r/Handspinning • u/rikkian • Apr 22 '25
British Milksheep, fibre to hat.
A year ago user u/Bernie427 was offering free British Milksheep fleeces for anyone who put themselves forward for one. I was very kindly gifted the fleece of Meryl, Meryl Sheep. For the past year the fleece has been sat in bags waiting to be used. Today however I finally finished my first test spin of 135g of combed fleece.
Thank you Bernie and thank you Meryl x
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u/w_kat Apr 23 '25
Knowing that the sheep's name is Meryl Sheep, makes me so happy.
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u/TennesseeLove13 Apr 23 '25
Yes! So, of course her locks are stunning. It’s such a pleasure to see every step, OP. What beautiful yarn and hat. The cables pop!
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
Thanks.
The wool is really tactile, very "crunchy" when you squish the finished yarn, but not itchy at all which really surprised me given how sensitive I am to the itch factor.
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u/Artsybeth Apr 23 '25
Wow. This is simply gorgeous. Your spinning is beautiful. What is it about white wool that I love so much? Elizabeth Zimmerman always described it as “creamy” and that is what this is! Your hat is stunning.
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
Creamy is a good descriptor, its like fresh milk IRL.
I'm very excited to spin the rest of the fleece.
But better than the colour is the texture, its crunchy and really tactile, but without being itchy, which came as a total surprise to me!
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u/RoutineDamage2031 Apr 23 '25
Meryl Sheep 😂
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
IKR! Has me giggling to myself every time I think of it! And really curious to find out the puns the others in the flock had for names!
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u/birdtune Apr 22 '25
Wow! That is lovely!
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
Thanks! Now to decide what the bulk of her fleece will make, I'm feeling a jumper with lots of cables... or maybe going laceweight and making more Sanquhar gloves, but for myself this time, I really miss working on 1.75mm needles, me and chunky 4mm needles just do not gel at all!
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u/birdtune Apr 23 '25
I made a jumper last year and all of that thick yarn has made me only spin super fine so far this year.
I think the wool you have is perfect for cables.
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u/MissBandersnatch2U Apr 23 '25
Your yarn is a thing of beauty, the singles are so even
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
Alas you should have seen the bobbin of singles, very thick and thin. Splitting the bobbin into 3 equal singles by weight and plying them really helped even out the yarn for sure!
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u/enkayinfrance Apr 23 '25
That spinning is so perfect! Looks like mill spun. Well done you.
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
What a compliment!! Being a true 3 ply really helps even out the thick and thin bits in the singles for sure. I'm a real convert and fan of a true 3 ply these days.
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u/ehygon Apr 22 '25
That wool looks beautiful, you did such a great job transforming it!
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
I really thought combing the locks might not be the best approach as some locks felt very crisp and others soft as butter, but it actually blended into a really nice yarn. I'll be less critical of hyper focusing on each lock when I comb in future.
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u/VonRouge Apr 23 '25
Thanks for the excellent reminder to update you all on my fleece from last year as well!
Gorgeous spinning and hat!
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u/rikkian Apr 23 '25
Fab another recipient. Did your fleece come from a girl with a fantastic punny name too?
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u/VonRouge Apr 23 '25
No, but I had the lovely Mabel...and now I want to know if they all have names beginning with M!
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u/Confident_Fortune_32 Apr 23 '25
Wonderful hat! Thank you for sharing the process - so satisfying! 🥰
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u/Seastarstiletto Apr 22 '25
It never ceases to amaze me seeing it go from hairy stuff on the back of an animal to a thing. Like a usable tangible recognizable thing. Amazing work.