I've settled on a process for preparing Aja's fleece to make yarn. It's not easy to see by comparing these swatches, but the swatch on the right (#3) is more dense and the yarn is cleaner than in swatch numbers 1 and 2.
The fiber in #3 is much easier to spin because it is very clean. I began by combing the locks and making a pile of combed fiber. I love this process of picking the locks out of the bag and combing them straight. I find it difficult to stop.
Once there is a reasonable pile, I stuff it in a laundry bag and give it a soak in hot water with Dawn detergent.
The clean fiber is then spread out to dry.
Once dry, it can be carded and made into rolags. Now it's ready to be spun.
At this point I've got fiber in every stage of production and have a constant supply ready to spin. I'll begin hat production in a few weeks!
