What's the Rush?

At some point the sun will shine and heat up the days and nights of the weeks to come.
When it does, my raw fiber shenanigans needs to be transformed into a more focused endeavor. 
There may be about three and a half to four months left of warm weather to process what is now a nearly eleven pound stash. Gulp.

As I make my way through samples of the Romney and Cormo Cross, conclusions are becoming more evident as to how to proceed with the bulk. But really, each attempt at processing is like a science project. I am enjoying taking notes and researching how other spinners are working with their fleeces. It seemed to make sense to flick locks first and card all the seconds or tangled locks that were left over from that process. I'm happy to say that there is very little waste from that order of operations.

Truth be told, wool fumes and soothing lanolin aren't the only stimulating aspects.

Distraction alert!
Shopportunities abound!

This set of two dishwasher baskets was only $7 and accommodated three layers of locks each quite handily. (Still using scrap plastic mesh in between.) I'm thinking several more layers would fit in since when wet, the volume reduces greatly. The plastic is lighter than my initial coated wire basket set-up. I placed a bottle of shampoo on top to keep it fully submerged. When lifting these out of the water, two hands were required as the latches aren't that substantial. All in all, at two for $7, this is a winner!

 

 

In the spirit of progress, I've been diligent to finish dealing with my Romney samples. What ever locks that were still dirty looking after washing are now pristine. I used the pet brush to flick the tips. Doing so lightened them up immediately. Residual dirt and lanolin peppered my apron. Even still, back into a bath they went. This time, I used a bit of vinegar in the first of two rinses. We'll see the color once they are dried.

 

These Prince Lionheart baskets were a mistake. I was giddy for its height and did not consider their narrow width. It won't work for my Romney fleece. However, it will be perfect for the Cormo's staple length when the tips have been snipped. They are $7 each on Amazon.

Oxo makes this flat basket with flexible sides. It's ideal for washing just a lock or two for sampling. Also $7 on Amazon. 

It occurred to me that I was getting slap happy with the Power Scour and I only have half a bottle left. I'm going to use this adorable measuring set of Oxo's to better portion out cleaning agents, vinegar and to help measure dyes in future. Pricey at $10 from the container store.

The last gem of a find are folding sweater drying racks once again from our good friends at Oxo. Not only do the legs fold, but the entire thing folds in half! Shown here is one rack resting flat on top of the wet locks to prevent them from blowing away.


 

Primo product for space deprived circumstances. Much appreciated, Oxo. You've scored a substantial amount of my discretionary income. Well played.