Spinning for Lace

I've been working on the Cold Mountain lace shawl and it has inspired me to spin some lace weight yarn. Above is a little sample. I started with raw locks from a Rambouillet-Polypay fleece that came from Maplewood North. I washed the locks by holding them in hot water with Dawn and then gentle swishing them in clean water. After they dried, I flick carded the individual locks. Then I spun them up into a two-ply yarn.

Since I'm pleased with the sample, I began washing enough locks to make a skein.

Now I'm on my third try for the Cold Mountain pattern. This time it's working out. I'm using a commercial yarn: Cascade Alpaca Lace. It much better than the soy silk that drove me bonkers.