who invited the wheel?

Early morning, rise and shine! Still dark outside? Ah yes, well let's pretend. Head out the door, hello gym. What a lovely way to start the day - spinning class, sweat it out. Later morning, lets get going! Still rather dim outside? Ah yes, well that's how it is. Head to the studio, hello stuff. What a lovely way to spend the day - spinning, churn it out.

Firstly what you do is take the big, massive sheep's fleece from the black bag you've been keeping it it. Lay it out and take a look. Wonder with awe at it's expansive size. 

Next what must be done is pulling out the good bits. It's all terribly stinky but some parts are particularly poo-y or have lots of twigs and clusters of dirt. That can be discarded.

Then to clean it. Proceed to gather some large vessels and hot water. Baby shampoo is the surprising yet actual secret ingredient to the cleansing process. Each batch of fleece needs to be soaked in a tub of soapy warm water for twenty minutes at a time, changing the water shampoo until it runs clear. Then a water-only rinsing process must be carried out. The fresh fleece should then be laid out to air dry.

When all that is done, the carding is next. To brush all the fibres in the same direction, which makes it smoother for spinning with. This machine is an invention like the toaster - does the job better and faster. What I would do without it I simply don't know.

Finally the fun can begin! Sit down at the wheel, take about two hours to figure out how to get it going and retain patience. It will work out in the end. Extra amounts of concentration are needed at this stage.

Don't forget to admire what is happening as you go along; it's quite a satisfying experience to watch something you're making grow right before your eyes.

And last but not least, stand back, feel proud. Love your new wool. Take a photo and show off by sharing it on instagram. Tag it and begin to make plans for what you will use it to knit.