I can just about replicate my previous yarn/fiber colorways. Good think there really isn't a perfect "dye lot" when it comes to dyeing spinning fiber, like when you have a yarn.

I kinda look at what colors I have and say... what colorway are we dyeing today?

... I need to work on dyeing some fiber but I have a lot to do. Strangely enough I don't like dyeing m my handspun yarn in wacky colors.

With the addition of a new tool to the household I've turned my yucca fibre into baby's first wheel-spun single-ply thread.

Learning how to use a spinning wheel has its challenges, but I can feel myself improving as I go.

And if you're thinking "Well, all the more reason to buy from indie dyers and indie yarn brands!"
...
Where do you think they get their yarn bases from? A LOT of Merino comes from Australia and New Zealand. A lot of silk comes East Asia.
Cashmere comes from East Asia.

There are small yarn mills dotted around the US. They tend to make small specialty yarns. Some have closed due to economic reasons. Where do they get their spinning machine parts from?

When you consider tariffs for fiber arts... good luck if you want fleece or fiber prominent from a certain country.

The US... for complex reasons we aren't a wool using country. A LOT of the yarns in LYS and big box stores are made in another country. Turkey, UK, France, Italy, some in China, a LOT from India...

Panic buying yarn isn't the solution. Folks did that during the pandemic and still don't know what to do with the yarn.

Idk.
#knitting #crochet #spinning #weaving

I do want another Romney fleece. Some classify it as a long wool because it technically is. Others classify it as a "medium" wool because the fleece isn't as long as most long wools, it's somewhat softer and finer.

I find it a good workhorse wool. Great for adult sweaters, hats, socks and gloves.

It's used for meat and wool in the US. It's a BIG sheep. The nearby fiber festival had Romney fleeces upwards of 15 lbs. Largest was 21 lbs? majority are white.

Primitive breed sheep's wool is called that because the sheep isn't "improved" by cross breeding it with other breeds. The sheep's genetics have been the same for 100s or 1000s of years.

Some Primitive breeds I want to try or have tried and liked: Jacob, karakul, Icelandic, gotland, romanov, gotland, faroese...

A lot of those breeds are in Europe or Asia. Only a few flocks In the US.

Sampling raw fleece from those is hard because of international shipping regulations.

I typically don't spin woolen, unless I'm using a supported spindle. But spinning Cotswold woolen is making the yarn fluffy and slightly softer. (Not by much.)

Many long wools are rougher than "medium" and fine wools.
Primitive breed wools are a toss up as to softness. But softness isn't the only reason to choose a certain fleece.

Some folks like spinning art yarns with the wool locks. And it's gorgeous. I just don't know what to do with art yarns.
M
#knitting #crochet #spinning #queer

Spinning this particular long wool in a woolen style as opposed to worsted is interesting. Long wools need very little twist (unless you're using it for weaving.)

The curls on this Cotswold fleece are so gorgeous. I had a moment of panic about running out of this fleece. So I began looking around for similar long wools: Wensleydale, teeswater, Border Leicester...

Nothing on etsy or ebay. Idk farmers nearby that have long wool flocks. I think many farmers haven't shorn yet.
#spinning #knitting