All of a spin

Somebody gave me this grotty old fleece a long time ago. Well, not exactly grotty because they'd washed it, possibly in a washing machine, but the experience didn't do the fleece any good and getting rid of it was the only thing my benefactor thought they could do with it. Of course I shoved it in the 'too hard' basket until I could get around to having a proper look at it. Several years down the track that time has come and for the past few weeks I've been teasing it apart, in my spare time, to spin into useful yarn. I don't like working with carded wool, preferring to use a flicker to comb out the individual staples. (a flicker is like a miniature carder, but used differently) It has been an absorbing job involving grabbing the pointy end of the staple (the grown end not the shorn end) and pulling it out of the mess so that it can be combed. This little pile of fleece is the last of it and I can't say I'm sorry though it has been fun. Next comes the dying and I'm really looking forward to that. I have some cold water die that uses the heat of the sun or any warm situation to set the colour. The dyed yarn is left in a plastic bag (recycled of course) for 24 hrs then rinsed in clear (tank) water. I haven't decided what colour to use and I have no idea how I'll use the yarn. Probably a couple more weeks will pass while I decide. So far I have these three skeins and will very likely have 6 or 7 by the time I've plied that which is already spun. A blanket?... poncho?... jumper?...deciding is a lot of fun too.
Hope you have enjoyed 2010 so far. Bye for now until next time.