[Fleecewife]

OK I should be growing, prepping, dyeing and spinning my own fibres but for a change I want to be lazy and buy something special.
I've just been ploughing through endless websites trying to find something that little bit out of the ordinary, something eye catching, which I know I can spin.
There are endless coils and plaits of merino tops, hand dyed, blended with other fibres...but they are all the same, and anyway I refuse to spin merino, as we have so many delicious British fleece breeds, and I don't see the point of sending for stuff to spin from the other side of the world, something which is bland, characterless and boring, no challenge at all  .

So, where do you buy your extraordinary spinning fluff from?  Or is it a case of 'if you want it you'll have to make it yourself' ?

[Lesley Silvester]

I shall follow this thread with interest.

[Bionic]

I have some alpaca that my friend gave me. My club have a dyeing day today so I am taking some of that with me to see how it goes. After that I will probably blend it with a bit of fleece to make it easier to manage.


At Wonderwool I bought some Wensleydale tops   (Not sure that's interesting enough for you) but I have already dyed it and it's spinning nicely.


I have lots of my own Ryeland so I should get on and do something with that as they will be shorn again soon and I don't have anywhere to put it.


My poodle gets trimmed tomorrow. I have never tried to spin his coat but that would be interesting

[Marches Farmer]

I can send you a Southdown shearling fleece some time next month if you'd like to try it.  The breed was improved at the end of the 18th century by breeding in some Merino but the pure bred sheep couldn't cope with British weather and were taken out to Australia by the colonists.

[Louise Gaunt]

Silk? I bought a silk cap at Wonderwool, just need the time to sit down and spin it! Wingham woolwork do quite a nice range of British wool prepared top. I am spinning some humbug blue faced Leicester at the moment, which is giving me a lovely silvery, marked yarn. No idea what I will do with it yet!

[Dogwalker]

Kid mohair  -  raw fleece or washed?

[SallyintNorth]

Can you get to Woollfest this year? 

I'm away at the mo, will look up some links and things, and post them here, when I get back (by Friday)

Meanwhile... BarberBlackSheep is doing some interesting things ; Hilltop Cloud makes some very interesting blends; Freyalyn's Fibres is one of the top Indi dyers IMO.   All use British-sourced fibre to a greater or lesser degree. 

Undyed, Griffiths Mill often have a good selection, mostly British and much of it Rare Breed; Sheepfold are a very small supplier but it's all rare breed and all as local to Cumbria as they can manage.  Both do rovings and batts, as well as carded and uncarded fleece.

You can buy any of John Arbon's tops with absolute certainty you'll have a delightful spinning experience.

[Fleecewife]

Oh I daren't buy another raw fleece Marches farmer  I have loads of the wretched things waiting to be processed still, although the Southdown does look lovely.  Thank you for the offer.  I like the sound of poodle curls Bionic - spin them (mixed with wool?) and show us all the finished product  You could start a trend there.  I did have lots of dog fur from my giant guardian dog, but Mr F helpfully put it in the bin for me when she died.....    The mohair sounds good too, but I am just waiting for some seacell and some bamboo to be delivered, to try blending with Shetland or alpaca, both of which I have, so enough silky things for now - I have silk too. Louise, I love BFL but I have a whole jumper, spun, hand dyed by me and knitted up, which I love but I don't need another one, yet...
Sadly Sally, Freyalyn's shop is totally empty right now  - totally  . BarberBlackSheep has some fibres for spinning but they are mainly merino, and looks like you have to buy a mixed box to get the more unusual stuff. John Arbon sells merino, albeit blended, and I don't want merino in any shape or form .
As to Woolfest, I'll see how I am at the time.  I won't be going to the Highland Show, which usually clashes with Woolfest, but my recent forays into crowded areas have been a series of disasters, so probably not.  I agree though that any really special fibre needs to be handled to show if it lives up to its visual promise.

I've looked through art batts, but they seem to be one-offs, and designed more to look good as batts but maybe don't spin up so well.  I need enough to be able to make something useful, and being a 'traditionally built lady', that means quite a lot of yarn 

I think I'm just being contrary right now and what I think I want just doesn't exist.  I'm perfectly capable of blending and dyeing myself, so I'll just have to knuckle under and do that, unless you come up with something splendiferous Sally.

Back down to Earth - this afternoon is lamb Crovecting time, and the shearing has begun, so there'll be enough to keep me occupied for a while.  I'll keep searching though 

[Buttermilk]

I am spinning some corn tops at the moment and really enjoying it. 

[clydesdaleclopper]

You just need to buy a little lamb from me at weaning time  Mum is Lincoln Longwool and dad is Gotland but it was a boy so he's been castrated and we don't have space to keep boys. He'll have a lovely fleece and is very affectionate 

[SallyintNorth]

John Arbon has everything - but maybe doesn't list it all on his website. 

I've had some Blackface x Southdown from John Arbon; it was lovely.  And, whilst I agree that there are plenty of great British fibres, just to let people know : John's merino is Merino d'Arles - very different from the flat processed-to-death commercial stuff, it's really lovely, and European.  He has lots of other fibres too, many of them British - and every one of his I've tried has been total delight to draft.

Freyalyn probably only puts things in the Etsy shop at the end of the show season too.  When I'm home, I'll dig out some of her blog posts and send you links, so you can see the type of stuff she does.  She'll dye any of her colour ways on any of the fibres she uses to order, but I don't think she does batts.  If you want batts with different fibres and dyed, Hilltop Cloud's the one.  Again, she probably has most of her stock now destined for the shows,  but I'll look into it and see what I can find.

I usually buy one or three Indi-dyed batts or packs of tops or rovings, and use them in conjunction with things I've dyed myself, or naturally coloured fibres, and/or ply them with something simpler/plainer.  But plenty of folks do make whole jumpers from Indi-dyed fibre.

[Lesley Silvester]

My poodle gets trimmed tomorrow. I have never tried to spin his coat but that would be interesting

My ex - a very good, experienced spinner - was once asked to spin poodle clippings. It wasn't the easiest of dog hair to spin and produced a fairly coarse yarn with the poodle effect that can be bought but not to soft. The poodle's owner was delighted though but never asked for any more to be done.

[Fleecewife]

You just need to buy a little lamb from me at weaning time  Mum is Lincoln Longwool and dad is Gotland but it was a boy so he's been castrated and we don't have space to keep boys. He'll have a lovely fleece and is very affectionate 

Ooh ooh he sounds gorgeous.  We are stopping breeding lambs from now on, and selling off our breeding stock over the next couple of years, just keeping the old ladies.  However, I have a Shetland wether we'll be keeping who I'm sure will need company.  Could I persuade Mr F that this lamb is essential  ?  How does the Lincoln X Gotland fleece stand up to the weather? We had a Gotland ewe whose fleece matted every year before we could get it off, although her crossbred lambs were fine.  Um, Aberdeen is quite far away.......  He does sound interesting though.

Sally - you're making it sound as if I really will have to brave the crowds at Woolfest.  I know Freyalyn and she is always there.  Mostly I tend to walk past the fluff for sale, as there's so much merino in there but maybe I should make more of an effort to fight my way to the front.
I was given a couple of kilos of Portuguese merino when I was at some sheep conference in Europe a few years ago and even then I didn't spin up more than a little - the rest is still sitting there.

After a short pause...........Oh Sally, you are bad.  I've had a good look at Hilltop Cloud and ended up buying some Corridale with Yak and rose fibre.  See what you've made me do    I might add bits of the seacell or bamboo, both of which are white, to add a bit of a lift to the colours which are rather dark.

I still love the sound of that little lamb Clydesdale clopper.  What will be his adult weight?  That could be the deciding factor.

[clydesdaleclopper]

This is the first time we have done the cross so I don't know how big he will end up. His mum belongs to my 5 year old and he really doesn't want the lamb to be eaten. OH works in Glasgow so I'm sure something could be arranged    he's only a few weeks old at the moment so plenty of time for you to convince your OH 

[SallyintNorth]

Hee hee heee

Very glad you've succumbed to something gorgeous.  That HTC sounds very special.

Actually, Freyalyn won't be at Woolfest this year, and wasn't last year.  She'll have a list of the shows she's doing on her blog. 

Sounds like you've found your companion wether, but if you are still looking later in the summer, give me a shout.  I've some very interesting 2015 and 2016 wethers I'll be looking to home...