new spinner needs your help

[shelain22]

I'm getting an angora:c9 I want to learn to spin but I have no idea where to start. If I have a little direction I can research from there so here are some questions I have.

 

1.What type of equipment do I need? I dont want to spend alot of money until I know that its really something I want to do.

 

2.What else do you use to spin with and where do you get it? I have noticed that some people mix other things with angora.

 

3.Are there any good sites online that will help me?

 

4.What do yall spin with? Products, fibers etc...

 

5.What are the best places online to purchase spinning meterially?

 

Any other help yall could offer me would be appreciated!!

[MarvieN]

I'm getting an angora:c9 I want to learn to spin but I have no idea where to start. If I have a little direction I can research from there so here are some questions I have.

 

1.What type of equipment do I need? I dont want to spend alot of money until I know that its really something I want to do.

 

2.What else do you use to spin with and where do you get it? I have noticed that some people mix other things with angora.

 

3.Are there any good sites online that will help me?

 

4.What do yall spin with? Products, fibers etc...

 

5.What are the best places online to purchase spinning meterially?

 

Any other help yall could offer me would be appreciated!!

 

http://www.icanspin.com/toc.htm

 

http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/HowToDropspin.html

 

http://ewedevil.com/spinning.htm

 

There are a few sites with video and pictures for drop spindle spinning... which sounds like the way you want to go to start with. I don't know if the ebay store is still there, but a lot of us got our spindles from a lady named Annie May last year. There are lots of places to get spindles though. Same for fibers.

 

I've only spun wool rovings so far (and I played with dog hair once) and I get mine through ebay or locally.

 

To start out, all you need is a spindle and some fiber. Later if you really get into it there are more things you can get, but for now, a drop spindle and some fluff (I call it fluff cuz it's so fluffy) and before you know it, you have yarn =)

 

I'm sure others will be along, yanno, people who know what they're talking about Hopefully the sites I gave you will give you some idea of what you'll need to know. They're the ones I used when my spindle arrived =)

[shelain22]

Thanks, here are the drop spindles I fund on ebay, what do yall think...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8220412913&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8220585883&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8221162724&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8220799534&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

[HollyM]

I'm far from an expert because I just started spinning in January, but these are the tips I have picked up a long the way.

 

You probably do not want to try to spin Angora right away. The finer fibers (silk, angora, flax) can be tricker to spin because they are harder to control.

 

Start with a long staple (staple = lenght of each hair) sheep wool that has a bit more crimp to it (crimp = crinkly look = less slippery) The less slippery the fibers are, the more forgiving they will be when you are learing how to draft. If you have very slick fibers, the fiber in your hand will have a harder time holding on to the fiber on your wheel/spindle. Often when you see wool/roving for sale, the seller will list what breed of sheep it is from. Start out buying smallish quantities of different kinds of wool and soon you'll see a difference between the types. Some of the breeds I like to spin are Cormo, Border Leicester, Corriedale. You will see some wool listed as "top" or "combed" That is talking about how the fiber was prepared and can apply to any type of wool. Personally, I find top very slippery and difficult to spin as a beginner.

 

When compairing prices and seller, break it down to a per ounce cost. I have found plenty of excellent quality roving for $2/ounce and under. There are lots of links in the "where we got a good deal" thread.

 

Look for roving, not raw fleece. Well, I guess you could get raw fleece, but that's a whole 'nuther ball game that involved washing sever times, picking out stray bits of sheep poop, trying to find a place for it to all dry and then, carding it if you didn't manage to felt it into snarly, useless bits when you washed it. Can you tell I tried to deal with my first raw fleece recently????

 

For a spindle, I would look for a "name brand" spindle. Do a Google for "Drop Spindle" and you'll get a lot of online stores where they will describe different brands of spindles. Check ebay too, but you'll probably get a better idea of what you are looking for if you check out the retailers first.

I bought a spindle on Ebay that was the wheel & dowel kind. You can make a spindle with a wooden toy car wheel, a dowel and a cup hook. I know a lot of people here have learned on them sucessfully. I had an awful time with it and once I got a wheel, I haven't touched the spindle again. Now that I belong to a spinning group, and see what a well made, well ballanced spindle can do, I realize the problem was with the cheap thing I had bought. Good doesn't have to equal expensive, there are plenty of good ones out there for under $30.

 

Top whorl vs Bottom whorl - personal choice, but word on the street:heehee is a top whorl is more managable.

 

Holly