Welcome

Fiber of All Sheeps and Sizes

  • Misc
    I built a stool for my loom. Not for weaving, but for threading the loom. Turns out, most people remove the loom beater and sit in the loom. Since I needed the stool to straddle the treadles and the frame but not be super tall so the heddles were at eye level. Set up in the basement… Read more: Misc
  • New England Fiber Festival
    Saturday, I went to New England Fiber Festival, which is an indoor festival because it’s in Massachusetts in November. Except it was 70F and so hot. I wore my light sweater anyway because it’s great. There were so many vendors there. This was the first time I bought from a fleece sale and it was… Read more: New England Fiber Festival
  • Assortments of Goings On
    I went over and taught a friend how to use my little electric wheel since she’s been struggling to manage a wheel that is cranky and treadles and learn the mechanics of spinning all at once. I spun and carded fleece. We had family dinner at the farm after and I was absolutely stuffed full… Read more: Assortments of Goings On
  • Fiber Roundup
    This is a bunch of stuff I’ve done in the past few months. This is a project that was mostly practicing different techniques, I warped up two warps per heddle loop so I could do a 2 by 2 pattern. I also did pickup techniques which is what the V pattern is at the top.… Read more: Fiber Roundup
  • Baby Camel
    Oh baby camel. So soft, so warm, so shiny! And a pain in the butt for me. This was the angora all over again. It has a 1 inch staple. It was a very slippery fiber, very similar to angora. I had to treadle very slowly, I put very little twist in and it didn’t… Read more: Baby Camel
  • Manx Loaghtan
    This was an interesting fiber to spin. It has a 2-3 inch staple was was an extremely high close crimp fiber. I will say, it didn’t make the smoothest yarn, definitely better for outerwear or non-skin applications. It did long draw very well and was pretty enjoyable to spin. It needed low takeup, average to… Read more: Manx Loaghtan
  • Jacob
    This came in the sampler pack but I’ve spun some other than that and I really enjoy it. The fiber in the sampler pack has a 4 inch staple but I’ve spun some 2 inch as well and both were lovely. It long draws like a dream! It catches on itself and draws out beautifully.… Read more: Jacob
  • Corriedale
    This Corriedale came in the sampler pack and before I wrote this up, I bought some from my local yarn shop which is also a sheep farm. I love it! The staple is 3.5 to 6 inches, generally on the longer side. It has tons of tiny crimp to it but doesn’t catch quite as… Read more: Corriedale
  • Zwartbles
    Zwartbles, which is a very nice name, was wonderful to spin. It has a 4-5 inch staple. While it was mostly soft, there is a characteristic to it that is a little bit wirey. I got it in the sampler pack. When I was spinning, it needed less twist than average because it didn’t need… Read more: Zwartbles
  • Angora (Rabbit)
    I bought the rabbit Angora from Wooly Spruce Farmstead and I bought two ounces of it. It is soft as a cloud and very nice. I don’t have great pictures of it because I was tired but maybe I’ll update it at some point. An ounce of Angora roving is A Lot! It was a… Read more: Angora (Rabbit)

A journey begins…

I am a beginning spinner and I want to try as many different types of fiber as I can and keep notes so that I can remember how each fiber feels as I spin. It is also a way to improve my spinning. I am spinning all long draw, undyed, primarily top but also roving or locks if I can get them, and I plan to spin around an ounce and make a single, 2 ply and 3 ply mini skein. As I finish, I will update below what I’ve got and what I’m working on.

Here are the fibers:

  • BFL
  • Black Welsh
  • Charollais – acquired
  • Cheviot – acquired
  • Clun Forest
  • Cormo
  • Corriedale – finished
  • Cotswold – acquired
  • Devon
  • Dorset – acquired
  • East Freisian
  • Eider – acquired
  • Falkland
  • Finnish
  • Gotland – acquired
  • Gulf Coast
  • Hampshire
  • Haunai Halfbred
  • Herdwick – finished
  • Hog island – acquired
  • Icelandic – finished
  • Jacob – finished
  • Karakul
  • Leicester Longwool – acquired
  • Lincoln
  • Manx Loaghtan – finished
  • Masham
  • Merino
  • Mohair
  • Navajo Churro
  • North Ronaldsay – acquired
  • Norwegian – acquired
  • Polwarth
  • Rambouillet – acquired
  • Romeldale/CVM – acquired
  • Romney – acquired
  • Santa Cruz
  • Scottish blackface
  • Shetland – spun,
  • Soay
  • Southdown
  • Suffolk
  • Swaledale
  • Targhee
  • Teeswater – currently spinning
  • Texel – acquired
  • Tunis
  • Welsh Mountain – acquired
  • Wensleydale
  • Whiteface Woodland
  • Zwartbles – finished

Other fibers:

  • Cashmere
  • Baby Camel – finished
  • Llama
  • Alpaca – acquired
  • Angora – finished
  • Yak
  • Cultivated Silk
  • Tussah Silk 
  • Soybean Fiber – acquired
  • Mint Fiber – acquired
  • Seacell – acquired
  • Rose Fiber – acquired
  • Banana Fiber – acquired
  • Bamboo Fiber – acquired, spun – needs to be plyed and finished
  • Egyptian Cotton – acquired
  • Pineapple Fiber – acquired
  • Ingeo Corn Fiber – acquired
  • Tencel Fiber – acquired
  • Linen/Flax – acquired, beginning spinning
  • Ramie Fiber – acquired
  • Hemp Fiber – acquired

Some helpful resources (mostly for me)