I started out in 86 with the most coarse wool you can imagine, ordered
from the US (was living in Germany at the time), carded and ready to
spin. Still have some of that yarn--makes great leaders :)
I was luckier after that--hooked up with a wonderful spinning business
that I think was in Washington State, Strawberry Cottage or something
like that. I wrote them, and got a very encouraging round-robin sort of
letter from a bunch of spinners, plus samples of lovely wools. I bought
handcards, and started spinning wool I prepared from scratch. Although
roving is certainly fun, and some can be very good quality, it just can
never compare to hand-prepared wools :)
My favorite type of wool today is a Border Leicester x Corriedale.
Bought one from Cyril Lieske in Australia while living in Massachusetts.
Absolutely perfect wool--soft enough for next-to-the-skin, strong
enough to make good outerwear, wonderfully easy to spin, nice crimp and
length, great for plied knitting yarns or weaving singles. Yes,
spinning perfection! That's what I wanted to raise--create my own breed
based on that type of wool--but DH decided on Shetlands <sigh>
Not that a good Shetland fleece is to be despised! I love the
variability of color and texture. Better for knitting, in general,
though, than weaving, which was my dream.
Another breed I love is Perendale. Some can be a little crisp, but if
you get a silky-ish fleece, it's much like the BL x Corrie, just a bit
more crimpy and so not as suited to weaving singles unless you want a
lot of loft in the finished cloth.
I'm using both my favorites in my current project, a garter-stitch
sweater for ME :) Lots of different greens dyed on white and gray,
along with splashes of everything in the rainbow plus a few; leaving
some natural grays as well. Three plies, each spun from different
colors in carded batts. One is a basic heathery green; one moves from
chartreuse to blue-green and back; the last is the heather plus bits of
the brights splashed in at intervals. Makes for fun spinning, and
lovely knitting. I've finished the body and almost finished one sleeve.
Today I probably won't work with wool, though, it's supposed to be
near 90 <sigh>
Holly
To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
