Spinning in the grease, yes. I once met a lovely woman who had taught herself to deal with fresh wool and spin. Her husband was a farm animal vet and his hobby was breeding sheep for colour variation. And then nothing was done with the wool. So that's why she taught herself this craft. And every so often she would spin unwashed wool and knit it into thick jumpers. Three of them. Every evening she would put out 2 pails of water, one with a good handful of salt in it, the other fresh. And when her husband had to go out on a call in the night, he'd wear one of those unwashed woollen jumpers. Coming home all dirty and potentially bloody from taking care of an animal in trouble, all he had to do was put the jumper in the pail with salt water, give it a good few shakes and transfer it to the pail with fresh water. Then put it out to dry on a rack and go to bed. These jumpers never met detergent of any kind, the natural lanolin made sure that all the dirt from farmyard, field and animals would fall off in the salt water and the fresh water would get rid of the last little bits of dirt. A fabulous system!
@@carolinegray7510 my sincere apologies, it's not something I have done myself. This was the wife of a vet who did this and she told me about it. However, as she had the fresh wool of their own sheep, she could keep the VM to a minimum and she processed the wool on the day it came off the sheep. All that helps, because the lanolin hardens quite quickly and then it becomes much harder to remove the VM and to process the wool. However, her story goes to show how important the lanolin is to keep the wool insulating, dry and clean - at least as clean as possible - for the sheep. And it can have the very same qualities for us too, as shown by the jumpers this lady made for her farm animal vet husband! And having spent time on farms throughout my life, I know how filthy and bloody that can be! So hurrah for unwashed wool with lanolin!
I cackled at your true opinion of spinning in the grease. It’s refreshing to have someone come out and say “this is a bad idea, it will not result in rainbows and sparkles and lollipops” sometimes.
Oh Becca, I love all of your videos but you made me LOL with the bloopers! I truly appreciate that you keep it real so very, very much! All the best to you. Barbara
Once again, thank you for a lovely video. I had no idea birch bark (I was just about to write "barch birk") could be made into a dye. Your local countryside is absolutely beautiful. Some spinners are really into spinning in the grease, I watched a video a few months ago where, going by her comments, the spinner normally spun in the grease. From memory, she had her own sheep and the fleece was not long off the sheep. It was a coloured sheep. Thank you for the tips regarding spinning in the grease, it's not a topic that gets a lot of coverage.
Hi Becca, good to see you getting back into it! I learnt to spin in the grease when my aunt first taught me, and she is an avid spinner in the grease. I felt a bit naughty when I scoured my first batch of raw fleece to see what it was like spinning clean fibre and I have never looked back. I know my aunt keeps older raw fleeces she's working on next to the fireplace so that the lanolin warms and softens, but I'm just not going to do it myself anymore. Also, I bought a dark brown/black Leicester longwool fleece last weekend that I've since realised is a ram's fleece and there's no way I'd spin it raw - the smell is...maybe the ovine equivalent of unwashed teenage boy smell. Yeah, not a fan. My best fibre-related charity shop find so far is an enormous bag with 2 alpaca fleeces. Looking forward to seeing more of your natural dyeing!
Hi Becca, I'm afraid I have no idea why you would want to spin in the grease but I have a top tip for getting rid of the smell of fox poo - tomato ketchup, apply the ketchup over the affected area before shampooing. You don't need the name brand, cheap and cheerful works. I'm excited to see the dyeing results when they become available. Your scenery is stunning its lovely to see the changes through the seasons. Best wishes Jenny
Well…….i must disagree with you there. Our Madge once found, and rolled in, a huge human poo in the woods. I don’t normally freak out, but I did that time. It was truly, truly gross.
@@lindapankhurst4513: I'm not surprised it was so awful. For lots of good reasons, human excrement doesn't usually get into the sorts of lists that involve fox smell. Let's just say, I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to deal with that.
I always wanted to try spinning in the grease, just to try it. I really wanted to see how water repellent it was, but I never seemed to be able to find a clean enough fleece to try it with, and I didn't want to dedicate bobbins to it when I probably wouldn't do it often. I'm one of those people that want to try all the things.
I tried spinning in the grease as a new spinner and that almost put me off spinning 😢 Then, I tried carded fibre and have to say that was so much better! There is something you can make with fibre straight off the sheep and that’s thick rugs “woven” on a peg loom. I made a peg loom but so far have not used it… there are t enough hours in the day (and I’m sure you can relate to that!!). I love charity shops!!!!!!! I have just bought a derelict spinning wheel, more, for the huge box of “accessories”. That, has far more value than what I paid for the entire lot!!!!!
I tried spinning in the grease many years ago but what put me off was the greasy residue build up left on my spinning wheel. It took me ages to clean it off and I vowed never to try that again. Having said that I can see the benefits in some situations but it is not for me. I have known spinners wash the fleece in a gentle wash that didn't scour it so it was clean but still retained the grease but my first experience has put me off forever!
I'm trying spinning in the grease. The sheep did ware a coat, it is merino, so it is very lanolin heavy. I love the way the lanolin makes my hands feel. The first couple of oz/grams had a very short, short cut. Almost like the clipper had a double row of teeth. Did not like that. I hand carded that. My next couple of ozs/grams I'm spinning from the locks. Hopefully that will go better. I have heard that if your Lanolin had turned hard it helps to spin by a heat source which will soften it. Not sure if it actually works.
Spinning in the grease...A subject I'm dying to find more about. There must be a way to clean the wool without stripping ALL the lanolin, or a way to replace the lanolin. I had a sweater (in the 60's that had the lanolin in it). Fabulous! But with all the process bought wool goes thru before purchase, (the lanolin therefore removed) I'm wondering if there isn't a way to REPLACE the lanolin by simply adding a bit to the water before starting to spin it. It seems a logical to be able to do that. But is my thinking wrong? I have bought Merino wool. It's lovely stuff. Adding lanolin would make it very functional as water repellant clothing..capes, hats, diapers, etc. Anybody? 😢 Jackie Barnett mentioned "suint" bath. ??? Would that be the answer? As always, the walk was a delight. ❤
I have tried spinning in the grease but found it pretty disgusting. I think there are implications around health issues too but can’t remember now what they are 😮. I think there is some merit in cold washing or suint bath to clean the fleece whilst retaining some grease. I’d appreciate any comments/info you have about that. Or possibly a topic for a future UA-cam video.
You need to be carful handling raw fleece they can be full of thorns that you can rip your hands which could easily get infected. Yes a suint bath is like magic . Rather smelly magic and yes you do retain a lot of the lanoline. As with all thing spinning it depends on that final outcome you are after. I am glad I worked with raw fleece but these days I am very happy to not have all the work.
Suint bath is a way to clean fleece and is quite like marmite, you either love it or hate it. Basically you soak the fleece for a long time in rain water. No detergent or hot water. It’s an anaerobic digestion system. The dirt, and sweat etc cleans the fleece. The process removes dirt and some, but not all of the lanolin. Happy to give more info if you want it Caroline.
I spun some wool in the grease when I was learning to spin (in the early 70s when you took the fiber you could get, lol). I hand carded it and spun it on a drop spindle. I really liked the way the yarn turned out, but had to stop due to an eczema breakout on my fingers. I would like to try the suint cleaning method some time as I think that would get the allergens out of the wool, but leave the lanolin there to play with. \(^-^)/
Spinning in the grease, yes. I once met a lovely woman who had taught herself to deal with fresh wool and spin. Her husband was a farm animal vet and his hobby was breeding sheep for colour variation. And then nothing was done with the wool. So that's why she taught herself this craft. And every so often she would spin unwashed wool and knit it into thick jumpers. Three of them. Every evening she would put out 2 pails of water, one with a good handful of salt in it, the other fresh. And when her husband had to go out on a call in the night, he'd wear one of those unwashed woollen jumpers. Coming home all dirty and potentially bloody from taking care of an animal in trouble, all he had to do was put the jumper in the pail with salt water, give it a good few shakes and transfer it to the pail with fresh water. Then put it out to dry on a rack and go to bed. These jumpers never met detergent of any kind, the natural lanolin made sure that all the dirt from farmyard, field and animals would fall off in the salt water and the fresh water would get rid of the last little bits of dirt. A fabulous system!
Wow amazing information thank you so much for sharing that .
Yes! Thank you very much! I'd LOVE to hear the details of the whole process...a demo maybe? 😊
@@carolinegray7510 my sincere apologies, it's not something I have done myself. This was the wife of a vet who did this and she told me about it. However, as she had the fresh wool of their own sheep, she could keep the VM to a minimum and she processed the wool on the day it came off the sheep. All that helps, because the lanolin hardens quite quickly and then it becomes much harder to remove the VM and to process the wool. However, her story goes to show how important the lanolin is to keep the wool insulating, dry and clean - at least as clean as possible - for the sheep. And it can have the very same qualities for us too, as shown by the jumpers this lady made for her farm animal vet husband! And having spent time on farms throughout my life, I know how filthy and bloody that can be! So hurrah for unwashed wool with lanolin!
I cackled at your true opinion of spinning in the grease. It’s refreshing to have someone come out and say “this is a bad idea, it will not result in rainbows and sparkles and lollipops” sometimes.
I like to keep it real 🤣🤣🤣🐏🌸🙏
Pleased to see you found a gem of a book. And such a very good price too. Hope you enjoy reading it.
It's fascinating. Thank you 🙏
6:30 I _want_ that sewing machine!
it was only £30 but i really have no where to put it .
@@bybeccalewis: I thought that would have been the reason you passed by so quickly.
Oh Becca, I love all of your videos but you made me LOL with the bloopers! I truly appreciate that you keep it real so very, very much! All the best to you. Barbara
Got to keep it real. I never want to take myself too seriously 😁
Once again, thank you for a lovely video.
I had no idea birch bark (I was just about to write "barch birk") could be made into a dye. Your local countryside is absolutely beautiful.
Some spinners are really into spinning in the grease, I watched a video a few months ago where, going by her comments, the spinner normally spun in the grease. From memory, she had her own sheep and the fleece was not long off the sheep. It was a coloured sheep.
Thank you for the tips regarding spinning in the grease, it's not a topic that gets a lot of coverage.
So glad you enjoyed the video . I looking forward to playing with the birch bark .
Hi Becca, good to see you getting back into it! I learnt to spin in the grease when my aunt first taught me, and she is an avid spinner in the grease. I felt a bit naughty when I scoured my first batch of raw fleece to see what it was like spinning clean fibre and I have never looked back. I know my aunt keeps older raw fleeces she's working on next to the fireplace so that the lanolin warms and softens, but I'm just not going to do it myself anymore. Also, I bought a dark brown/black Leicester longwool fleece last weekend that I've since realised is a ram's fleece and there's no way I'd spin it raw - the smell is...maybe the ovine equivalent of unwashed teenage boy smell. Yeah, not a fan. My best fibre-related charity shop find so far is an enormous bag with 2 alpaca fleeces. Looking forward to seeing more of your natural dyeing!
Thank you Flora I am getting my spinning mojo back . Alpaca fleeces in a charity shop that is an amazing find.
"the smell is...maybe the ovine equivalent of unwashed teenage boy smell" That's a classic description, love it.
Hi Becca, I'm afraid I have no idea why you would want to spin in the grease but I have a top tip for getting rid of the smell of fox poo - tomato ketchup, apply the ketchup over the affected area before shampooing. You don't need the name brand, cheap and cheerful works. I'm excited to see the dyeing results when they become available. Your scenery is stunning its lovely to see the changes through the seasons. Best wishes Jenny
Thank you Jenny , Fox poo is like nothing else on earth.
Well…….i must disagree with you there. Our Madge once found, and rolled in, a huge human poo in the woods.
I don’t normally freak out, but I did that time. It was truly, truly gross.
And next time, if there is a next tine, I shall do the ketchup trick. Sorry I didn’t know about that then!
@@lindapankhurst4513 oh nooooooooo
@@lindapankhurst4513: I'm not surprised it was so awful. For lots of good reasons, human excrement doesn't usually get into the sorts of lists that involve fox smell.
Let's just say, I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to deal with that.
I always wanted to try spinning in the grease, just to try it. I really wanted to see how water repellent it was, but I never seemed to be able to find a clean enough fleece to try it with, and I didn't want to dedicate bobbins to it when I probably wouldn't do it often. I'm one of those people that want to try all the things.
Trying all the things is the best way to learn . I hope you find a suitable fleece to try in with.
I tried spinning in the grease as a new spinner and that almost put me off spinning 😢
Then, I tried carded fibre and have to say that was so much better!
There is something you can make with fibre straight off the sheep and that’s thick rugs “woven” on a peg loom.
I made a peg loom but so far have not used it… there are t enough hours in the day (and I’m sure you can relate to that!!).
I love charity shops!!!!!!!
I have just bought a derelict spinning wheel, more, for the huge box of “accessories”. That, has far more value than what I paid for the entire lot!!!!!
A peg loom is on my list but really there are just so many projects and so little time .
I tried spinning in the grease many years ago but what put me off was the greasy residue build up left on my spinning wheel. It took me ages to clean it off and I vowed never to try that again. Having said that I can see the benefits in some situations but it is not for me. I have known spinners wash the fleece in a gentle wash that didn't scour it so it was clean but still retained the grease but my first experience has put me off forever!
Thanks for sharing this information.
I'm trying spinning in the grease. The sheep did ware a coat, it is merino, so it is very lanolin heavy. I love the way the lanolin makes my hands feel. The first couple of oz/grams had a very short, short cut. Almost like the clipper had a double row of teeth. Did not like that. I hand carded that. My next couple of ozs/grams I'm spinning from the locks. Hopefully that will go better. I have heard that if your Lanolin had turned hard it helps to spin by a heat source which will soften it. Not sure if it actually works.
Wearing a coat makes a huge difference.
Spinning in the grease...A subject I'm dying to find more about. There must be a way to clean the wool without stripping ALL the lanolin, or a way to replace the lanolin. I had a sweater (in the 60's that had the lanolin in it). Fabulous! But with all the process bought wool goes thru before purchase, (the lanolin therefore removed) I'm wondering if there isn't a way to REPLACE the lanolin by simply adding a bit to the water before starting to spin it.
It seems a logical to be able to do that. But is my thinking wrong?
I have bought Merino wool. It's lovely stuff. Adding lanolin would make it very functional as water repellant clothing..capes, hats, diapers, etc.
Anybody? 😢
Jackie Barnett mentioned "suint" bath. ??? Would that be the answer?
As always, the walk was a delight. ❤
I am definitely going to talk some more about this in my next video. This video has sparked a really great discussion.
Holy cow! As I type you are reading!...Well, all my best to you Becca. Love and light, Caroline
I am sat down with a cup of coffee reading comments
Love the bloopers.LOL❤😂
Glad you enjoyed the behind-the-scenes shenanigans!
I have tried spinning in the grease but found it pretty disgusting. I think there are implications around health issues too but can’t remember now what they are 😮. I think there is some merit in cold washing or suint bath to clean the fleece whilst retaining some grease. I’d appreciate any comments/info you have about that. Or possibly a topic for a future UA-cam video.
You need to be carful handling raw fleece they can be full of thorns that you can rip your hands which could easily get infected. Yes a suint bath is like magic . Rather smelly magic and yes you do retain a lot of the lanoline. As with all thing spinning it depends on that final outcome you are after. I am glad I worked with raw fleece but these days I am very happy to not have all the work.
Please explain what a suint bath is. And thank you very much. 😊
@@carolinegray7510 oh for sure I think I had better track down some raw fleece.
Suint bath is a way to clean fleece and is quite like marmite, you either love it or hate it. Basically you soak the fleece for a long time in rain water. No detergent or hot water. It’s an anaerobic digestion system. The dirt, and sweat etc cleans the fleece. The process removes dirt and some, but not all of the lanolin. Happy to give more info if you want it Caroline.
Brilliant explanation thank you. Oh it's love it or hate it for sure.
I spun some wool in the grease when I was learning to spin (in the early 70s when you took the fiber you could get, lol). I hand carded it and spun it on a drop spindle. I really liked the way the yarn turned out, but had to stop due to an eczema breakout on my fingers. I would like to try the suint cleaning method some time as I think that would get the allergens out of the wool, but leave the lanolin there to play with. \(^-^)/
I don't have enough experience with suint to advise but it does leave some of the lanolin behind.
many gansies were made from wool with lanolin. I don’t think they were washed. They were used by fishermen. I referring to the NE of scotland
I'm learning so much making these videos. Thank you 🙏.