[Ansteorra-textiles] Fwd: CVM Cross Fleeces

[Robert and Beth Ellis]

> >  Also, I'm a little puzzled as to why they are being sheared in
> >December.  Can anyone with more sheep knowledge explain this?
> >And what does "heavily skirted" mean?
> >
> >Gwenneth
>
>
> Heavily skirting is pulling tagged (or fiber with dung in it) large amounts
> of vegetable matter in the fiber (VM), second cuts and hair as opposed to
> fiber off the fleece.  It's actually nice since it's stuff you wouldn't
> want to spin anyway and it's not considered in the weight of the
> animal.  Often (and it depends on whether the sheep is covered or not,
> there is considerable waste on a fleece due to contaminants in the
> fleece.  I have a fleece roaming around in the back of my car that has too
> many second cuts (bad shearing) that while having a little good fiber has
> ample fiber for felt making.   I think I have a diagram of a sheep that
> shows the "good parts" for spinning.  I generally will spin some of the
> second quality areas as well.  I'm not picky depending on what I use it for.
>
> Clare
>

Hi Gwenneth, Hi Clare!
Yep, skirting means that all the yecky bits (like dung tags, other junk, or
sections that are unspinnable because they are felted or whatnot), get pulled
off before selling.  Typically what happens is that the fiber ( I would guess
between 2 and 4 inches) all the way around the perimeter of the fleece is
removed. In addition to removing the junk, it also removes the coarsest and
sometimes longest fibers.  This is really good for people who plan on knitting
or crocheting the resulting yarn and are therefore only interested in the soft
stuff, but it's not necessarily the best option for weavers (but that's only my
opinion).  If you are a weaver, I'd recommend going for the "lightly skirted"
option if the seller gives you one, and ask that as much of the britch be saved
as possible.  The coarser (and usually stronger) fibers are great for spinning
into warp yarn, with the softer less strong fibers reserved for weft.  That
approach is appealing to me because it results in stronger warp yarn, and it is
an economical way to use up more of the fleece.

Corrinne