It’s the height of hurricane season here. Andrew 33 years ago. Katrina 20 years ago. Ida 4 years ago. The heat is still here in force this year, but we’ve been spared our standard allotment of minor (and major, thankfully) hurricanes and tropical storms. It’s the time of year that makes me stop and wonder what on earth am I doing working with wool again. There is no such thing as sweater weather here. And, you’d have to be insane to wear wool socks. And yet, what did I do last weekend and will probably do again this one? Scour wool in really goddamn hot water in 90°F heat. In fact, I bought an immersion water heater just for this task. Although, it’s actually very likely that it will rain too much this weekend for me to do anything.

But last weekend, it did not rain on Sunday, the day after the quest, and I did scour the first of my newly acquired Gulf Coast Native fleeces. I added two more buckets for the capacity to scour the entire fleece at once. It was at least a pound heavier than Elektra’s somewhat small, heavily skirted Shetland fleece, so I split this fleece in two as well but scoured them at the same time.

With two buckets to fill at once and very limited water heating options, I had trouble getting the temperature as high as it should be. I had to fill a bigger pot and enlist my husband for the boiling water hauls from inside the house.

I completed four scour and rinse cycles this time. (It needed it.) Toward the end, I combined the two halves in a delicates bag for easier handling because I did manage to get the water temperature up and kept burning my hands through my gloves. The day started around 9 a.m. at 79°F and with 78% humidity. By the time I was done scouring, the weather was more conducive to drying, but even so, the wool was still damp by sunset and I had to bring it inside overnight. I think I need another drying rack.

I put it out again the next day (Monday) to make sure no moisture remained. After scouring and drying, the fleece weighed in at 2 lbs (the 0.43 is the bag). It’s a lovely grey and brown mix.

I took a sample and spun it without fiber prep. This wool will definitely need some combing or carding. I have hand carders, but my hackle and comb set that I ordered from Bam Fiber Works won’t arrive for another two weeks.

Meanwhile, my lace kit arrived from Whispering Pines Farm, and I put it to work on my Shetland fleece. The ultimate goal is to knit a shawl.