I finished my Rambouillet wool fiber page. I had samples of three preparations of wool given to me: raw fleece, scoured (but not combed), and roving. I love this wool. I enjoyed scouring and combing it, and I love how the finished pieces feel. When I’m ready to buy a new raw fleece this is the kind I’m going to get. It cleans well, and spins beautifully. I love the woven sample with my first plaid pattern. I understand why this sheep is so popular.
The third sample of gifted Rambouillet wool in my stash was raw fleece, which means it came straight off the sheep and had not been scoured to remove most of the lanolin.
I scoured the wool with Amway LOC (taking a risk because this is fine wool, but the other scouring soap is on my wish list) at about 125 degrees F, letting it soak for 15 minutes in the same temperature water so the lanolin doesn’t redeposit.
I sacrificed my salad spinner to the cause. I haven’t used it for salad in over two years, and it does a lovely job getting most of the water out of the rinsed fleece.
The fleece was dry in a few hours, and I was able to comb it in preparation for spinning. There is more waste when combing, but the waste contains the nepps and vegetable bits that are not desirable in spinning. I put the waste out in the compost bin.
I spun this on my 3D printed spindle, drop spindle style, as I walked the neighborhood. It is even more lovely to spin than the commercially prepared roving. I’m rather falling for Rambouillet.
The second Rambouillet wool sample I have was already scoured, combed, and prepped into roving.
It also spun like a dream, with no waste and a cottony feel. I spun and plied this while walking in about an hour.
I was gifted samples of Rambouillet wool by a local spinner who also likes to encourage new spinners.
Getting started on this stash was precipitated by the acquisition of my wool combs. I love my mini Louet wool combs. They make such a nice preparation of the wool for spinning.
I spun the combed wool with my latest 3D printed spindle as I walked the neighborhood. Not only did the Rambouillet spin like a dream, my spindle didn’t break when I dropped it. Huzzah! I can give extra weight to my spindle by putting stone beads in the center cavity. To keep the beads from jumping out, I cap the space with a bit of wool. Easy to tuck in, easy to remove with a crochet hook.
I plied the single right after spinning, using the same spindle. I slid the cop of yarn off the spindle, found the center end and joined it with the outside end, then two plied the yarn with an opposite spin. The spindle performed admirably, and the yarn is lovely.
I’ve divided this post into parts because I have loads of information to share! I understand why two thirds of the sheep in the US are Rambouillet (Brittanica), it is cottony and fine and absolutely a pleasure to spin.
Critters and Craft 