Wooly palaver

[snapdragon]

Oh my what have I done!
I received a fleece off a pet sheep on freecycle
got some 'how to's' from t'interweb
washed it fluffed it up with a wire dog brush, and then spun some on a drop spindle - dyed some- spun some more - made more drop spindles with dowels and doorknobs
!! bought more fleece on ebay for a bargain price (I havent finished the first one yet) washed etc etc

OK I'm hooked, do I need therapy? No chance - this spinning is therapy in itself - all I need to do now is create a loom or find my knitting 'gene' that was lost somewhere back in the 1980's
nothing actually 'made' out of it yet but the bag of skeins both dyed and white-awaiting-colour is growing
as a winter project it should keep me quiet

Any ideas for patterns or projects?

[Annpan]

I find crocheting much easier than knitting, find a basic 'How to' instruction guide for granny squares (on line... ehow is pretty good) and make your self a lovely big throw/ blankie.

[Annpan]

By the way, it sounds great what you have done already, glad you are enjoying it. It must be really time consuming. What colours do you have?

[snapdragon]

By the way, it sounds great what you have done already, glad you are enjoying it. It must be really time consuming. What colours do you have?

hi Annpan - thanks for the encouraging words
time consuming? - well i guess so but while I've been reading stuff on here I've been spinning
It was three basic colours all dyed in one pot (looked like I'd swatted a Parrot) using a set of acid dyes (they came with 'rainbow dyeing' instructions)
Because I dyed the fleece not the spun wool they blend and change while being spun - one skein looks like storm clouds, another oranges and lemons, all small skeins as I use a hand spindle so I can wander about with it
i guess whatever I make will be multi coloured

[red]

sounds great

I hav some fleece lurking in the shed for the winter months... and the nights are drawing in

must get around to it

[Wombat]

Whoa, Snapdragon!

A drop spindle! That takes some perseverence!

I've used a spinning wheel for years, but when I had a go at the drop spindle, I learned pretty quickly why they invented spinning wheels.

Well done!

Nev

[Eigon]

Snapdragon, did you know that there's a discussion group on yahoo for people who use drop spindles, called spindlers? They also talk about what to do with the yarn - I'm knitting a shawl that was suggested on there at the moment.

[Shirley]

We recently had a Neeps spinning day up here in Aberdeenshire and I had a go with a drop spindle and found it to be quite hard to do... but that was mainly because of my sore neck/shoulders at the time..... I love the fact that it's totally portable and you could spin on the go! Julie had even made up some drop spindles out of a bit of dowling and an old cd!!

[Russian Doll]

wow thats amazing

[mrsflibble]

it's fab. I can't get the hang of crocheting myself, but I do knit from time to time. nice one with the spindle, good job!!

[Thomzo]

Hi Snapdragon
If you decide to keep going and want some more fleeces let me know. I have a friend who keeps pet sheep and can't always get rid of the fleeces. He's in Wiltshire too.

Cheers
Zoe

[frozenthunderbolt]

anyone made their own carding combs before? if so how? ive got some fleece from when dad trimmed some of our sheep. have washed but all my books (im a biblio freek lol) say it needs to be carded before spinning.
I can make a drop spindle or try fix mums wheel but need to find a way to card. or is it possible to spin without carding?

Many thanks, Jed

[snapdragon]

anyone made their own carding combs before? if so how? ive got some fleece from when dad trimmed some of our sheep. have washed but all my books (im a biblio freek lol) say it needs to be carded before spinning.
I can make a drop spindle or try fix mums wheel but need to find a way to card. or is it possible to spin without carding?

Many thanks, Jed

Yes it is :) it's what I've been doing, in the old days they used teasle heads, but a dog brush or dog comb does it if you don't feel the need to create 'rolags' I've been using a wire dog brush and teasing out and then brushing some and then spinning them from the tips (I understand it's called semi-worsted) - it works fine with the drop spindle as you dont have to work with the speed of the wheel

[frozenthunderbolt]

thanks snapdragon! i'll give it a shot after my exams then

[snapdragon]

thanks for all the replies

it would be lovely to use fleece from a 'local sheep'
and I'll give that yahoo a look in and keep you posted