I usually run more than one project at a time. While I'm spinning Jacob, I am also processing the Tunis fleece. My preference is to spin in "the grease." Spinning in the grease does not mean spinning in the dirt. First a fleece is shaken, to loosen VM and short cuts, then picked. I cold soak all of my fleece, with or without soap. How long depends on the fleece. No agitation other than water pressure. It's amazing how much dirt comes out in a cold soak, and how much VM floats to the top. The water is never hot enough to remove the lanolin, which is why even with soap, it's still considered in the grease.
After the fleece dries (upper right picture) it's bagged in batches. it looks clean, but what dirt is left clumps at the ends, and those need to be flicked. I lay them out on the carder, pull it through, then flip the other side and do the same. Now I have nice teased open ends (lower left). Once I have a nice sized bag, it's time to run through the drum carder. If I'm spinning for myself I might skip this step, if it's someone else's fleece I go all out. What comes off are little mini batts (Little Bro Drum Carder), that I tear into strips to spin.
After spinning, the skein is washed. I have not had the presence of lanolin impede the uptake of dye, probably because I use the crock pot for skeins. Tunis is not a heavy grease fiber. If this was Merino the process would be quite a bit different.
After the fleece dries (upper right picture) it's bagged in batches. it looks clean, but what dirt is left clumps at the ends, and those need to be flicked. I lay them out on the carder, pull it through, then flip the other side and do the same. Now I have nice teased open ends (lower left). Once I have a nice sized bag, it's time to run through the drum carder. If I'm spinning for myself I might skip this step, if it's someone else's fleece I go all out. What comes off are little mini batts (Little Bro Drum Carder), that I tear into strips to spin.
After spinning, the skein is washed. I have not had the presence of lanolin impede the uptake of dye, probably because I use the crock pot for skeins. Tunis is not a heavy grease fiber. If this was Merino the process would be quite a bit different.
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