So exactly how many pounds of Border Leicester have I spun?  I lost count years ago, but a guesstimate it’s around 500 pounds.  Yes, I love Border Leicester… now.  But it wasn’t always this way. 

In sheep longwool, I started out with Cotswold wool. Then the farm I purchased my wool from sold their flock.  Cotswolds are rare in the US and the fleece is hard to find to start with, and demands a high price per pound.  

So to Ebay I went.  I buy fleeces from Ebay from time to time.  I’ve found some wonderful farms with beautiful wool, and know which sellers to stay away from now because of less than spinning quality wool.  As an aside, Etsy also has some great farm sellers, as does the website Local Harvest.  But anyway, it was because of Ebay that I found the farm in Tennessee that is one of my staple farms I purchase raw wool from.  Of that aforementioned 500 pounds, at least 300 is theirs.  

Border Leicester is an English wool breed resulting from crossing English Leicester rams with Teeswater ewes.  The breed was supposedly brought to America by George Washington who kept a few at Mount Vernon.  Like most longwool sheep, the breed was on the decline during the 20th century until handspinners found the charm and uniqueness of the wool.  It is also a good lamb sheep breed, which also saved it from further decline.

Enough of the history lesson.  Border Leicester wool  is medium to high luster, with wide crimp.  I’ve found fleeces in white, as well as shades of brown.  Staple length of fleeces that have grown for a year range from 5 to 10 inches.  Many farms shear twice a year.  It is low grease which makes washing easy.  Most of the wool I have found is medium to very soft.  Lamb fleeces are very soft, and have a tighter crimp.  One lamb fleece had curly ends.

I love spinning the wool and do minimal preparation to keep the crimpy quality of it.  All I do is sit in front of the TV and fluff wool locks and spin the slightly opened fleece.  I have two wheels, and prefer my Louet S17 for my fleecespun yarns.  The bobbin lead system of this wheel versus the flyer lead system on my Ashford Kiwi pulls the yarn onto the bobbin quicker and leads to less chance of overspinning. 

I would love to say something poetic about the wool at this point but I will let the pictures of my handspun yarn do the talking. 

Do you realize that January 26th was the 35th anniversary of the Dukes of Hazzard?  My friend had a party for it, and while it was fun and full of Southern fried food, it has been 35 years since that show premiered! And geez, I’m getting old.  Upon further reflections on some other favorites, this October will be 30 years since U2’s Unforgettable Fire was been released.  It was one of my first music purchases, and it was a cassette.  One of my other favorite U2 albums, the Joshua Tree, is 27 years old.  Pyromania from Def Leppard (yes, this might be strange bedfellows that my two favorite groups are U2 and Def Leppard), is 31 years old, Hysteria is also 27 years old.  Once again, geez, I think I might be getting old.

There is one more milestone I reach in 2014.  I’ve been spinning yarn for ten years this winter.  I did a calculation a few weeks ago-  I’ve hand spun approximately 250,000 yards of yarn.  Mostly on my single treadle Louet and drop spindles.   I probably have handpainted another 100,000 yards.  That’s a lot of yarn.  I can also relish in other craft related milestones of achievement- 30 years of sewing, 25+ years of knitting, 20+ years of embroidery and cross stitch. 

So as I sit here and write this listening to Air Supply (the band)), I will remember this weekend I dyed 3500 yards of superwash and merino wool, and handspun another 300 yards of Border Leicester. 

And I’m not done with yarn yet.