(So many sheep -so little time)
Well I have put my proverbial nose to the grindstone, and established some criteria for my 10 breed sheep project. After reading Valerie's blog this morning (Bird by Bird - Short assignments and first drafts) I was inspired to actually sit down and review some of the information that I learned when I took the Natural Fibre Centre (NFC) Canadian Wool Judging Certificate - Level 1 (Fibreweek - Olds College) and formalize my 10 breed project.
It was an intensive 2 days with a lot of theory and hands on fleece . It was thorough, objective, and precise. White and Coloured fleece were judged separately. We discussed judging wool for commercial purposes and craft purposes. Personally, one fundamental mind shift that took place, was to remove my hand spinner bias and replace it with a budding judge's critical eye. Fleece needs to be judged on the merit of whether it accurately reflects the breed that it represents. Whether I personally would like to spin it or not is irrelevant. (Now there's a new concept!)
Our instructor was Morris Beauvais, who is an international Wool classer. He is from New Zealand, and reinforced the importance of looking at fleece from the commercial end. Dirty fleece, fleece with second cuts, uneven length, black hairs, tender tips etc, all impact the bottom line of how much a fleece is worth commercially. A fleece that is clean, well shirted, uniform in length, free of staining, having a nice handle, lustre and staple strength is a fleece that deserves reward.
I have revised my original 10 breed study to include what I have learned in my class:
PART ONE: The Fleece
- Softness / Handle: Is it suitable for the breed? Contaminents, brittle tips, excessive greasy clumps, VM (vegetatable matter), all affect the handle of the fleece. A tactile assessment should by done at the cut end of the staple.
- Clean: How much VM? Sand/dirt/stains? Dags, second cuts. Excessive yolk detracts from the fleece but will wash out
- Lustre/brightness: should be characteristic of the breed.
- Colour: If the breed standard is white, the fleece should be free of brown/black hairs or other coloured fibres. If the breed standard allows colour, then the colours should be recognised for the breed.
- Soundness: Tender wool is the degree to which fibres break within a staple. A break is when all fibres break across the same point of the staple. (This should be checked in at least 6 areas across the fleece).
- Crimp: Should be even and well defined from the butt to the tip of the staple, and carried throughout the fibre. The crimp per inch should be within the acceptable limits of the breed standard.
- Staple formation/ length: Is it typical for the breed? Some breeds have a blocky staple (which is characteristic of fine wool / down wool breeds) and others have tapered long tips.
- (Right)- Suffolk staple (Left) Shetland staple
- 8. Average fibre diameter: Although technical equipment is used to accurately determine the true micron diameter of fleece fibres, you can (with practice) learn to assess average fibre diameter.
PART TWO: Preparation
- Fleece sample cleaning technique: Document dip, scour, wash. Document rationale for using the tchnique and results.
- Fibre Preparation: Indicate whether sample was carded, combed, flicked etc, and why the technique was used.
- Spinning Technique: Worsted, woollen? Why? and results.
- End Use Sample: Weave / Knit/ Crochet... Why I chose the techinque and satisfaction with results.
PART THREE:General Observations
Thoughts, ideas and overall impressions about working with the sample.
Well... what more can I say?
I am surrounded by many, many ,many, labeled little baggies... samples from here, there and everywhere. I have lost fleece, gained fleece, replaced fleece. Now comes the part I find most difficult ...
Sit down and start!
