A while back, I signed up for a "learn to spin" class at the Craft Center of my university (aside: how awesome is it that my university has a craft center?! They have sewing machines, weaving looms, spinning wheels, glass fusing, pottery wheels, photography, a wood shop, and much more - it is too cool). I already knew the basics of spinning before signing up for the class. What I was really after was learning fiber prep - picking raw fleece and carding. We spent the entire first day hand-picking VM out of some borderline janky raw fleece, and then cutting our knuckles on ancient hand carders. No disrespect to hand carder fans, but I was really holding out for the drum carder, which she promised to bring the next day.
The following day (it was a Sat/Sun class), we had two drum carders available for the five of us students. We worked together to card a bit of fiber for everyone, and then the new spinners moved over to the wheels. I however, remained at the drum carder for the remaining three hours of the class! I fell madly in love with carding. Immediately. 
I created six fluffy batts of some unknown, rustic, amazingly scratchy wool. And I loved it!!
It has some little brown hairs in it - maybe guard hairs of some kind? I am new at this.
I started spinning my lovely scratchy batts immediately, but due to interruptions from other commitments (see previous post), it took a while to finish all of it and get it plied up. Here is how it turned out:
More pics on Ravelry, for those with access. It is rough, scratchy, and definitely rustic - I love it! I love that it is local, and that I used something that would have otherwise been thrown away (it was fiber from sheep for eating, not sheep for shearing). It was a nice contrast to the merino that I had been spinning right before it, and as a new spinner I am eagerly gobbling up as many kinds of fiber as I can.
I have started a project with the handspun, but I already fear that I will run out before finishing. I wanted to make something simple that would let the natural texture of the wool shine through, so garter stitch was an obvious choice. Without much yarn to work with, and since it is very itchy (no good for a hat), I thought that a pillow ought to fit the bill perfectly. Here is what I have so far.
The plan is simple: four garter squares sewn together. Two will be knit on the bias (diagonal) and two in the "regular" fashion. I am using size 4US needles, which I picked randomly because I haven't done any diagnostics on the yarn like WPI or weight/yardage. There are some thick/thin aspects of the yarn, but I think that it adds to the rustic nature of the yarn. The squares ought to block into nice, even edges. I can't wait to see how it works out!
So, there you have it - my first project that starts from the beginning (raw fleece). Yeah!
In other news, I will be using gifts from my Mom and my Mother in Law to purchase my very own drum carder and some raw fleeces (thanks Moms!!)! OMFG - there are no words for how excited I am! And, in some freakish happenstance of cosmic timing, the exact drum carder that I want suddenly became available second-hand, and is in great shape. How amazing and wonderful is that?! *Happy dance!* Since I promised to spend my graduation gifts on fun, indulgent things only (Nothing practical for this gal! Not this time!), I am going buy as much raw fleece as my money will allow me. I will be missing the Black Sheep Gathering because I am in Chile right now (moment of silence, please), but there are many wool-producing farms around here that I can stalk visit. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment! I may also be brave enough to order fleece online, but that feels like cheating somehow. I should use this as a reason to get out and meet my local fiber farmers, yes?
Okay - signing off from Chile. More when I return stateside!
