Gotland 2006

Despite the blue skies and sunshine today, it was still a bit damp and chilly out. I decided to be lazy and wash the fleece indoors. Just didn't want to spend the time cleaning winter debris accumlated in the outside laundry tub. That's a job for REAL springtime.

The Gotland was dumped out on the kitchen floor and sorted into little piles. Surprisingly, there was very little VM. Nothing like my first Gotland (thorns and dead beetles). But there was a lot of second cuts. And badly sheared bits. This little lambie didn't want a haircut!

I can see how Gotland will felt if you just look at it wrong. The lock formation is not as good as some of the other fleece I've processed. You can carefully separate them but the cut side is very very soft and loose.

The tub I used is not as big as my outside tub so the fleece was washed in two batches. Mesh lingerie bags are wonderful and only cost a $1.00 at the Dollar store.

A good hot soak with Sunlight dish soap. I know a lot of people like Dawn or Orvus paste. I don't care for the scent of Dawn and I'm not sure how I feel about Orvus paste yet. As a natural soapmaker, it's a tough habit to not be wary of anything mostly sodium laurel sulfate. Strangely, I've been told that suds are not what you want for washing fleece but SLS is used as a sudsing agent in detergents. Sunlight works for me and I'm happy with the results.

After the initial soak in the tub, I transferred the fleece to the washing machine - no aggitation! I didn't want to chance clogging up our drains with lanolin. Don't think that would be appreciated by the Hubby-person. Two rinses - the first rinse with vinegar and the second with plain water.

The fleece dried quickly. I cheated by placing the rack near the fireplace. It was checked often to make sure it didn't dry too quickly. The silver and grey came through beautifully! Some of the tips were still dirty so I'll separate them and wash again.

I'm really looking forward to working with this fleece.