Spinning "In The Grease"

Day 22: There are various methods for preparing wool for spinning, but spinning "in the grease" follows the shortest route from sheep to wheel. First, the fleece is "skirted" to remove dags (fleece locks heavily matted with dung), second-cuts and other unusable portions and then the spinner may opt to spin directly from locks, or the wool can be "carded" to align the fibers preparatory to spinning. In the carding process, bits of moss and grass are picked out, matted tips opened, etc., ideally to have the wool as free of foreign matter and problem areas as possible. This is done without washing the raw wool. Many wool growers keep their sheep in canvas coats between shearings in order to keep the wool as clean as possible. Even so, when the fleece comes to the hands of the spinner, it will be greasy with natural lanolin and consequently, not precisely what one would term "pristine." Spinning "in the grease" (without washing) has its advantages. The wool fibers slip easily between the fingers, and that lovely lanolin conditions the spinner's hands. Nevertheless, it's a dirty job. These two images show the identical skein of handspun yarn before washing and after.