alwenSep 20, 2023
I have scoured more of bag no.3 of my #SuintVat #RawWool. This fleece had burdock burrs in it, so I divided it into quarters to de-burr and then scour it. I scoured 1/4 last week and de-burred 2/4 and 3/4. Today I scoured 2/4 and 3/4, and de-burred 4/4.

I thought this might be more Norh Country Cheviot, but I'm not sure - it could also be the brown-faced mystery sheep that my shepherd neighbor couldn't remember the breed of.
alwenSep 16, 2023

Out of six bags (five fleeces, the biggest one divided into two bags) I ran through the #SuintVat, I have now scoured all but three-quarters of a bag. Go me. #RawWool

Next step, combing and/or carding and then spinning.

alwenAug 4, 2023
I was thinking I'd scour bags No. 3, 4, and 5B tomorrow, but I just added up their current weights: just under 2600 grams.
3 and 4 were each over 900 grams after the #SuintVat bath, so I'll be interested to see how much weight they lose after scouring.
I'm getting just a bit of fine silt in the bottom of the baths.
alwenAug 4, 2023
Today I scoured two more bags (No. 2 and 5A) of the #SuintVat wool with Power Scour, because lanolin or no, some things you just feel more comfortable about using if they've been washed with soap/detergent.
Bag No. 1 weighs about 1.5 pounds (~694 grams) after scouring, rinsing rinsing rinsing and drying.
alwenJul 8, 2023

Today I scythed grass some more. I now have a fine honing stone and a holster for it! Discovered that this might work to keep the horrible vinca under control.

Then I picked and ate about a quart of black raspberries.

Then I scoured fleece No.1 of 5 out of the #SuintVat with Power Scour, and spun it out with my (bought used on FB Marketplace) 5 gallon Dynamic salad spinner.

alwenJun 22, 2023

The very last round of fleece (2nd half of no.5) is now in the #SuintVat. I divided No. 5 into two, because it was so large. I'm fairly sure this was one of the North Country Cheviot fleeces.

The first half was about 877 gm raw (668 rinsed & dry after its suint bath).
#RawWool #SuintFermentation

alwenJun 20, 2023
Look at the fine tight crimp on this fleece! I left my thumbnail in there for scale on how fine it is. This might be one of the Polypay fleeces. It's been through the #SuintVat, next step is washing with PowerScour.
Not quite #RawWool, as it lost most of the lanolin in the suint vat.
alwenJun 19, 2023

This . . . is not the color I expect when I look at my #SuintVat !

(bright green!)

#SuintFermentation #RawWool #WhyAmIGreen

alwenJun 17, 2023

Here is fleece no.4 in one of the rinses, with a small patch of yellowish lanolin-digester in the upper right corner.

There is a slight moire effect from the gauze bag its in, but the tight curls of the fleece (Polypay?) are visible through the gauze.

#RawWool #SuintVat #SuintFermentation

alwenJun 16, 2023

Fleece no.4 of 5 is out of the #SuintVat, has been rinsed (multiple times), and is drying. I wish I had a way to spin the water out of a wet fleece, but my front-loading washer is not that way.

No.4 was quite heavy in the grease, I can't wait to see how much lanolin/suint weight it lost in the bath.

#RawWool #SuintFermentation