It is better to have carded than to have never carded at all

A few weeks ago I purchased a lamb fleece. I wanted the experience of processing a raw fleece. Why? So that I could say I did it and so I can fully appreciate the amount of time and energy it takes to process a fleece "the old fashioned way". 

I washed the fleece in my bathtub using a large mesh bag and Dawn dish soap to remove the lanolin oils from the fiber. I had to wash and rinse several times before all the dirt and lanolin were removed.

I then spread the washed fleece out on an old towel and put a box fan on it to let it dry. This wool is so soft!

So now I am in the midst of the long and tedious process of carding and spinning.

Hand carding raw fleece sucks. This is when I need a drum carder or a fiber mill to speed up this part. I had to do some adjustments to my wheel to spin this fiber, mainly with tension to get the yarn to wind onto my bobbin. 

I honestly don't plan on ever processing another fleece by hand. If I ever own sheep, I will definately be sending the fleeces off to the fiber mill. The time and energy it takes to hand process fleece is just not practical. Angora is much easier to deal with because you barely have to do anything to it before you spin it.

I assure you, that this fleece is not going to waste. I'm sticking it out, I'm gonna card and spin this into yarn, damn it. Because I'm a fiber artist, and I need to say I've done this. 

Note: from now on I will be buying roving for spinning projects.