One of my greatest pleasures is weaving with the fleece from rare breeds of sheep. The colours and textures of the wools vary so much and make up wonderful rugs and wall hangings.
I support the Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire Rare Breeds Society and source most of my fleeces from local breeders particularly Carole and Alan Muddiman.
The picture below shows a selection of their shearings this year and include Manx, Shetland, Hebbridean and Wensleydale.
JACOBS FLEECE - washed and ready for drying
PREPARING THE FLEECE FOR WEAVING is done on a small or large scale, using the bathtub or a bowl and some pure soap flakes.
A small handful is all that is required.
The fleece is then put into the water and washed gently so that all the dirt is released.
The Fleece is then rinsed in clean water and can be hung up to dry.
It is then ready to be woven.
Above are a couple of rugs made on 40 pegs. The top includes Manx, Hebbridean and Llanwen and the bottom is just Hebbridean and Llanwen.
I have another 12 fleeces in the garage, some beautiful shades of grey, brown and black that I cannot wait to get washed and on the line!
Watch this space!!