wool rovings on a budget?

[christinanthemum]

I just bought a drop spindle and an ounce or wool for $5 at the Ren Faire and am looking for a place to buy more wool... I looked around on a few of the older links here, but shipping is crazy.

 

Help?

[darncat]

Try this http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/index.html

Her mill ends are nice they are only $7.50 lbs

I have bought from her and love every thing I have got.

[Angeleyz14]

I have also bought from ebay

My Special Tea has good deals (got a bunch of roving for a steal last week when she had a sale from stuff she got in Taos). But she will also let you pay when you can (ok up to the 4th of the next month if you talk to her). But she has had some beautiful roving at great prices.

[Stashaholic]

There are very good rovings for sale on etsy and the shipping is unbelievably inexpensive.

 

My favourite sellers are http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=71825 (she sells hand dyed yarns as well)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=110802

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5101775

 

or my local favourite (who does sell on ebay) is The Black Lamb. In case you don't "speak" metric, 225g is 8 oz http://www.theblacklamb.ca/fibre.htm

 

Many of the sellers are at wool shows right now so stock is low or nonexistent.

 

The great thing about spindling is that 4 oz lasts forever. That being said, I generally buy 8 oz lots.

[KellyA]

You might want to try LYS - owner of store near me has some as she is a spinner also

[christinanthemum]

Thank! I ordered from SheepShedStudio, but that shipping hurt...

 

I'm thinking next time of hte etsy stores y'all linked to, the shipping from there seems a lot nicer

 

Thanks!

[sheryl*]

I just ordered a top whirl spindle and roving from Loopy Ewe. No shipping for orders over $75. I'm dying to get my package and see if I can do this or not, lol. My DH thought "oh god" lol. I think he's worried I won't like doing it or it's more talk about yarn, lol.

[Schmetterling]

I don't spin but have seen rovings on Overstock, surprisingly enough. I can't say whether or not it is a good deal though, having no experience with it.

[MullersLaneFarm]

Carol & Carl Lee The Sheep Shed Studio have wonderful prices and Carol usually sends extra fiber too!

 

R.H. Lindsay is another option for low price fiber.

 

With both of these, the more you buy, the better the price

[White Lotus Alpacas]

Oh my gosh, I hate to say it but I think they ripped you off! You can find better alpaca fleece for $5 an ounce! \

[MullersLaneFarm]

I'd never pay $5/oz for any fleece, especially raw! There are plenty of alpaca breeders that give away their fleeces. And yes, I'm talking about high micron count alpaca blankets. Shoot, I have six garbage bags full of alpaca blankets plus a couple smaller bags of cria blankets.

 

For highly skirted, covered (i.e. NO VM) sheep fleeces, I normally pay between $8 - $15 Pound

 

A Shepherdress in the next town over (shows alpacas & fiber sheep) charges $4-$5/oz for her alpaca rovings!

[White Lotus Alpacas]

I know it's true, there are a lot of alpaca breeders who do give away their fleece or even take it to the dump. I don't think those people are all that common, though. Here in the Pacific Northwest, it's all about the fleece!

 

When I bought my wheel and carder, the lady who sold them to me included all kinds of wool and some other fibers, including some silk to spin. I have to say, I can't even stand to touch the wool, and would never pay a cent for sheep wool! I guess I've been spoiled by having alpacas for over 10 years!

[White Lotus Alpacas]

I just bought a drop spindle and an ounce or wool for $5 at the Ren Faire and am looking for a place to buy more wool... I looked around on a few of the older links here, but shipping is crazy.

 

Help?

 

 

Oops! I didn't register that you got a spindle and 1/2 oz of wool for $5! I amend my previous statement! I think that was probably quite a bargain!

[MullersLaneFarm]

They may not be common in the pacific northwest, but they sure are abundant in the midwest. I get a 4-5 calls a year from folks that have alpacas and don't know what to do with the fiber. The beg me to take huge bags from them. The majority of it goes into the garden as mulch. Although this year I have some beautiful fawn and a wonderful grey that I did keep.

 

Even the alpaca I keep, I like to combine with wool for some elasticity, strength & durability. Besides, alpaca is soooo warm that adding some nice wool and spinning it woolen really helps alpaca alot!

 

There are so many types of wool sheep and each have their own application from next to the skin wear to outer wear. Some for felting or weaving. I've just never found there was one fiber that was good for everything. I think I'd get bored with having just one type of fiber to work with all the time. That is part of the allure of fiber arts to me, the wide variety of fibers to work with!