Wensleydale Longwool

Blog post in English!

So, what is it that fascinates me about Wensleydale Longwool?
When I started spinning on my first drop spindle I tried Romney and Bluefaced Leicester (BFL). I developed a deep love for BFL and still appreciate it very much. Spinning it is a great experience, the resulting yarn has a beautiful sheen and the ready to spin top, once wet from washing after dyeing, shows the curl that's in the original fleece.
I discovered that BFL is in fact a curly fleece. I soon found out that locks attract me enormously as a crafting material. I discovered there are more longwool sheep with even longer staple lengths and wonderful curly locks. In fact the forefathers of the Bluefaced Leicester had longer locks too and they gave their wool the lustre it shows when spun.

Spinning locks isn't an easy thing to learn and probably a lot more complicated for a novice with a drop spindle. However commercially prepped longwool top is also available: amongst them Massam, Teeswater and... Wensleydale! I figured Wensleydale top should be do-able! Okay, a lot longer than BFL so hands further apart when spinning worsted. On the one hand it was very different from all other tops and fleeces I had tried before. I had never worked with such a long staple length before and realised I had to adapt my way of spinning more than I thought. On the other hand it almost felt as if my hands already knew what to do and adapted without much trouble. I immediately loved working with it!
I had already learned on Ravelry about how to prevent Wensleydale from becoming wire instead of yarn and all in all I was quite happy with the outcome of my first yarn. I didn't put too much twist in it and also plied it a lot more gentle than I had plied all earlier spun yarns. Only trouble is that it's itchy to me! The micron count of Wensleydale is considerably higher than that of i.e. BFL that I can wear next to the skin without any trouble at all. Of course that's not the only difference, but it may partly cause the itch. True worsted spinning might help a bit, I still have to learn a lot as a spinner too. One of the biggest differences with my other spindle spun yarns is the lustre. BFL already has a lovely sheen, but Wensleydale gives you even much more of that! When dyed in lovely colours it's almost as if the yarn contains silk that provides the shimmering effect.

I'd like to learn how to handle raw Wensleydale fleece well, how to comb it (hard or maybe even impossible to card such long locks!) and prepare it for spinning. I'd like to really learn how to handle it to make the most out of the beautiful locks. Mind you: I don't have any heavy duty longwool combs yet, we're talking long term plans here! I'd like to learn how to spin the locks and hopefully how to do tailspinning with the locks. In order to create yarns I can use in next to the skin projects I should probably try to experiment in mixing with other fibres. I could use very soft BFL, tussah silk, seacell, tencel? I could make BFL batts and mix some Wensleydale locks in. I could add locks to the edging of a knitting or felting project and I wonder if pieces from commercial top could be added to BFL batts on the drum carder. Wensleydale, as all longwools, is certainly said to be hardwearing and would add to the strength and lifespan of a yarn. Of course it would also add the lovely sheen!

So why Wensleydale and not Teeswater, Massam, other longwool sheep?
Maybe it has to do with the fact that in I wouldn't know of anyone having Teeswater or Massam sheep in The Netherlands or selling their wool. I don't mind buying in the UK, I regularly do that, but it's nice to also be able to buy Wensleydale in The Netherlands. I know there are also Gotland x Wensleydales, but haven't seen their wool yet. Also heard about BFL x Wensleydale! How would that feel? Would it be the perfect match of longwool qualities without the itch?

There's something about the way Wensleydale sheep look that I love and I hope to meet them in real life soon. If I had been able to visit the Country Fair in Aalten in The Netherlands earlier this year I'd have seen them already, but unfortunately we couldn't make it. Then there's the dreams: would there be a possibility of having a sheep and pay a sheep breeder to professionally take care of your sheep and have it walk around in his/her flock so that you have your own sheep, have the wool, but don't need to have your own farm? Perhaps adopt a sheep, pay (part of the) care costs and have the wool? It's being done in the US, but somehow I think no one around here would be interested (but me!). In the meantime I'll be spinning all sorts of tops, batts and fleeces, but will certainly keep enjoying BFL and will continue to learn about Wensleydale wool. Should I come across a succesfull mix of fibres I'll certainly tell about it here!