Friday, March 23, 2012

Hey, Uh, Wanna See Some Wool?

Sure, why not? I mean, here I have these photos that I took so A. can sell our fleeces online and there YOU are, no doubt DYING to see what the difference is between a Merino and a Cotswold fleece. What a happy coincidence that we met here today. Shall we?

First up, the Cotswold wool. It's really long and somewhat coarse. Also, it's apparently not as popular with hand spinners as Merino wool, despite the fact that Merino wool can be somewhat tricky to spin.

That's what I hear, anyway. I have no personal experience with any of this.


Craft people do like Cotswold wool for things like doll hair, though. I mean, supposedly. Once again, no personal experience.

And here's my fingers for scale. I have fairly small hands (I don't smell of cabbage, however*), but that's still some damn long wool.

Merino wool is where it's at for spinners apparently, because all the inquiries generated by A.'s ad were for the Merino fleeces. Or maybe it's just that Merino is way better for knitting with, as the fibers are short and make for much softer knitted products. Or something. Again, I don't knit.

See how it looks less nappy and more puffy?

Not as long as the Cotswold wool, but incredibly dense. Also, note my sassy manicure, slated to be forcibly removed tomorrow morning at a salon so I can cut my damn nails already and get the dirt out from under them. That shellac polish is no joke, y'all.

End wool lesson for the day. Aren't you glad you stopped by today? Is there any better way to celebrate Friday than with a wool tutorial? Didn't think so.

* Austin Powers reference, description of carnies, feel free to look it up yourself if you're that curious.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Always take the opportunity to learn something new..Cotswold and Merino...who knew?

sheila said...

one word..... microns, it's what matters in wool

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool_measurement

jive turkey said...

I love you for many reasons, not the least of which is that Austin Powers reference, which I recognized straightaway. SOULMATES.

Phoo-D said...

Interesting. I like the look of the Cotswold wool!

Anonymous said...

Are you pulling the wool over our eyes? LA&A Railroad