New Year. New Wool

 I've started spinning 8 ounces of some delicious hand made roving or top (I'm not quite sure which to call it). A lady in central Massachusetts made it and a dear friend gave it to me. It is highly textured and will make a "tweedy" looking yarn. I'm spinning it on my CPW and having a blast. What a great way to start 2015!!!!!

And on the wheel.....

This is some of the Jacob that I bought last weekend. I'm spinning it on the Schacht-Reeves 30" and I am having some serious fun. The Jacob is just a dream to spin (the yarn I have finished is soft and springy; super fiber). After hand picking the washed fleece, I ran it thru the drum carder 3 times. I'll spin another bobbin and ply the two singles.

Fake Rolags

Spinning longdraw is my favorite method and to really, truly spin woolen longdraw in the purest way, you need rolags; lots of rolags.  Rolags are traditionally made using hand cards but there is a way to make them using the drum carder. Lots of folks make them right of the drum. I don't like that method only because no matter how hard I try, I end up poking my arms and hands on the pointy bit and it hurts. So, I remove the batt from the carder and:

Split the batt into thirds across the batt (as opposed to long ways);





Grasp the sides of the  fiber and pull it apart; it separates like the pages of a book. My goal is to get something close to the size of handcards;





Roll the fiber loosely around a dowel and,

Viola!



It is essential for easy spinning to keep the fake rolags a reasonable size and to keep them light and airy for a light and airy woolen yarn. The ones pictured here are made from some yummy alpaca from Great Rock Alpaca; the staple is a little long for rolags (for my taste) but they spun like a dream.