Crown Mountain Farms
There was a sale recently at Crown Mountain Farms. I am hopeless to resist a sale!!! Especially since I really NEED new roving to learn to spin.
Corriedale Pencil Roving in Eire
Corriedale Pencil Roving in Plain of Bliss
Superwash Merino in Just for You
Blue Faced Leicester in Finding Rainbows
They are all gorgeous. I almost don't want to try to spin them in case I mess it up! Speaking of spinning, how do you guys draft/prepare your fiber? I'm having issues with that part of the process and any help you can give would be wonderful!
Corriedale Pencil Roving in Eire
Corriedale Pencil Roving in Plain of Bliss
Superwash Merino in Just for You
Blue Faced Leicester in Finding Rainbows
They are all gorgeous. I almost don't want to try to spin them in case I mess it up! Speaking of spinning, how do you guys draft/prepare your fiber? I'm having issues with that part of the process and any help you can give would be wonderful!
posted by Unknown at 10:14 PM
10 Comments:
Wow! Gorgeous colors! I can see how they were hard to resist (and where I say, phew, glad I don't spin....no room for roving!).
Well, I've never spun pencil roving, but from what I've heard, it should be ready to spin. As for the regular roving, there are several ways, either tear off a 8-12inch length, and then "fluff" it a bit, by pulling lightly on the sides and then a little bit length-wise, the main point is to let the fibers slide by each other.
Or you could fluff a little and then pull length-wise every few inches depending on staple length so that you end up drafting the entire thing at once (this is best if you want to presevere the color changes).
Also, and what I do most of the time, is split it a few times length-wise and then pull to draft like the 2nd type I attempted to explain.
I hope this helps, and that it's legible.
Those are so pretty but I have no idea about spinning!
I just got some goodies from their sale too - and thank you for asking that question - because I was JUST wondering that:) I'm clueless - so I hope lots of psinners comment:)
The pencil roving should need very little, if any, drafting. How you want your finished yarn to look should determine how you draft the regular roving. For shorter runs of color, pull off strips of roving and pre-draft those. For longer runs of color, pre-draft from the roving as it is now. The colors are gorgeous. (Might I suggest that you start learning on some plain roving? It usually takes a little while to "get on to it" and then your technique will improve drastically. Your roving is so gorgeous, you will probably want your spinning to be fairly consistent when you spin it.)
Wow! What a haul!
Being such a newb myself, I am torn between being opinionated and being quiet.
The only thing I think I can say safely is that the amount of drafting you do will correlate to the how thin you want your single. The thinner the single, the more you should draft.
OMG!!! LOVE the colors! I would buy exactly those same colors!!! As far as pencil roving goes, I don't think you really need to do much to prepare the fiber. (BTW, take everything I say with a grain of salt, cuz not like I know much about spinning!)
Morgaine (Carolina Homespun) admits to me that she often NEVER pre-drafts (and unfortunately, I'm naughty and will follow such sage practices!)...But I have read to do pretty much what Andrea said with other fibers-you kind of pull them outward (width-wise) and then lengthen it out a bit. And yes, the key is to make it so the fibers will slide easily.
I definitely can't speak to the color-preservation issues!
Eire is just divine!
I took a spinning class this weekend, and I was taught to let the roving naturally split then, take the individual piece and with both hands on each end or each section, slowly move your hands apart and you'll start see the fibers straighten and move together.
These are gorgeous. I haven't spun in a few months, but I think I am going to sit down and spin a bit this weekend thanks to this post. :)
I usually just fluff the roving a bit to prepare it. I probably don't have the best technique though. :)
Pencil roving is my favorite to spin and it's the best for beginners. And Crown Mountain has the best selection. Good luck! You'll be a pro in no time.
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