Hi All,

I was wondering where everyone prefers to purchase their fiber and how they decide on where and what to purchase.  Also, what of fiber do  you prefer spinning, the method and if you ply or not.

Let's getting talking,:)

Alaa

Comments

Tue, 06/18/2013 - 19:34

Kade1301

Wool, angora and mohair grows on my animals and I'm working on getting a mulberry hedge... (so far it's only one unhappy tiny bush). I enjoy spinning all three of the above, as far as preparation is concerned, the order is angora, wool, mohair. Whether I ply or not depends on the project - currently I have two-ply wool on my needles for a hat and wool singles on my bobbins for weft-faced bags.

Tue, 06/18/2013 - 19:54

ReedGuy

I buy my blanket wools at Briggs and Little, the mill is about and hour and a half from here, but I get mine at a locla vendor. I like the wool, and there are of course different grade. Softspun being their finest, which I have not used yet, but will be making myself a blanket this fall from it.

Someone else can make the yarn, I just want to weave. But, I do have a spinning wheel. It's my great grandmother's.

Tue, 06/18/2013 - 23:49

Weavingholiday

http://www.macauslandswoollenmills.com/

I have been thinking of making a woolen blanket this winter, and wondering if anyone has used MacAusland's yarn? Any suggestions or experiences would be appreciated?

Wed, 06/19/2013 - 09:14

ReedGuy

If you read the website it says they make blankets with their wool. And they sell them.Says they make their own blankets at the mill.

Briggs and Little sell blankets made of their wool to,  but the blankets are made out west I was told. I have two of them and they are only one size. They call it a double queen, but it is not a queen width. They are a little long.

Wed, 06/19/2013 - 13:05

Artistry

Nassajah, I am lucky enough to have to have a local vendor who is willing to order yarns for me if she doesn't carry them. She's about an 1/2 hr. drive. I really believe in supporting her business. She provides an important service to the weaving community. Sadly the tapestry yarns I can not get through her, but almost everything else I can get including looms. My local dealer, (who does mail orders., i know a plug!) the Weavers Loft, Guilford Indiana. No Affliation, just think she's grand! I am not a spinner but my favorite Tapestry yarns are Elf yarns, Kathe Todd-Hooker/ Pat Stark, Fine Fibre Press, and Ymmyarns , Janette Meetze fibre Studio. floor loom weaving, Bockens Cotlin. Bockens 16/2, linen, Silk, Silk, Silk, for dyeing singles or 2ply treenway silks, a merino/ silk combo for dyeing too, treenway slks. Those are my favs. Cathie
Wed, 06/19/2013 - 13:09

Artistry

P.S. didn't realize you were talking about wool, a lot of people like Harrisville. I've used it for a small blanket and it turned out nicely. Very good colors too. Cathie
Wed, 06/19/2013 - 15:10

Sara von Tresckow

When starting out, visiting "fiber events" that pop up all over the country from early Spring to late Fall are great for seeing various forms of fiber and purchasing small sample quantities to see what you'd like to work with.

Growing your own is nice, but is a full time job. Used to have a herd of sheep, but over time came to realize that one needed to specialize on one breed and pay close attention to breeding rams to keep the fiber quality nice and consistent - and adding several kinds of animal to one property was just going to end in mishmash.

I used to concentrate on producing good fleeces that could then be traded for other types of fiber. Now, with a retail business, there is no time for animals - fruits and veggies are almost too much.

Everyone marketing spinning fiber feels theirs is "best". Since that is subjective, you need to start somewhere - go to the next little festival within driving distance, buy some fiber, and get started. It is more than a possibility that what I consider really good spinning fiber displeases you and vice versa. The only reason you want to spin in this day and age is to produce custom yarn according to your specifications.

Wed, 06/19/2013 - 23:16

mneligh

Yarns -- I like Harrisville, UKI, & Collingwood.  I compare prices.

A lot of top/roving is given to me for birthday & Christmas, but I frequently shop Woolery, Paradise Fibers, DharmaTrading. 

That said, my #1 wool source by volume is a flock about 5 miles down the road, and there are numerous alpaca farms within 25 miles.  We've raised our own llamas.  Local cotton is also plentiful.  Occasionally there are quality or cleanliness issues, but only once in my life have I decided a raw fleece was too bad to work.  Unfortunately, I have had worse luck with "washed" fleeces because of felting, even from reputable commercial sources and mills.  Dirt I can deal with . . .

I also order for various growers on the web when I need a special fleece.  It usually takes close to a year between reserving the fleece over the web and shearing.  I have been very fortunate in these.

Thu, 06/20/2013 - 10:28

Kade1301

Not true. Actually, I don't know a single person who earns a living with fibre production. AND: Producing fibre is not the same thing as breeding fibre-producing animals - the latter demands a lot more know-how, and better facilities, than the former. If animals fit into your life, you can just as easily keep two angora does (mother and daughter or two sisters should work) in a large cage as two parakeets. For a couple of sheep or angora goats things get a bit more complex - but still less so than for backyard horse keeping. Which thousands of people do...
Thu, 06/20/2013 - 11:54

sarahnopp (not verified)

I tend to wander into the brick and mortar shops closest to me and then grab whatever strikes me. I do order from a couple of websites too, and then I get whatever the project (or mood) demands and don't get overly excited about specific brands. But I am a newer weaver and do not do production.

Thu, 06/20/2013 - 12:53

Sara von Tresckow

Yes, you can buy fiber snimals and keep them  rather than breeding - I didn't mean full time as in making a full living from a few sheep. However, if there is no available source for quality livestock, it is not as easy as it looks to grow fiber "in the backyard". Each animal type has a preferred pasture, feed, climate, and if you start mixing too much you lose track of the finer points of keeping the fiber on those animals up to par. Also, one of "each" often results in too little of what you'd like. 

If you concentrate on one or two types of fiber animal (or plant) you can give the attention needed to do a good job. Whether hobby or profession, caring for these an imals is time consuming - and definitely takes away that time from other pursuits - whatever they are.

Thu, 06/20/2013 - 23:07

mneligh

I question whether keeping fiber animals is easier than backyard horse keeping.  Granted our horse operation (up to 18 head) is bigger than back yard, I've been intimidated by fiber animals besides llamas because of our predator population.  Horses, adult cattle, and llamas are fine, but neighbors loose a few calves each year to coyotes.  My friendly fiber supplier has 3 trained full-time great Pyranees for her sheep.  The alpaca growers have 6' double mesh fences with dogs between the first and second fences outside of the herd, plus other dogs with the herd.  

Also a problem here, deer and their parasites and diseases.  I know of more than one llama farm that lost quite a few animals to an outbreak of deer-borne illness.

Then you have to keep the fleece clean, and the flock cool in exteme heat.

Backyard horses are much easier . . .

Sat, 06/22/2013 - 14:44

Kade1301

There seem to be strictly no predators around here - even the escaped rabbits are still around, alive and hopping. And of course, horse keeping is not all that complicated (as long as nobody gets a colic, you have a good farrier and can find a dentist), but as soon as you want to ride them, horses are rather time-consuming. And if you don't want to ride them, you still have to train them to lead, pick up their feet, walk on a trailer - sheep, and from what I've seen, alpacas, don't get training, you just take them and do what you want. Incidentally, I have professional training for horses and for sheep/cattle and I can assure you that horses take up more time.

But that's really beside the thread. What I find a lot more interesting is why so few weavers seem to spin their own yarn. From what I see here, the original poster and I seem to be the only ones? (And possibly Sarahnopp - not sure whether her post refers to fiber or yarn).

Sat, 06/22/2013 - 15:57

mneligh

I spin my own -- at least 80% of weft and 20% or so warp.  Around here there is a spinner's guild and a weaver's guild.  There are about 40 members in each.  I would say there is about a 1/3 overlap between the two groups.

While this is not a major metropolitan area, the internet has given us all access to yarn, so this is by choice, not necessity.  Around here, the division seems to be urban weavers vs rural weavers, the latter being more likely to be spinners, although everyone can order fiber on line as well.  I think we rusticated sorts are more inclined to deal with the mess involved in processing fleece and dyeing.

I halter-broke and hauled the llamas, and their feet need trimming like a horse's.  I don't show groom my horses unless showing -- just clean the feet and clear a space for the saddle.  To me, the single biggest block of time with any livestock is watching over the birthing process.  How do you count the half-awake midnights in the birthing shed -- as livestock care time, or sleep?

Sat, 06/22/2013 - 16:38

debmcclintock

I am always happy to let those folks who want to breed sheep do so and I support them by buying their fiber and having it spun.  My barrier is that I like to work with leicester longwool and mohair.  Most US spinning mills can't handle the long staple.  If I could talk myself into a shorter staple I'd be alot happier!   But I guess we just have to choose our path.

Sat, 06/22/2013 - 19:29

Kade1301

because it's too much hassle. Bottle-fed three lambs (their mums took care of them otherwise), that's enough...

Actually, I find it extremely difficult to order yarn online. With all the dithering (yellow - golden or lemony? or rather orange?) it probably takes me as much time to order yarn online as spinning it (where I take the colours like they come out of the dyepot - or mix during carding). And then I need to wait for delivery. Not to speak of the cost...

debmcclintock, why don't you spin your yarn yourself? You even have a good reason, if the mills can't do the job... Well, I have a good reason too, in France there are no mills to handle small amounts of custom spinning.

Sun, 06/23/2013 - 13:16

mneligh

Have you ever considered "farming out" the spinning to guilds?

We have a healthy spinners' guild here in the Ozarks, and also barter economy.  I trade spinning and weaving for fleece and goat cheese.  I have seen "Ozark handspun" for sale in Colorado as well as Arkansas yarn shops.  Surely there must be similar arrangements elsewhere.

I personally am very fond of the longwool breeds, and would volunteer to swap spinning for weaving, except I also weave.  However, if you sought out your local spinners' guilds  you should be able to arrange weaving someone's handspun in exchange for spinning.  If not local, try more isolated rural areas.  Many have contact information on Ravelry.

Sun, 06/23/2013 - 14:31

Nassajah (not verified)

exchange.  Here in Jordan, as in the Middle East, the only kind of wool there is to spin, if you can get some is from the only sheep here called, Owais.  It's a long staple, but very rough and only suitable for rugs.  I would love to see Tunis sheep intorduced here, but I doubt any toher sheep will be here since spinning and weaving are not considered jinportant in the economy.  I' going to try and get some wool and maybe camel to spin, but I really miss the variety we have in other parts of the world, like the US.:)

Alaa

Sun, 06/23/2013 - 20:36

mneligh

Camel down (undercoat) is wonderful!  My son brought me back an amazing camel shawl -- much like pashmina.  I've spun it and though short staple, it spins nicely.  

What about goat hair?

Sun, 06/23/2013 - 20:39

ReedGuy

Even Bison, although I don't know if it's used in weaving. I do know one place in PEI did spin it. Don't know the details. I think it was a government incentive behind the financing of it.

Mon, 06/24/2013 - 02:43

Weavingholiday

Bison (aka "Buffalo Wool") has been tried as a commercial fibre for a long time, but it seems to present enough challenges that it never seems to make the mainstream for knitting or weaving. (Nice little piece here: http://www.keepthefleece.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=75 )There are some smaller processors, you will usually get some sort of blend from them. I am told this is because it is hard for commercial machinery to spin pure bison down.

Bison fibre comes off the animal with a lot of different fibres all together, from really coarse guard hairs to beautiful down, and these have to be separated before spinning. The down is a bit challenging to hand spin, but is beautiful when you get the hang of it and have a yarn.

It felts pretty easily, which is maybe good or bad, depending on your project.

If you don't feel like spinning your own, Google will point you to some yarn suppliers. I know our local yarn store had some lace weight "Buffalo Wool" in stock recently.

On a related note, how about Qiviut:

http://www.arcticqiviut.com/

Mon, 06/24/2013 - 11:11

Kade1301

 I. e. there's really only the very coarse wool? I'm asking because I know (of) some breeds with coarse wool that have a nice soft undercoat. Of course, separating the coats is more time-consuming than working your way through a single-coated fleece, but if I had no choice I'd do it...