Fine Fleeces Cheviots produce generous fleeces of white wool which is preferred by mills because its fineness, crimp, and length of staple give it superior spinning and combing qualities, and its low grease content causes less shrinkage in scouring.  The fleece is usually grades 1/4 to 3/8 blood combing and is usually from four to five inches in length.  Rams will normally shear 9 to 13 lbs., and the ewe will produce fleeces of 8 to 10 lbs. This fiber felt like silk compared to yesterdays Devon but it is a medium-coarse wool suitable for outerwear, rugs and blankets. The Cheviot has more 'grip' (crimp?) and was easier to control the draft and twist. Sample on far left is unwashed Again, the From the Fold method lo

    Here we go again, well sort of.  Due to COVID-19 the actual bike race in France did not run as scheduled.  We Fiber Spinners 'rode' the TdF2020 anyway.  And we are 'riding' again this time "with" the guys on bikes :)  I have a tendency to purchase Polwarth, Merino, Bluefaced Leicester or Alpaca and I tend to spin them all in the same way/method. Hence this Tour Challenge. I started with the 1 ounce sample of Devon from my 30 Breed Sample from Wool Gatherings . As the sample doesn't say, I am assuming it is from a longwoolled (left) sheep and not a closewoolled (right).    " The Devon Longwoolled is a breed of domestic sheep from the United Kingdom. The breed is raised for meat and its long wool. They were developed by crossing Leicester Longwool with Southam Nott and Bampton Nott."   Wikipedia " This wool is attractive to spinners for weaving rugs . It can also be used for dolls hair, needle felting and to create a variety of home furn