Working with wool is my joy. I have different breeds of sheep's fleeces in labelled bags stacked in my shed. Some washed and even more raw.
I owned a beautiful flock of Wensleydale sheep which were the main source of the fleece that I used but sadly I had to sell them and now I work with many different breeds as well as Wensleydale. I can still get the fleece from the farmers who bought my lambs.
It is a slow and labour intensive job working with the raw fleece, I now usually wash using the old method of fermentation. This method washes the wool using the natural salts found in the fleece and means that much of the lanolin is left in the wool. It is a very good method for washing the Wensleydale as it keeps the locks intact. It also means that the wool has not been damaged by harsh chemicals.
I hand dye using both natural dye and commercial dye
I card or comb the wool myself and then spin/felt or make Lumra Rugs with it.
I sell the fibre at all stages and am happy to except commissions