Where is Mary when I need her???

I don’t know if Mary would have been much help, however, because this was not a little lamb.  Yes, today the seven pound fleece arrived in the mail (thank you, eBay!)…. this is for our homeschool study of sheep and weaving, for those who aren’t in the know. 

Can I just say that sheep stink and now I know why.  They have their fuzzy coats on for a year while they lie in the dirt and grass and walk in the barnyard… and I don’t think they wipe after they you-know-what.  I divided the wool into four semi-even pieces and bagged three of them for my fellow homeys.  I proceeded to pick off the poopy ends of my 25% and threw them out.  We picked out grass and hay and weeds and sticks and dirt and straw and twigs and … you get the picture.

That picture makes it look kind of clean… IT WAS NOT!  So I proceeded to put the smelly pile of wool into the kitchen sink…. I’m on sink #6 of clean water… HELP!  I don’t think this will ever be clean.  I used L.O.C. (liquid organic cleaner) but there is so much dirt and stick and pieces of undesirable tidbits.  Does anyone know what I should do?

The game plan is to dye it, card it, spin it and look at it…. I’m not sure if we will get to weaving or knitting at this point.  Please email your fellow sheep farmer and ask how they get their fleeces clean for me, OK?

Did I mention that I’m a city girl who only went on dirt roads with grandpa when he went to the dump in Heppner, Oregon?  (Read:  A little clueless here.)