The fleece I’m working with now is the only fleece out of the 8 I’ve washed that I didn’t separate and wash lock by lock. I washed this one handful by handful, still picking through it of course, just to see how much time I would save. The answer is- a lot. It was washed carefully, but after the washing and then dying, it matted more then the other fleece and is taking significantly longer to dry. I spent an hour or so this morning picking through it to open it up and help it dry faster, and I moved it into my bathroom because it’ll be hot in there this afternoon which should also help. I’d rather spend the time on the front end with the washing than on the back end with matted and wet locks. But they’re beautiful.

Yesterday was fun. We went to a city park that is just re-opening from a remodel.

Then we went to the library.

It took awhile to get oriented. I’m still used to the libraries of “card catalogue” days. Library computers intimidate me. Besides, they’re PC not Mac, so they might as well speak Japanese as far as I’m concerned. BUT, we got pointed in the direction of the Junior chapter book section and after staring at a screen for several minutes that said something like “Windows XP, please wait while the program loads” or some such nonsense, I ended up asking a little girl who was absentmindedly pushing random buttons on the only library catalogue computer that appeared to be working to move on over, and we started making some progress.

I had each of the girls fill out their own library card application and as we were standing there, opening accounts and holding up the rapidly growing line of people trying not to glare at us, Clark was whining for a card. I told him he was too young and then the librarian said he could have one. They even registered him.

I walked out of the library with 4 beaming children, each in possession of their own, shiny new library card, and 3 of them carrying a stack of books and a library “summer reading club” form. As for myself, I had the pleasure of hearing the librarian tell me what very well behaved and intelligent children I had.

It was a good afternoon. And as if that weren’t good enough, the next 2+ hours at home were delightfully quiet as Clark was down for a nap and the girls each had their nose in a book.

Yeah, I think this is going to be a weekly thing.

updated-

I was asked in the comments how I wash wool. Here it is…

I use large lingerie bags and pick through the raw fleece, aligning the locks in rows top to bottom so they’re all laying the same direction in the bag. The locks stay in little clumps when they’re cut off the sheep. I don’t separate them out of those clumps too much, if they’re still organized and orderly, but I’ll pick through and separate them a bit to look for grit and pick along the cut ends looking for second cuts. I don’t like surprise grit in my clean wool, I’d rather get it out before washing so the fleece is all the nicer when it’s done. Because they’re still in their little clumps, I’d say I average about two to three locks deep in my rows, as in they’re stacked on top of each other a little bit. Kind of like a handful of organized locks are put in the bag at a time, right next to the last handful. The wool is probably four inches tall in the bag, but the bag is not remotely stuffed.

I then put them (3 lingerie bags at a time, stacked on top of one another) in super hot water and lots of Dawn dish soap in my sink. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Move them to the other side of the sink and do the same. Then again once more. They get two or three washes at 20 minutes each with my hottest tap water, 120f?. Then they get 3, 10 minute rinses in the same manner, just moving back and forth between sides of the sink.

Then I drain the water, squeeze the water out of the bags gently, open the bags and lay the wool on a towel. The wool tends to stay in rows. I lay another towel on top, roll it up and sit on it. Then I take it out of the towels and lay it on a drying rack. I have something like this in my laundry room in the basement. Without the plastic cover, it works good.

There’s nothing cooler than a sheep’s worth of clean, curly, dry locks of wool when you’re done. I can’t stop playing with them.