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A few years ago, I bought a 12# bag of pure Merino wool at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure if it's still available or not, as I still have most of it. It's a cream color that dyes very well with Kool-Aid and other dyes, and I've been using it for a long time. However, wool patches are available at most flyshops and are very usable, already dyed in most desirable colors.
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I've received a few e-mails and I'll send anyone who wants it some wool. My better half has reminded me, though that not everyone likes the smell of sheep as much as I do, so I'm going down to the barn and I'll pull out a few fleeces, trim out the nasty things and scour (wash) them. They should come out a kind of creamy color, but maybe gray-ish. After I've got them dried, I'd be happy to send some to any FAOL folks who write, and they can play with it from there.
I'm going to play with processing some a little further to see what happens. I raise sheep for meat, not wool, so this stuff isn't the same as what goes into fine woolens, but maybe we can come up with an end result that works for flies.
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An economical way to acquire good wool is by buying a complete hide (tanned not raw). I've purdhased them in the mid 30 dollar range and then cut the hide into 3" wide by 12"strips for dying or tying in its natural color. needless to say but a complete hide ties a lot of flies.
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You could also try some skeins of acrylic yarn. It's the stuff in craft stores that looks just like wool. Just cut a two inch piece, hold one end and use a bodkin to seperate the fibers. Once it looks similar to craft fur proceed with tying. As was pointed out, this won't spin like deer hair. It's best to stack it.
Good luck,
Warmouth
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Thanks for all the info and your help with this topic. I look forward to adding this new skill to my fly arsenal to get Mr. Bucket mouth
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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
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The house is smelling great! Should have looked, but grabbed fleece from the first bag I came to. I just happen to have grabbed the fleece from my 250 lb tup (ram) Monty, and how shall I say this...the aroma is quite distinctive!
I will have a small quantity of the uniquely colored wool from 'down there' that goes into the Tup's Indispensible if someone would like it. I've seen versions of this fly tied with synthetic materials and the color is a bright yellow. Nothing at all like the 'true' yellow that comes from a ram putting on his perfume.
The wool I will be sending out will be fairly clean, with most of the grease (lanolin) and dirt, grass, burrs, etc. removed. It should take dyes readily, but it will be really nothing more than a clump of wool. The fibers pull out nicely and everyone should be able to manipulate it into whatever form thay want, but I would like to know more about what a fly tier would look for in a natural fiber product like this. Maybe it's the shack nasties or frostbite on the brain, but I'm feeling industrious. I've decided to invest in a set of wool combs so I can draw the fibers out into nice bunches, and I'm going to play with dyeing some, too. Am I being silly in thinking that there might be a niche here? Any feedback would be appreciated. E-mail me or respond here.
For now, though, we'll look at this as what it is: I've got wool and if you want some, I'll get it to you. I've had a good response so far, and will get stuff in the mail when it's nicely dried.
[This message has been edited by Tup (edited 03 February 2005).]
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Tup,
You should definitely shear some wool for the Tup's Indispensable fly. Bill
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wsbailey,
He should if he knows the ingredients for the dubbing. Also, just remember, the wool for the dubbing comes from a certain part of the sheep (ram).
Allan
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Bill, I did shear both my rams, keeping that special stuff separate. It's been spoken for and now I'll have to wait 'til next summer's shearing to get more.
Rasslin' them big boys just for a normal shearing is near 'nuff work for most, but you should see 'em squirm when the shears come down low!
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Even though I buy wool by the fleece I have never had the gall to ask for the special stuff for that very reason. Bill