# First Time Spinning in the Grease



## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

I'm super excited about the fleeces on my lambs. Not yet a year old and the staple length is running about 5 to possibly 6 inches already and SOFT soft soft black wool. Its almost time to shear, but i want a little more length. My shears are getting itchy...then I realized:

I STILL HAVE 6 BAGS OF FLEECE IN MY ATTIC. 4 Jacob fleeces and 2 EF fleeces. Its just cleaning takes soooo much time. and carding. i hate carding. 

anyway, I decided to paw around them and realized Ash's fleece was really nice and open. and pretty clean. hummmmm....so I went for it. I've never spun in the grease before but this is spinning up SO nice! Its almost better than the stuff I scoured and carded. 

I spent Christmas by the fire spinning lovely black and gold tipped wool dreaming of what will be. Maybe by the time shearing rolls around I'll have only 5 bags of wool left. I'll post pictures later.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

What a wonderful thing! I'm looking forward to the pictures! Post some pictures of the lambs, too, if you have any!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I have bags of fleece too. I think all but one is clean. I also have bags of processed roving, not to mention boxes of combed wool. I don't have sheep anymore, but their spirit will be with me for years to come.

Enjoy your spinning.


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

I've filled a bobbin already of one ply. I want to ply tonight but i seem to recall you are supposed to let it rest for a day before plying. I DON'T WANNA! I'm supposing when i get up in the morning it will be long enough, right?


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Why are you supposed to let it rest for a day? 

Maura, how wonderful that you have some fleece from your sheep. I wish I had kept some from my girls before I had to sell my farm. Where I would have put them I do not know, but I wish I had some.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Kasota after you spin and before you ply it is a good thing to let the twist set. You don't have to though. There are so real hard and fast rules in spinning or fiber arts.


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

Well, I'm working with a terrible camera circa 2003 and the pictures look awful, but everything spun up nice! Some of the single strand was chunky, some was thin, some was thin with random chunks because it wasn't carded. I used Navajo ply method for a more even 3 ply. I love using that method with uneven yarn...it really evens everything out. The one thing that stinks is it makes your final product 1/3 the length of your single strand. All in all I got about 210 feet of a med weight yarn.

its washing up right now.


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

What lovely yarn! So easy, spinning in the grease, isn't it? I do a lot of it and the Navajo ply is also what frequently gets done, too. Saves so much time from prepping the fibers.

The first time I did spinning in the grease was because I had a fleece from a mostly black sheep, but I wanted to keep the variegation in the yarn. Once it was carded it turned an all over gray. Spinning in the grease, it had a nice blackish heather effect. Much nicer than plain gray.

Folks do say you're supposed to let the twist set before plying, but it doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule. I suspect a lot of rules are for folks who are trying to make a specific yarn or some such. Fiber seems to have a lot of latitude to different handling methods.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I had to google Navajo plying and found this vid that seemed like a pretty good one. 
It sure looks relaxing! 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmlwtojLXI8[/ame]


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

Ah! So that's the proper way to do it. I like the way she hooks the strand from the bobbin over her little finger. There is a moment during the initial reversing back of the fiber from where it goes through the loop that it can occasionally try to ply on top of itself. Keeping the fiber from the bobbin hooked over the little finger solves that. 

I also worry about the eveness of the ply and usually sit further back from the orifice so there's a long leader before it goes into the wheel.

It does make a nicely round yarn, though. And you can ply as soon as you've filled up one bobbin.


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

yeeeeeah. I use alot more movement when I ply. Particulalry since this single had lots of little lumps and got caught occasionally on itself. 

You are right, though, Kosata, it is super relaxing and meditative. 

I've already started in my next single. The grease is also really nice for my dry skin. I'm a goldsmith and my hands get sooooo dry from our polishing compound. The lanolin has really quickly healed them up!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Have you washed it up yet?


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## ErikaMay (Feb 28, 2013)

yup. It turned out really even with nice spring. I still have VM to pick out, though. guess ill do that as i knit.


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