Spin Spin Spin the wheel

A good friend of mine went to New Zealand on holiday way back at the beginning of year. We only manage to meet up about twice a year but as she has just lost her job, we decided to have a get-together to catch up on life. She did let me know that she had a "little gift" for me but what a shock I got when she pulled out from the back of her car a full fleece all the way from New Zealand. She squashed it in her suitcase just for me! She's a real love.

So not to disappoint I have managed to dye 100gms of the 1.6kilos she brought back and spun a little. The dyeing process was a bit hit and miss as this was my first attempt, so there are a multitude of different colours going on despite only three dye pigments being used. This is the first batch spun and it looks quite good although it will be a bit more heathery once plyed. I will have to think of a good sweater project once fr the rest of the fleece.

I still haven;t managed to figure out which sheep the fleece has come from - it's definately not a merino or BFL fleece, it is coaser in feel. Unfortuately my dear friend couldn't remember the name of the sheep breed although she thought it might have started with a "b". Answers on a postcard please for anone who knows what other sheep tend to be bred in NZ, it was farm she bought it from, on the South Island.