Adding Lincolns to our flock has caused me to think about our yarn in new ways. With three old English breeds, I've been wanting to explore 5 ply guernsey (also called gansey) yarn and aran yarns. I sent some washed Lincoln lambswool, Lincoln hoggit, and Lincoln fleeces from a two-year old up to Rach-Al-Paca fiber mill in Hastings, MN. Rachel agreed that she should spin it into a five-ply guernsey.
While it was up at the fiber mill, I kept dreaming about lace weight yarn. But Lincoln is known as carpet wool. It is the coarsest of all wool. We've had judges at the Minnesota State Fair blow off our fleeces, because our wool was nothing but "carpet" wool. The same fleeces that one blue ribbons and lots of compliments at the Shepherd's Harvest Festival. Well in my search to learn more, I came across a blog about Lincoln Longwool lace. (Read Beth Smith's blog to learn more.)I knew from my experience with the fleeces, that what she was writing was true. Lincoln wool, especially the lambswool and hoggit (second clip) is amazingly soft. But in addition, it has a wonderful luster that rivals mohair. To top it off, it is so strong. So you can definitely, take this long, beautiful, and strong fiber and spin it into fine yarn.
On Friday, I picked up the yarn. To be honest it didn't spin up like a typical guernsey. It was a flat, five-ply yarn. The lambswool was a bit wavey - it didn't loose its curl. I didn't "full" it. Yesterday, I began to knit it up into a scarf. It is absolutely beautiful.
I took up another Lincoln fleece to Rachel's and this time, she's going to spin it as thin as possible. Will I end up with toad's hair or lace weight? I'll let you know in April.
This yarn sounds amazing, you should post a picture of the scarf when you're done!
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