On a recent busy day (aren’t they all busy days?), my tasks at hand made me chuckle to myself while repeating this classic line from the 80’s in my head over and over (if you’re too young to recognize it, you’re on your own).

Task #1: In the bathroom sink I had two wool diaper covers soaking to lanolize. That’s the process where you dissolve a bit of lanolin into hot water and soak the wool covers, making them extremely water resistant. You can watch a great video clip about lanolizing diaper covers here if you’re interested.

Task #2: In the kitchen I was working on a Navajo-Churro fleece that I recently purchased from Flint Run Farm in OH. Part of the fleece was soaking in detergent, trying to remove the lanolin and dirt from it. If you’re interested in a great tutorial on this process, check HJS Studio out.

As you can imagine (if you’re into both washing raw wool and cloth diapering, which probably eliminates most people I know, heh heh), I couldn’t help thinking that I should be able to integrate this process somehow, so I could do both things at once. Wash the fleece, then soak the diaper covers in the resulting greasy, lanolin-filled water. Of course, the result of that process would probably mean that my little baby’s bum would smell like a wet, dirty sheep, so I think I’ll pass this time around. Really, the title of this should be “grease on….grease off”, shouldn’t it?

As you can see in the photo above, the fleece that I finished washing turned out beautifully. It was shorn from a sheep named Faith, and it’s really gorgeous, virtually free of vegetation and much softer than I had envisioned for the breed. This is my first time working with a Navajo-Churro fleece, I bought it sight unseen (somewhat of a risky proposition) and I’m thrilled with how the cleaned/dyed fiber is looking and feeling. In the pic is shown about a pound: half of it I left white and the rest is dyed in rose and purply tones. Just gorgeous–I can’t wait to card it and spin it up!