I recently ordered a
Schacht Ladybug and, to channel my impatience while waiting for it to arrive, I set out to start building my fiber stash. To my surprise, I wasn't able to find nearly the depth of information about the tops, rovings, batts, and rolags available on Etsy and dyer sites that is available about commercially produced yarns and decided to start this blog to provide reviews for others interested in the wide variety of breeds, preparations, and colorways available.
To get this started, I will be reviewing the fiber that's currently on my drop spindle. As my first foray into spinning, I purchased a
Turkish drop spindle from KnitPicks in 2010. It's been my only spindle as I found the process very slow. I do enjoying spinning on it but I have a tendency to spin very fine and it can't keep up with my drafting. After starting on some generic wool, I decided to venture out to the wider world of fiber and ordered my first hand dyed roving on Etsy.
Store:
Fiberstory
Purchased: October 2010
Price: $20 (plus $3.25 for shipping)
Fiber content: 75% Bluefaced Leicester/25% Tussah silk
Colorway: Sangria
Weight: 4 oz.
Preparation: combed top
Softness (1-low, 10-high): 8
Spinning method: worsted on a spindle
This is lovely wool. I chose BFL because I had knit with commercially spun yarn made of it and really enjoyed the process. The silk content makes it even softer and shinier than BFL would ordinarily be. It's well blended and prepared. I've noticed a few small (tiny, really) nepps here and there but it's only because I'm spinning it so fine. If I were spinning even laceweight singles, I probably wouldn't even notice.
Ultimately, I really enjoy spinning this and would recommend it.
Going forward, I will try to remember to update posts with photos of the finished yarn/projects, but no guarantees. I know myself better than to make promises I might not keep.
