Shaking, shaking, shaking

The most frequently repeated comment/suggestion/hint I have gotten about the vm found in Madeline, the Jacob fleece (other than cry or mulch the garden) has been to shake it. A lot. I put some in the dryer on air - didn't do much but I think I'll try it with more fiber in the dryer now that I know that it won't felt it. Maybe more volume in there will help it tumble better. I put some in a lingerie bag, leaned out over the railing on the deck and shook it, smacked it against the railing, shook some more and while you can see little flakes of things falling, it does not make an appreciable difference. There is still too much vm in the fiber for my use.

I tried using dog combs - that fluffs it up and helps the stuff fall out, but with dog combs it will take me a year to get this stuff clean enough to want to use it. I'll probably have about half the fleece left by that time - the rest will go out in waste. Unless, of course, I get tired of it and all of it goes in the garden.

The Black Welsh Mountain fleece looks to be in much better shape. Of course, it was coated and now I really understand what a difference it makes. I hope to start spinning some of that soon. I am looking forward to doing a lot of experimenting to see what works best and what kinds of choices I have regarding plies and spinning methods.

I have both sleeves (leaf and picot cardigan) on the same needle now. I have a half inch of knitting and then start sleeve cap shaping! I am still enjoying the knitting.  ; )

Bob's socks are at the point where I will change from 3 x 3 ribbing to 2 x 2 ribbing for the cuff! Yippee! In honor of that, I cast on the second sock for Sharon - Calendula sock. Soon I will be down to one sock on the needles again.