Washed Coloured Ryeland Sheep's Fleece from 'Truffle', 100g

A generous 100g bag of washed fleece from 'Truffle', one of my purebred coloured Ryeland ewes.  Truffle's fleece is typical of a coloured Ryeland, with a crisp bouncy staple between 5 and 8cm long.  The colour is a lovely mix of natural grey hues, with brown tips (the browning is caused naturally by sunlight while the fleece is still being worn by the sheep).  

Ryeland wool is easily handspun.  I recommend carding rather than combing, and spinning with a 'woollen' drafting style; this wool longdraws beautifully.  With its springy resilient texture, Ryeland is perfect for making hardwearing socks.  It will felt, but it takes a while to do as it's not a super fine fibre.  With patience, it will also needle felt.

I have washed this fleece gently using Unicorn Power Scour.  While clean, it hasn't been totally stripped of lanolin, so it doesn't feel hard or over dry.  The fleece was pretty clean before washing, but there may be a little dust and VM as my sheep do live outdoors and uncoated.  The VM is only hay and grass, there are no thistles or prickly bits.  I've also taken out any second cuts that I came across.

The last photo shows Truffle herself.  She's a lovely natured sheep with a kind disposition and a fondness for ginger biscuits.