Tag Archives: shorn sheep

Little Lamborghini, This Ain’t No Ordinary Knitting Project

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I’d like to tell you about my special friend, Lamborghini, who I have had the pleasure of knowing since she was drinking from a bottle (please note the tail nubbin):

Well, Lambo’s all grown up, and back in April she gave me her fleece, as she was getting too warm.

Lambo in March:

Lambo in April:

So kind of her, but of course I had to hide it from my cats until I get it cleaned up, sorted out, and ready to go. In order to do this, I must do two things:

Step 1. Figure out exactly how much fleece I have
Step 2. Figure out what in the hell I am going to do with it.

Oh oh oh! I have the answer to Step 2!

So, I have done some research and Lambo is a Suffolk sheep, which are mostly used for their meat, not their fleece. Their fleece doesn’t make great wool for spinning and knitting because it is made up of short fibres, not the sexy long ones that your merino sweater is made of. However, it I can make wool roving from it. Well, I don’t mean me I’d have to send it out to be processed, but none-the-less.

About a month ago when surfing the Ravelry.com world, I stumbled across an absolutly amazing blanket, Giganto-blanket by Laura Birek. In doing so I think I have figure out just what to do with my own fleece! I bought the pattern last week through Laura’s Ravelry shop last week (she sells it on ETSY, along with the actual finished blanket, too), and I have started doing even more research, and I am even more excited, because this is a knitting project that Ramon will get to be a part of, in helping me to make my PVC knitting pipes needles.

Giganto-blanket by Laura Birek

I can’t wait to start this project! It is so unique, and amazing… but I am getting ahead of myself. What about Step 1?

So, First part of Step 1 is to weigh the fleece. I have learned that when you have a whallop-o-fleece that what you will get once it is doing being processed will be about half of the weight that you started with. Why?

Poop.

No, really, Poop! Well, Manure, and other things, like hay, natural oils, and, well, basically everything from Lamborghini’s home.

So, once I figure out what I have, then I need to send it out to be processed, which includes (I am no expert, but this is what I have found so far):

  • Washing, Scouring: The step in which the fleece is cleaned and the oils are removed.
  • Picking: The process by which the fleece is put through a machine to open the locks and prepare it for carding
  • Carding: The mechanical proccess by which locks and unorganized clumps of fibres are aligned so that they are parallel with one another.
  • Roving:  A long and narrow bundle of fibre which is usually used to spin into yarn. In this case it won’t be spun into yarn though.

At which time the wool would be returned to me, and I’d need to get my other fun tools ready. I will list only the ones I have never encountered in a knitting pattern before, oh wait, that is ALL OF THEM:

  • 6 pounds superwash wool roving
  • 10-foot length of 1 1/2” PVC pipe, cut in half
  • Duct Tape
  • Drying rack
  • 2 Flat Queen-sized White Cotton bed sheets
  • White cotton twine or yarn -Scissors
  • Bathtub
  • Clean rubber rain boots
  • Liquid laundry detergent -Washing machine (optional, but EXTREMELY helpful)
  • Needle felting kit (optional)

As you can see, this is CLEARLY no ordinary knitting project, but I have a feeling that I can’t go wrong when the pattern involves Galoshes.

Oh Little Lamborghini, this is going to be fun! Thank you for your fleece!