Couple spins wool the old-fashioned way

A $1,500 men’s three-piece wool suits contains $15 worth of wool, a Corona sheep rancher says. Lloyd Maness and his wife, Sue, talked about wool as part of the New Mexico Wool Growers Association during the first day of the 17th annual Ag Expo Tuesday at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds. In the midst of the newest agriculture technology, the couple turned wool into thread the old-fashioned way — with foot-pedal-powered spinning wheels. Sue said the family has about 300 fine-wool sheep. Lloyd said they sell most of the wool commercially but hold back a few fleeces for their own use. To become clothes, Lloyd said, raw wool goes through a scouring process, which washes it and removes lanolin, the natural oil in wool. Then the wool is combed to get the fibers in line, and roving, which turns the wool into a light rope, follows. After roving, Lloyd said, the wool is spun into thread or yarn. From there, industry may make it into clothes, carpet or yarn...Portales News-Tribune