ANRA:Lecture:Spinning Wool
 ANRA |
|---|
| Note the PoV and IC rulings. |
| Lecture notes |
|
Agriculture Lectures |
| Guild documents |
| Textbooks |
|
- Soil Creation |
| Archives and Notes |
Wool is a natural fibre obtained from many animals - sheep, rabbits, dogs, goats and cattle. Here, in the south, we usually get our wool from the Woolly Ox. It is possible to shear the fleece but this is an expert job and I advise against it unless you have the skills. If you see a Woolly Ox killed then it is possible to retrieve the wool and to use it to honour the animal.
Let us think now about what makes woollen garments so good. Wool fibres have a crimp so they easily attach to each other and stay together, which holds air. This means that woollen clothes retain heat and are very cosy in cold weather. Wool naturally contains a high level of grease including lanolin, this helps to repel water.
Let us think now about the task of spinning wool. The fleece from an animal must be washed in warm water to remove dirt, dead skin and bits of plants. A thread of wool is fixed to a spindle which is then set spinning. We pinch the wool between our fingers and thumb and the weight of the wooden spindle and the way it rotates will make the thread.
Lecture given by Kish'ti in Winter 2186 at ANRA, Blandenberg