Spinners?

[Boinky]

Ok so i'm a beginner. I've spun some off and on for a few years as the urge hits. I had a small flock of shetland sheep for a while and the first year we had them professionally sheared then after that we did it ourselves as we felt the only shearer we could get did as many second cuts as we did. Anyhow between sheering them a bit late (shetlands should be shorn in Jan/Feb since they are natural shedders) and the second cuts i tend ot get "lumpy" yarn no matter how careful i am at getting a nice even spin. I have bags and bags of it that i've just been practicing on but i'm ready to move onto something without the second cuts. I've been looking on ebay at roving. Since i just grab a bunch of my own when spinning i have no idea how many ounces it takes to make skeins or anything. How far does a few once of wool go? could i actually make something with only a few ounces? Any one able to tell me what i should be getting? I was looking at 8 ounces-1lbs rovings would that be overkill?

 

[bluetaterbaby]

I don't spin, but would love to see some of your work. I'm sure someone on the forum spins or knows someone who does. I use to have a few sheep and just loved them. They looked like giant marshmallows in the pasture. A couple of guys would come from Australia each year and spend time going to farms in various states shearing sheep. It was amazing to watch. Could you post pics of your sheep? We'd love to see.

Joan

 

[Asia]

I have spun for over 30 years. I just love it.

I started out spinning wool from my own sheep just like you.

I have since sold the sheep, so I buy roving on ebay.

The min. amount I buy is 6 oz. this will get you enough yarn

to make a hat and scarf, or socks/slippers out of fairly bulky weigh

yarn. When I first started to spin most of my yarn was thicker, with lumps

too.

Now I mostly spin very fine 2 ply yarn for socks.

I bought an antique circular sock machine and can make a pair of

socks in about 1 1/2 hours.

If I were you, I would buy at least a pound of roving. Once I started spinning

I didn't want to run out to soon.

Let me know if you have questions, I'll be happy to help.

Sue

 

[shoeboxstables]

My mom does a lot of spinning- but mostly alpaca. I'll show her this and see what she says!

 

[Boinky]

lol ok ..i admit i'm a bit obsessive compulsive when i start to do something i don't want to stop until i'm done! it would really make me upset to run out and then have to wait for more to come. I'm also the type that does it off and on. I'll do it till i get sick of it then wait a few months or even a year before i do it again..LOL Who know's if i'd still want to do it by the time more roving got here! lol

I really don't like knitting but i decided last christmas that if i was going to spin i'd better use what i made....or what was the point of spinning it? LOL my mom helped me knit (cuz i'm horrible at remembering to count my stitches and stuff) 4 pairs of mittens. they wer the THICKEEST mittens i've ever seen with my fat yarn..LOL but they were very very very warm and comfy. Are the knitting machines harder or easier to use? maybe those are what i need!

I really really enjoy needle felting. I make little animals with it. and my lumpy wool works great for that!

Joan,

I no longer have my flock. They died the summer before last, we believe someone poisoned them. We have some really aweful neighbors and that summer many of my animals (of different species) got very sick. They lost coordination in their hind end ect. it went from horse, to dog, to sheep... things that make you go HUM.... I'd love to get another small flock but i'd also like to move so i've just been holding off to figure out what i'm going to do. It will be hard enough to move with the 7 horses and 4 dogs let alone sheep! lol I'll see if i can find photo's of them for you though. Mine were shetlands so they were small but your right they do kinda look like marshmallows.. Until you shear them then they look like goats..LOL I never thought i'd be a sheep person until i had them and decided i liked them. I'm not much of a goat person at all though but i'd love to have more sheep.

Shoebox,

That would be great! I was actually looking at some alpaca fleece on there too and was thinking about getting some. Ask her if it spins any differently than wool and if there's anything I should know about spinning it.

thanks everyone!

Hillary

 

[Shari]

I used to raise my own sheep, I have been spinning over 10 years and showed my sheeps fleece. Even though I do not have sheep right now, I still spin. Have good 50lbs of Roving in the house right now... everything from rare Gotland Fleece, Blue Faced Liecester, british shetland top and coopworth.

Love the first 2 the best.

Have you carded your shetland wool?

What you need to do is put each fleece on the table...take off all the tags, neck and belly wool. While you are doing that, you remove all 2nds, bits of hay and weeds. Then shake the fleece gently, this is to help remove the dirt. Since shetland does not have a lot of lanlion in it, you shouldn't have to wash it unless it is very dirty. Washing is another whole yarn

..how to do but will not post that now.

Make sure you store the whole fleece rolled, other wise it will matt over time.

Then you need to card your fleece to help remove the rest of the chaff and get the fibers lined up.

From there, you can spin from that point, or get a roving ring and manually make pencil roving for yourself.

I love spinning!! And like you miss my sheep a lot! But until I get an big barn...can't have them here because of the pederators.

Sorry you have nasty neighbors....had those types at the old farm. Made my life a living.....you know what.

 

[Boinky]

yup! We have a carding machine that we used. We also have done all our own scouring and stuff. it's been an interesting process! it's just LUMPY is all i can say..LOL i mean it makes neat lumpy yarn but for me it's hard to spin! i had some that was alot less lumpy and my yarn came out fairly consistant and nice so i'm assuming it's the lumps thatare making my wooly harder to work.

I saw some blue faced on ebay and it sounded nice..i thought about getting some of that.. I dont know alot about the wools from different breeds so that helped saying which ones you liked the best. I really liked working with my light colored shetland wool. it's very soft and the dark colored stuff was courser and hurt my fingers over time. i would prefere very soft wool!

 

[Shari]

Humm.....

I also like very soft Fleece. Blue faced Liecester and Gotland are very, very soft. With the Liecester though you have to put a bit more twist in it because it is very soft and very smooth. But it is a dream to spin.

Coopworth is nice if you can find flocks, that have the softer fleece...has more crimp to it that Liecester, so it is easier to spin and do not need as much as a twist.

Same with Shetland...some lines/flocks have much softer fleece than others. Haven't found that colors matter that much in softness. But the lines or flocks that folks have spent years breeding for nice soft spinning fleece,,, are much better than folks that haven't or do not care about the quality of the fleece.

What you can do, before you buy someones roving....ask for samples. That way you can see if their fleece is what you are looking for in quality and softness.

I have a favorite place to buy roving from..but she sold it to another lady. So not sure if she offers the same quality as before. But it might be worth a look.

http://www.paradisefibers.net/

(looks like the new person carries more dyed roving than the original owner)

With the more course fleece...like my Brecknock (though their fleece was the finest of all the Cheviots) I would blend half and half with Alpaca/LLama and my sheeps fleece. Made it much softer..more a medium wool, was easy to spin with a nice crimp and handle to it. Made very nice sweaters that did not itch at all.

Alpaca and Llama can be a bit harder to spin as most do not have much crimp and very straight. Used to get some outstand Llama fleece from a friends herd,,every bit as soft as some of the Alpaca fleece (not all alpaca fleece is soft) and much cheaper.

 

[shoeboxstables]

I am relatively new to spinning- only for a few years- since we purchased our first alpacas. Alpaca is much softer and a little more difficult to spin because it is slippery relative to sheep.( I havent had very much experience spinning sheep though, because i have so much alpaca fiber! )i think that alpaca on its own is much too soft. it doesnt hold its shape if you make anything bigger than a hat or scarf. i am beginning to blend and spin a 20 % marino with 80% alpaca.

I belong to a spinning guild and we had a "paper bag " challenge. every one was given a bag with a total weight of 2oz. of sheep wool. it was divided into 3 colors. the challenge was to blend the colors any way we choose, spin the fiber and knit something. The items that were made were amazing! I spun a chunky two ply yarn and made a baby hat, i am including a picture of some of the other projects. so ... 2 oz can certainly make a lot.

i would be happy to send you a little of my alpaca so you can try it out!

-Michele

 

[Dontworrybeappy]

Spinner here

- we raised a flock of Bluefaced Leicesters for a dozen or so years, had as many as 40 at a time, but now we only have our last bottle baby (and our alpaca) I do want to get more alpacas, ideally a pair of suris.

I have two huge boxes of our last BFL clip, I had it pin-drafted with silk! Can't wait to get back to spinning so I can play with it - and my "stash" trunk of merino, buffalo, fox, silks, all sorts of yummy stuff!

Unfortunately because of my hand problems, I've had to knock off the spinning and needle-felting for awhile. Was about ready to get back to it when the dogbites started.... so hopefully I'll be able to start again soon!

 

[Boinky]

wow! beautiful stuff shoebox!

don't worry be happy, i've been saving the undercoat from my Australian shepherds every year when i groom them with thoughts of spinning it at some point! I did spin a little a few years ago just to see if i COULD spin it but haven't since. I have several grociery bags full now so i'd probably have enough to actually make something now! lol

 

[Diana]

I need to get my 2 cents worth in. I'm going to be a beginner spinner once I get a wheel and have my alpacas shearn. I just purchase 3 non breeding alpaca males for spinning and also for grazing some of our pastures down as the minis can't keep up with it.

Anyone know of a good place to get a wheel?

Sue a sock machine sounds great also, know where there is another one. PM me if you know of any spinning wheels or a sock machine.

Diana

 

[Boinky]

I really like Meilke web page. they have lots of spinning and felting stuff and seem to have very reasonable prices. They have a huge selection of different brands and models of wheels. I have the Kromski Minstrel and really do like it. We got it unstained and did a darker stain on it with a clear coat finish and it's REALLY sharp looking (much nicer looking than many i've seen other people using). It's usually used as an ornament around here most of the time since i only spin now and then....though so looking nice is a bonus.

Does your husband sharpen sheep shear blades? I understand they are ground different than regular blades with a hollow ground or something like that. I have some that need to be sharpened but not sure of anyone around that does them.

Hillary

 

[Shari]

Best way to find a spinning wheel that you like and will work for you..... go try them out in person.

That is what I did.. joined a local spinning guild 10+ years ago and they had the meetings/get togethers at a spinning shop. I tried every wheel many times to make sure what I really liked. They had every model, for that time period.

I kept going back to the Majacraft Saxony and that is what I ended up with. Very smooth double treadle wheel, with no uneveness or hitching in the fly wheel.

And it has held up extremely well over the years....still looks and goes just like new

Here is a place to start... most of these places have more than one brand of wheel. From there you should be abe to find a local spinning guild in your area.

http://www.majacraft.co.nz/dealers/america.php

Most important thing to remember...get the wheel you like and you work with best and there is no wrong way to spin!

Have fun!!