I have taken almost a week off by flexing off from work today and with ANZAC Day tomorrow I get Friday to Thursday off. I intent to do garden clean-up this afternoon.

Yesterday I started to card the spotted fleece I bought last year in Bendigo and discovered I had not washed it as well as I thought as it was still greasy. So it's getting a second bath as I type. This fleece was bought in a moment of weakness as I had never seen a spotted fleece before. Imagine a pinto sheep. Once I had it home I realized there was an issue in how to spin it so it retained some of its spotted heritage. If I just blended it all together I would end up with grey. So I tried as best I could to divide the fleece into black, white, and grey. Of course it won't be true black because it is merino or Corriedale. What I did process had a 5" very crimpy fibre so it will be soft and lofty. I am thinking of doing a plied black and white. No-one but me will know that both black and white came from the same fleece, but I'll know. My carder is an Ashford but I am not very familiar with the process yet so I cannot say whether it is better than any other. So far, it has met my needs and I got a great deal on it.

I also promised a photo of what I am spinning which is tan merino also from Bendigo, but 2 years ago. The photo shows it lighter in colour than it really is which is latte coloured. The photo shows (from left to right), a bobbin of singles, a bobbin of plied, and the end of the log of carded fibre I am working from.