My Firsts: Fleeces and Supported Spindle by TheDancingGoats!

  

Left: Flicked Churro locks, rolled up into faux rolags.   Right: Osage orange/hedge apple Russian spindle and vortex talking bowl from The Dancing Goats.  The spindle has some of the Churro fleece, spun from the lock, on it.

As the title suggests, I just got a hold of my first fleeces and my first supported spindle.  The fleeces were from The Spinning Loft and the spindle was a Russian compromise by Robin of The Dancing Goats.  I also got a beautiful custom spinning bowl with Tolkien-style runes reading "Listen to the quarters of the wind" inscribed along the sides.  Both were hedge apple/osage orange, with the spindle far lighter than the bowl.  The contrast is beautiful and the tools feel like magic in my hands, and even look like magic!  You can see them both in a listing here.  He's put up the bowl as a regular Talking Bowl as well.  Check it out. :)

 

Bowl close-up!

I discovered The Dancing Goats when I was looking up videos on Russian and Orenburg spindles.  I had no intention of buying one, because I wasn't interested in using one, just in their aesthetics and their traditional and historical use.  But I found his tutorial on spinning with a "compromise" Russian spindle, based on Russian spindles but with a hook.  They are also much bigger and when I looked up The Dancing Goats on Ravelry I saw people in love with their bowls, but very little information on their spindles.  A couple people mentioned the spindles looked huge and clunky, but the overall look and the hook enchanted me, so after a while I ordered one, then a customized "talking bowl" with Tolkien-style runes.  They both got there very quickly, about 3 days after the bowl was finished.  Actually, they arrived the same day my fleeces did!  I was super excited to work with the fleeces, so I washed them that day, and also super excited for my new spindle.

Freshly arrived spindle and support bowl!

Yes, it's big, but it's also very lightweight, and the bowl is far more beautiful than in the photo.  I've been spinning the Navajo Churro fleece using different techniques on it.  At first I had to do a lot of park-and-draft-type spinning, but I got the hang of it after a bit and I am in love with this spindle.  It's rivalling my love for my Miss Marple's Teacup from Greensleeves, plus it's super portable! I do intend to buy another, given how magical this spindle is and how in love I am with it.  I mean, just look at these spindles!  He's also got other compromise spindles in his shop- Tibetan and Southwest (based on the Navajo spindle), as well as drop spindles.  Some of the drop spindles run up to quite heavy, about 3.5 oz, great if you're plying or making bulky yarns, the latter of which I've found incredibly difficult on my 1.5 oz drop spindle.  There's also those beautiful spinning bowls, as well as wonderful woodworks.  Did I also mention that the woods for the bowls and the spindles are discards from cabinet making?  Love anything that makes use of recycling or using up every possible resource.

  

Left: Freshly washed Suffolk on the left half of the container, Navajo Churro on the right.   Right: The bowl and Russian spindle with the rest of the flicked locks

On the fleeces, I went and bought an Ashford flicker on a trip to a nearby LYS.  I was combing the Churro with a simple dog comb before, but this is...WOW.  Just wow.  I can see the advantages to both methods, of course, but for this fleece the flicker has done the rest!

Au revoir!

-Krystalle

Phat Fiber Box: "C'est la vie" themed sampler box + North Star Alpacas review

Well, with my spinning/dying craze going strong, I managed to snag a Phat Fiber sampler box on my first try.  It will be a mixed box with both yarns and fibers, and I look forward to trying them and doing a "little review" type thing for the contributors once I get into their samples.  Speaking of which, I actually had never heard of Phat Fiber until I bought some amazing alpaca roving from North Star Alpacas a little over a month ago.  I first bought the cheapest thing I found- roughly 4 ounces of brown alpaca roving, priced low because it came from an older alpaca and the seller said it was rough for alpaca, similar to most sheep's wools.  But, having just got into spinning and wanting some luxury fibers without the pressure of "don't screw up, this cost a pretty penny," I purchased it anyway.  And I am glad I did.  It turned out to indeed be roving- I had read the difference between top and roving but not quite understood it until I opened my alpaca roving and saw how it differed from the merino and colonial tops I had been working with.

 

Left: unopened package.  Right: Dyed, spun-up yarn.  You can't really see it on camera- I tried- but it has a nice mottled purple look.

Plus, it came with a little moth-deterrent sachet and a sample of alpaca-tussah silk fiber!  I spun that first and loved it.  I have no idea why people said spinning alpaca was a nightmare, once I figured out it needed more twist that little darling spun itself!

Left: one of the alpaca-tussah sample fibres.  Right:  I'm making a two-single ball to ply from.

I'm in the plying stage of that baby, as you can see.  I'm spinning the brown alpaca and playing with dying it.  It took dye surprisingly well, and it is a little rough, but it only has had 2 or 3 flecks of vegetable matter total despite what the seller said.  And, due to that lovely freebie I immediately overcame my trepidation and bought some truly soft charcoal grey alpaca roving from her shop only 3 days later.  Let me tell you, that roving was SOFT.  And came with more alpaca-tussah fiber, but I did not weight it.  I think the total sample mass was about 1/2 ounce or so.  The grey roving took purple food dye VERY WELL and very evenly, which given what I've read about purple food dye for fiber surprised me.  I expected more of what I got with the brown alpaca, but I got this:

Left: the whole 4 ounces of roving.  Right: The grey roving dyed purple.  Hard to capture, but I promise it's a lovely stormy colour.

So, I loved the purchases I made here.  Do keep in mind however, that the listing photos are not super accurate of the product you get: they are a little washed out.  The brown and grey rovings I got are both very rich, deep colours.  The alpaca-tussah sample does look closer to the listing photo, but more pink in real life.

Anyway, summary points of North Star Alpacas:

• fast shipping: both days I got the shipping notification only an hour after ordering
• excellent packaging: fiber not matted or pressed too much, plus little freebie and moth-deterrent sachet
• caring seller, communicates well to customers
• photos belie the rich colour quality of the product
• introduced me to Phat Fiber with the "thank you for buying" message!
• Will buy again, whenever I need alpaca!  I'm already eyeing the fleeces in her shop!

As for the first spindle shown, it came from Spinerosity and was very affordable, I will post a review soon.  The second came from a local vendor who sells across the United States, Brookmore Creations.  While I was adverse to the flower shape at first, it proved a good place for holding the yarn, not expensive, and a good beginner spindle for me.

Au revoir!