I love my Cormo

Ok - so after reading some discussion about cleaning fleece I got inspired to finally tackle my Cormo I picked up at the NH Sheep and Wool festival. I was nervous because I really hated cleaning the black Romney I got at the same time. It was dirty and didn't come out as something I am inspired to spin. Cleaning it was just uck. Although I knew the Cormo was much cleaner I was still not scared, not to mention that I really want to spin this fleece so I did not want to blow it and end up with a felted mess. Well, after reading some good information I took the plunge ...... and it worked out great!! I ended up with some very pretty fluffy wool just waiting to be spun. 

Here are some pictures:

Here is the entire fleece - all 4 pounds of it.

Here is a close up of a lock. Isn't it pretty! So white and some nice crimp. Almost all of it was this clean - a few dirty tips. 

So, a couple tricks for this effort. First, I did small batches. A few ounces at a time. Second, I took tuille and carefully laid down the fleece, lock by lock, and layered it two layers deep. This package went into a lingerie bag.

This first batch turned out ok but I wasn't completely satisfied. I liked the tuille idea but there was still too much movement. Off I went to the pet store to pick up the sifting kitty pan. While there I picked up a couple of different dog brushes.  These I used to open up the tips of the dirty locks before cleaning. This really helped the next batches and I had fewer dirty tips. The cat pan was key in that I was able to keep the fleece completely flat during the water changes which kept the locks intact. 

For the wash I did three 15-20 minute baths with Dawn in hot water. The fleece was so clean that after the first bath I had a tub with visible lanolin. No dirt. It was so different from the mud I had from my first fleece. After the 3 Dawn baths I followed with about 4 more water baths, also hot, until the soap was gone. Then a quick turn in the spin cycle in the washer and I had clean fluffy wool!

I have to say that I LOVE this fleece! I cannot wait to spin it up! As soon as I am done with the skein I am working on this in going on the wheel.  I also have to say that I loved cleaning and touching this so much that I went to Cormo Sheep and Wool Farm and ordered another Cormo fleece - Kathy2. I have my work cut out for me but I have big plans for all this wool - can we say Christmas gifts!