Monday, February 2, 2009

Sunrise Over Mount Rainier






Life in the Pacific Northwest has many advantages, we are nestled between two mountain ranges so at certain places on clear days we can see a 360 degree view of the Cascades on one side and the Olympics on the other. I took this shot on a clear day last fall and thought I'd share with you.






Today I'm sorting fleeces and washing them up, it's hard work but someone has to do it and thank goodness I've got a warm day (if you can call 40F warm), with no breezes to do it in.

I put up my DD's old baseball pitchers net against the banister on one side and the picnic table on the other. Then I pull out some fleece and hand pick the VM before dumping a couple of hand fulls into hot-hot soapy water for a half hour or so to soak.




Then I put the soddy mess of wool on the pitchers net to drain while I change the water. I put the dirty water to work on my garden, it's cool enough after a half hour outside to throw on the plants. Once I've got another pot full of hot-hot soapy water I let it soak again for another half hour, then I rince about three times in hot water and then let sit on the pitchers net for a few hours to dry while I sort and wash the next batch.

I do take the damp fleece inside in the winter, it is the rainy season so it's best to dry on the wooden rack in the bathroom with a fan blowing on the locks to help it dry faster. In the summer I leave it all out in the sun to dry naturally. Once it's all dry I bag it all and throw it in the carding room until I'm ready to start carding. Just can't store dirty wool in the house, it stays outside in plastic bags until I can get to it...then stays in plastic bags in the carding room until I can get to carding it.


Hope you are having a great day!!



Posted by Picasa

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Looks like a good system. I have two fleeces from last year that I have GOT to get skirted and washed before this year's shearing....