With everyone excited about holding a Wool Show, it was time to get to work. Eliot always wakes up nice and early, so we had a quick breakfast before then I hesitantly announced that it was time to get to work. (For those of you who don't know Eliot, he is a bit . . . um . . . a bit of a thinker. He's my brother, so I love him the most, but he isn't what you'd particularly call motivated to burn calories.) You could have knocked me over when Eliot said "Great! Let's get going!" He even took his jacket off and pushed up his sleeves, like he was actually going to work!
Since Albie is so young, I won't be able to shear him for quite a while -- but I really wanted to offer Leicester Longwool locks at the show. Eliot came up with the idea to ride over to Albie's home farm, where he picked up a whole tub of locks from Albie's father (a full grown ram with long locks). It didn't take him long to get back, so we were able to get started in the same day with our sorting and washing.
Since Albie is so young, I won't be able to shear him for quite a while -- but I really wanted to offer Leicester Longwool locks at the show. Eliot came up with the idea to ride over to Albie's home farm, where he picked up a whole tub of locks from Albie's father (a full grown ram with long locks). It didn't take him long to get back, so we were able to get started in the same day with our sorting and washing.
Some of the really curly locks needed to be set aside and bagged later for special projects like doll hair and beards.
It turns out that Eliot is really good at sorting wool curls!
The wool had already been washed after shearing, but we thought some of it still needed another good soak. The dirty wool went into the wash tub with some soap and water . . .
. . . while we pulled up our chairs and got ready to start putting the clean wool into bags to sell at the Wool Show. It didn't take long to spread everything on the kitchen table and decide how much would go into each bag. (It's important to fill them nice and full, since you want everyone to get plenty of wool for their projects.)
Click photos to enlarge.
It takes longer, though, to actually do the work, and I only had Eliot for help today. To my amazement, Eliot filled a lot of bags. (I think he might even be faster than me, but that's probably because he doesn't talk much.)
Click photos to enlarge.
It took us hours to get all the bags filled, because I have a lot of wool and fiber for the show! We had a nice time, though, and I really enjoyed the many hours spent with my brother. When we were all finished, it was time for dinner and a rest. (Eliot says this was his very favorite part of the day!) Yum . . . there's nothing like Cornish Pasties, Devonshire Apple Cake and Sheep Cheese to end a long, hard day of work.
Job well done! It was a good thing that Harold had already volunteered to come back tomorrow to help with the work, because I really didn't want to explain to Eliot that today had been the beginning of many long, hard days of work. Besides, it's always fun to spend the day with a good friend. More fun tomorrow -- see you then!