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Dear Jan,

I’m not referring to the land of the wallabee, I’m talking about the inner layer of a bison coat, down under all the bristly curly stuff that protects the beasts from the elements.  Soft as dandelion down, and about as long a staple, but surprisingly easy to spin - bison fluff!  You spin it semi-woolen, drawing forward right out of the cloud with very little preparation other than to comb it out of the hide*.  Well, happily for me, someone else combed it out of the hide.

Fiber: 100% Bison  (Judith MacKenzie’s Buffalo Gals)

Spun from a woolen prepared roving in semi-woolen fashion (twist in the fiber supply, short forward draw).

Rigorously fulled after plying (doused and massaged in very hot then very cold water to raise the halo).

2-ply, ~200 yards in 2 oz.

Incredibly bouyant, or resilient, as Judith would say, and softer than soft.  This will be a special knitting project indeed!

It’s about time for me to get down under the covers, so good night!

Love,

Ellen

*The animals aren’t killed for the fiber, they are used for meat first and foremost.   In fact, the fiber was lost in past years, but recently Judith and others have started reclaiming the fiber before the hides are tanned (or simply composted).