>>I find that I can't spin her wool with the small amount of crimp (3-4 per >>inch, tops) at that short length (4-5") without putting in so much twist that >>it's wiry.<<
I don't consider a staple length of 4-5" as short. I've read that any staple longer than 5", poses a carding problem. More importantly, I question the idea of shearing these particular sheep once a year. If they have a 6 month staple of 4-5", a 12 month staple length could reach 10". The weight alone, of wool up to 10" long, could compromise the health of the sheep. That's an incredible burden for the sheep. I would expect that there would be health and nutrition problems in maintaining good healthy sheep and their fiber, if they were only sheared once a year or every 9 months or so. But, since you said the BL in the US are no longer producing carpet wool, but a softer wool, I'm wondering why you want the longer staple length. I don't understand why you have to put so much twist into a fiber that, while not as soft as cormo, is a much softer fiber that shouldn't require that much twist in it. As for the crimp, what does crimp have to do with the ability to spin a fiber? Mohair has very little crimp. Ditto with any of the other long wools. It's my understanding that crimp becomes unimportant to the ability to spin a fiber, when the staple length is 4-5" long. But, if you want to experiment with her sheep, and she's willing, ask her to pick one sheep and not shear it for x amount of months. You'll need to keep an eye on the sheep, and its wool growth. That would enable you to extrapolate what would happen if the entire herd was shorn once a year. BTW, you can tell her that there's one spinner that would be interested in buying some fiber from her--moi. :) -- wrnk d2
