sheeps' wool clippings

[LadiBug329]

My mom's sil has 2 sheep that she shaves from time to time, and she is throwing the wool away b/c she doesn't know anybody that wants it. Is there a process that has to be done to it before it can go to a spinner? She is around the Baltimore MD area.

[MaryPat]

I was thinking about all the vendors at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and figured one of them specializes in fresh wool.

 

This site is from one of the vendors. It appears to me that you send them your wool. They wash and card it for you. After washing and carding, I guess you'd find a spinner.

http://www.frankenmuthwoolenmill.com/roving.htm

[MullersLaneFarm]

Be aware that some fiber mills won't accept fleeces that are not skirted or contain a lot of dirt & vegetive matter. Check with Frankenmuth before sending. Also be aware that it could be months before you get your wool back. Also that if you are sending in a really dirty fleece, there is only so much they can do with it. don't expect back clean wool if you sent in dirty fleece. they aren't miracle workers, garbage in/garbage out

[LadiBug329]

honestly, these 2 sheep are her "babies" and I'm pretty sure she probably bathes them if they are bathe-able...i don't know anything really about sheep, but I just thought if I put it out there to you guys that spin, that maybe you could pass on what she could do with it other than just throwing it away. That seems like a waste to me...but then again, i don't know anything about it. Yarn comes from the yarn store... how it gets there actually amazes me - how it turns from a ball of fuzz into something so very soft and beautiful!!

[forestergirl]

Some spinners would be happy to get the fleces raw. They're really not that bad to process, you just have to take the time to do it.

Frankenmuth Woolen Mill is pretty good. You have to pay for them to process it as well as for shipping if you don't drop it off. Dropping fleces off and picking them up, my mom usually got them back within a month, having a dozen or so done at once. They can also do things like "frost" fleces, where they blend light and dark to get a heathered apearance, or make your wool into either roving or batting for a quilt size of your choice (as long as there is enough wool). They also have a quilt shop, so they can take the wool you send them, process it, and then make a quilt out of it based on your color/fabric prefrences.

[LadiBug329]

I didn't mention this before, but she wouldn't want it back...she doesn't spin, or crochet or knit... I wanted to give her another option to throwing it all away.

[DawnofMarch]

I didn't mention this before, but she wouldn't want it back...she doesn't spin, or crochet or knit... I wanted to give her another option to throwing it all away.

 

I think what ForesterGirl was saying was that her Mom used the spun wool for various things or sold it. Would YOU be using it at all?

[sheryl*]

I spin my own roving. I'm fairly new to it, but enjoy it. If the flece is clean enough to spin I'll be happy to be a volunteer for disposal, lol.

[forestergirl]

I think what ForesterGirl was saying was that her Mom used the spun wool for various things or sold it. Would YOU be using it at all?

 

She washed, carded, picked and spun the fleces and then sometimes wove the yarn or sold it at craft shows.

Sometimes a group of women will do a "sheep to shawl" demonstration at craft shows. Basically they take a raw flece, skirt it (get the worst of the manure, grass, etc out), card it, spin it, and then weave it. The washing happened after the finished product was made. It does make for dirty cards, spinning wheels, and looms/shuttles/crochet hooks/knitting needles though.