Just a quick post with pictures of a few of the items I've listed recently at Handmade and on my new etsy shop, TemptressYarn.etsy.com.  The batts are only available on etsy so far and the yarn is in both places.

Top left, tread softly batts (on etsy).  Top right "I dream in Color" yarn.

Bottom left, "Irish" yarn.  Bottom right--Border Leicester locks for sale on etsy.

It was almost too easy to wash this chunk of wool fleece in my top loading washer this week.  I'm not going to re-write history since I just spent an hour uploading and making notes on this whole process over in my flickr account, but I am putting this lovely tiled collage up here for a quick overview of the process, and a quick numbered list with info about each thumbnail below the photo.  For more details, please go through my flickr set titled Machine Wash Wool Fleece, and feel free to comment here or there and ask questions. 

For a first try at this method, I am very happy with the results I got.  The locks came out cleaner than many I have purchased with the word "washed" in the description, and were much easier to handle than the dishpan-by-hand method I've used in the past, so that makes it worth repeating soon.  This was from a 3lb, 11oz Border Leicester fleece that I bought at NYSWF at Rhinebeck, October, 2007.  I washed about half the fleece in one batch and am very happy with the ease and speed of the process and the great results I got.   Just a reminder that you can only do this in a top loading washer that has a way to run a "spin only" cycle without agitating.  Otherwise, don't try this at home.

1. Raw Fleece    

2. Judging Card from the NYSWF fleece sale

3. Fleece info card, weight, name, cost

4. Put the fleece into lingerie bags in a  loose, single layer.

5. Add very hot water to an empty washing machine (turned my hot water heater up one click).

6. Add soap after the water is finished filling to avoid massive bubbles.

7. Agitate for 3 seconds to distribute soap (wool is NOT in the water yet)

8. Set washer to "spin only" before you forget!  DO NOT AGITATE WOOL lest you get a giant felt glob!

9. Drop bags of wool into soapy water and gently push down.

10. First soak, 15-20 minutes, (again a reminder: do not agitate!)

11.Spin washer out--showing a sample of the locks after first soak and spin

12-13.  Set bags aside and repeat steps 5-11.  Use less soap this time.

14. Sample of locks after second soak/spin cycle.

15. Refill washer with hot water and vinegar to rinse soap residue and soften.  Repeat rinse soak until the water runs clear.  Keep using hot water, since some wool will felt with big temperature changes.

16. Baby gates used as drying racks---knew I bought those for some reason!!

17.  Wool spread out to dry, fluffed and flipped over once.

18.  Washed Border Leicester Locks, ready to dye now, hooray!!

Tonight is fleece a-washin' evenin' in the old clothes washer.

I'm just doing a final rinse now on about half an off-white Border Leicester fleece that I bought at the NYSWF in Rhinebeck in the fall (2007) that I've been dying to work with.  This is the first time I've used my washing machine for this process, but it seems to be working beautifully in the "soak and spin" method.  Will post details and a few pics tomorrow.  I hope to make a fleece washing tutorial out of this so I took pictures through the whole process.

My spin cycle just finished, so I'm back to spread the locks out to dry, then off to my wheel for some plying and then spinning some of these batts I've been making lately!  Craig is watching old Dr. Who episodes on the TIVO without me, so I've got to run before he starts another, aargh!

The fiber arts world is a wonderful example of "what comes around goes around", but in a nice way that I'm going to call the "The Rainbow Connection".   (OK, I admit that I have a bit of obsession with muppets but we won't go there now).  So, the reality of the modern fiber arts world is that we are all connected to each other somehow--from small farmers to big mills, spinners to needle artists of all kinds, tiny indie designers to "fashion week" moguls to some guy wearing his favorite T-shirt, modern artists to our ancestors who worked with fiber for warmth and necessity more than luxury.  Fiber connects us all.  It is  necessity, hobby, art, entertainment and much, much more.  I could go on forever, but will save it for a book I hope to write someday.

The point of this is that today I made a little connection in this fiber arts world that made me smile, and just wanted to show how a bit of fluff begins the process of making the rounds.  I purchased this set of batts (coincidentally, a rainbow of little batts in different colors, imagine that?) from Loop on Etsy back in August of 2007.  Aren't they gorgeous?

At the time I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, and spun them into this fun striped yarn I call Kindergarten, plied with black thread and coils surrounding glass beads:

The yarn was then purchased from my Etsy store by Char of CharteChic.  She crocheted it into this gorgeous shawl, which was recently sold to a woman who has plans to take it with her on a trip to Peru:

It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that some of the Alpaca or other fibers in the batts I originally purchased came from Peru.  What comes around truly does go around in this world, doesn't it?