Help, a Llama Yakked in My Tub!!!!

Ok, was playing with my newly built wool picker (see previous post).  I has been given a large white trash bag of raw llama fleece.  I decided to try in picker, but fleece was quite dirty.  So, now for adventure of washing my first fleece.  First I will say that it should not be anywhere as bad as a sheep fleece.  Sheep have lanolin which makes for a greasy mess if not done properly.  Not a problem with goats, alpaca, llamas, etc.  For those of you who have washed and processed fiber, sit back and have a laugh and nod knowingly.  If any of  you, in the peanut gallery, have any suggestions for the next time, PLEASE chime in... lol
One advantage to living in an old plank farm house is the large claw foot tub. We don't use it since we have a separate shower.  It makes a perfect place for these impromptu projects.  So, I ran a tub of warm water with mild shampoo.  Dumped the whole bag and and carefully moved it around with my fingers.  Even the suds were filthy.  Let it sit for while to soak.  Just imagine the smell of your wet dog.  Now magnify this to the size of a wet llama.  Yea.......  

The fur has some debris  in it.  While carefully swishing it around in the water, pulled hay and larger pieces of grass.  Hopefully, any remaining trash will be teased out at the picking stage.  After carefully draining the tub, monitoring the drain as not to plug up the plumbing with fuzz, I ran more rinses, till...

...the water started to appear clearer.  I was lucky in that this fleece only took 4 rinses/soaks.

Kids are laughing at me.  Looks like a llama yakked a giant hair ball in our tub.  I just told them not to make any sudden movements or noises.... It might attack... lol

Now, to let it dry so I can play with the picker. 

Not Bad for Afternoon Work....

I have been wanting a wool picker for a while.  I have been given/bought several bags of unprocessed fiber to play with... alpaca and llama.  In order to spin fibers, usually you need to: 1.  Pick it to open up the fiber getting rid of the all the little clumps and mats and hopefully get rid of all the small pieces of litter contained in the fleece.  2.  Card it to get all the fibers aligned so you can draft it when spinning.  Alas a wool picker has been financially out of my grasp... till today.  Got the ok from hubby to go buy materials.  Most people would maybe (oh I don't know) draw out a design prior to going to Lowes.  But no, I take my trusty tape measure and jump right in.  My picker is, for the most part, a Medival box full of nails, with a additional set of spikes attached to a slider. 

After getting all my goodies home, I sat on my living room floor assembling away.  Took most of the afternoon, but it was worth it.... WORKS GREAT!!!!!

Yes, nails are sharp... Ouch!

 Looks pretty evil.

All closed up: