I’m not the one to start advising you all about the microns and the diameter of the fibre because I haven’t really grasped that YET. What I have learned is that the courser wools from the heritage breeds used for meat and milk are much better for core wool. The finer Merino is great for topcoats and features. You can rely on the finer wool to pull a core together and your core needs to be open enough to accept the finer top coat. At least this is the technique I have developed through self instruction.
My personal journey has lead me to several different fleeces with very different qualities. These core wools all come from local farmers who receive a pittance for their fabulous fibre from wool merchants that deem it inferior. I intend to change this thinking in Australia as more of you start to stab.
The arrival of unlimited core in my life has enabled me to become a serious sculptor and really consider this as a career. I was able to aspire to larger pieces and rely on supplies to create kits and ultimately it allowed me to provide Aussies with a cheap basic core wool. This wool encourages you to get involved in the process and do it for yourself because it’s really important to use up these wonderful under-utilised resources in our immediate communities.
This process of obtaining raw fleece then washing, drying, picking and carding it to create some amazing creature is magical. The wool itself has taught me more about this art form than anything else. I have learned to listen to my wool. Now I enter my growers wool shed to choose fleeces and can hear creatures begging me to make them out of it. I don’t see bags of wool any more, I see endangered and precious beings.
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