words and photos by Terri Louise Although some spinners really enjoy processing an entire raw fleece from start to finish, not everyone has the desire, or the facilities, to handle the initial prep work. A fiber mill can turn a raw fleece into soft, spinnable roving – but double-coated fiber has some special challenges. Here’s […]
words and photos by Barbara Bundick At the 2019 Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, I purchased an Icelandic lamb fleece with lovely golden locks curling over a snow white base. Whatever I did with this fleece, I knew I wanted to keep the tog and thel together. The tog, by the way, are the long […]
Yes, that’s right, the summer issue is filled with tools that go vroom vroom, buzz buzz, or even purr quietly. So of course it covers the one so many of us have and enjoy – the electric spinning wheel, but it also talks about carders, winders, dyeing, and drones. It includes blending, spinning, plying, consistency, […]
words by Alissa Barton, fiber and yarn photos by Alissa Barton, photo of Alissa by Brad Barton, photos of sheep by Sian Tarrant Anyone who follows my social media (see bio at end) will have noticed I spent the very early part of 2020 spinning some gorgeous purple roving. As a handspinner, I appreciate the […]
words and photos by Lynne Peachey Recently, there has been much discussion on social networks concerning the Shetland sheep being double coated. But not all Shetlands are double coated, so spinners should be aware of the product they can expect when ordering a Shetland fleece for spinning. Generally, in the UK the Shetland sheep in […]
On April 24, Jacey Faulkner and Jillian Moreno hosted another quarterly PLY vlog, with a live virtual chat with spinners from all over. If you missed it (or want to watch it again), you can catch up with it on YouTube. In this video, Jacey and Jillian share their favorite parts of the Spring 2021 […]
words and photos by Alexina Hicks I like Istex lopi yarn. It’s got character, it’s pretty unique in its genre, and it garners the shelves of a huge section in Icelandic grocery stores for more affordable prices than junk food. It isn’t a surprise that many passionate handspinners have conducted extensive studies to determine how […]
words and photos by Lisa Mitchell In February 2020, we had no idea that The Fiber Salad Gathering would be one of our last meetings. As a newbie to spinning and the Whidbey Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild, I had been relishing the weekly gathering of spinners. That summer, when I first joined, I had never […]
words and photos by Donna Kay I love preparing fiber – whether it is handcombing lustrous locks or carding puffy rolags. But sometimes we forget about the oldest tools of all: our hands. Consider getting “back to the sheep” and spinning hand-prepared (literally) locks into a rustic lofty yarn. It is a fitting and extremely […]
