There is, apart from a spindle or a traditional spinning wheel, another option: an e-spinner. E-spinners are more expensive than a spindle, but depending on the model and brand, they can be a lot cheaper than a traditional spinning wheel. The advantage is that you can concentrate on your drafting because you don’t have to treadle. This also means it’s a valid option for people who for some reason or another cannot treadle. Due to a back injury, I can’t treadle for more than a few short minutes if I want to be able to function properly in daily life. This meant an e-spinner was my solution to being able to spin more and faster when I felt spinning was something I wanted to pursue further after using spindles. An e-spinner also takes up less space than a traditional wheel, which is an element to consider. Depending on the model, you can use a battery pack to allow you to spin without a wall socket. One thing I’d advise anyone who invests in a spinning wheel, be it a traditional one or an e-spinner: make sure you have enough bobbins. A minimum of three or four bobbins is, in my opinion, a minimum. It is possible to manage with one or two bobbins… but you’ll soon find yourself frustrated and ordering more anyway. I learned to spin from CZcams videos and only started a little under a year ago. Recently I joined an online spinning group for Tour De Fleece and believe me, connecting with fellow spinners is worth gold. You get access to a lot of experience, tips and tricks, and lots and lots of inspiration. In the few short weeks since I joined, I’ve tried so much I was feeling hesitant about. If the group is more or less local it can also be a nice source of information on where to get good fibre locally, and if you’re feeling adventurous, free fleeces to process. About those fleeces: in my area at least, a lot of people have a few sheep as pets, essentially lawnmowers with a heartbeat. Some even keep alpacas for that exact same purpose. They don’t know what to do with the fleeces because those animals need their yearly haircut. A lot of it gets thrown away. As soon as those people know you’re a spinner, and possibly willing to take fleece off their hands, they will be very happy. And you’ll be up to your eyeballs in fleece. A lot of it entirely free. Read up on sheep breeds, it’ll serve you well on which breeds are nice for spinning the yarn you like to spin. And free fibre is a wonderful way to lower the threshold when experimenting with techniques you want to learn.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a valuable and thorough comment! ❤ You are absolutely right, e-spinners are an option as well. I don't have any experience with e-spinners (yet), that's why I didn't include them in the video. Thank you for sharing your expertise! I've heard about Tour De Fleece but haven't participated yet. Where did you find your online spinning group? The tip about looking for local sheep owners is also very helpful! I do have some llama fiber that I got from someone local but it is just a small amount. Experimenting with different breeds is somehthing that I enjoy doing quite a lot at the moment. It is so interesting to see how fibers from different sheep breeds behaves.
@@AnnikaScheer - I found the online spinning group through CZcams and Facebook. Jente from the Mijn Wolden CZcams channel mentioned it in one of her videos, it’s a group specifically geared towards people from The Netherlands and Belgium who want to participate. I simply looked it up, applied and got in. Since the Tour started, several members have recommended two other groups as this one goes mostly quiet once the Tour has ended, except for the occasional post on what members made from the yarn they’ve produced during the Tour. The groups I joined are (1) a group focusing on local wool/fleece, where people who have sheep and fibre artists get together. If someone has (a) fleece(s) to offer, they post it there. Fibre artists post what the wool turns into. Another group is mostly hobby spinners sharing their work, both the yarns and what is made with those yarns. My daughter will often quip that Facebook is for dinosaurs, but it’s pretty handy for me to get ideas and to exchange quite directly with other spinners. More: these past few weeks they’ve ever so gently and encouragingly pushed me to try new things. The fibre arts community in Belgium and The Netherlands is quite small and apparently more focused on weaving. So it’s nice to connect with like minded people without having to travel for hours. About the fleeces: I do have to point out that in other countries, it might be harder to find people who have sheep or alpacas as pets… or as lawnmowers with a heartbeat. But it’s always worth a try. I know that depending where you live, sheep are some times used to keep steep inclines and roadsides tidy, and I know a lot of farmers keep sheep for their meat. Depending on the breed the fleece is very nice to spin and is simply thrown away. I that case, I’d advise to ask for the first shearing (yearlings?) as the younger the animal, the finer and softer the fibre. If you happen to know someone who lives in the countryside or who has family who does, it’s worth simply asking if they have sheep and what they do with the fleece. Even if they ask for the shearer’s fee in return it’s bound to cost less than a fleece at a fibre festival or even raw fleece bought through a specialised website. Example: in early Spring my daughter showed me a picture a university classmate shared in their chatgroup: newborn lambs. I asked if she could inquire what they did with the fleeces, because I’d be interested. Answer: the shearer takes them with him for a removal fee. Mind blown. “Tell him I might be interested in a yearling’s fleece!” Well, they didn’t have a yearling’s fleece, but I did get the fleece from a 2-year-old yew. It’s a little coarser than I’d like, but still suitable for hats, scarves, socks etc. The staple is quite long (almost double that of Merino) and spins very nicely. AND IT WAS FREE! I’ve already got dibs on the fleece of a yearling (or two!) next year as they’re keeping two of the lambs… and were hoping I’d take more. Through the Tour De Fleece spinning group I’ve already been offered Walliser Schwarznase and Blue Texelaar. Some times, a whole lot of spinning happiness can be found in a small message in a chat group. And if I don’t watch out, I’ll be sitting on more fibre than I can spin or knit up. Sorry for the looooooong reply. But I thought this might be useful to you or to another spinner. Fibre arts can be an expensive hobby to have. But if you know where to look, turns out it doesn’t have to… Oh, and to anyone scared of scouring their own fleece: don’t be. It’s easier than you think. Just don’t pour the souring water down your sink as the lanolin might clog your pipes. And yes, sheep’s fleece is smelly. It smells like the zoo, like the circus, like a barn. But as soon as you dunk that fibre in a tub of soapy water the smell is pretty much gone and dissipates quickly. I don’t have the physical condition to do an entire fleece in one go but in stages it’s very manageable. Or… find a fellow fibre friend or two willing to share a fleece. Greetings from Belgium! Edit: I saw on your page that you’re from Germany, where there might be similar options as in Belgium. The bit I added regarding sourcing fibre was mostly geared towards outside of Europe where the options for sourcing fleece might be very different.
Again, there is so much valuable information in your comment, thank you so much for taking the time share! I have pinned your comment to the top so that others will be able to access the information easily. How do you process the fleece further once it's scoured? Do you comb it? Card it? It is certainly something I would like to try in the future but I am a bit hestitant to bring additional fiber arts equipment into our small house... With that being said, what I will definitely experiment with very soon is to dye some roving with natural dyes. Since I am a yarn dyer, I do have the supplies already and I am so interested in seeing how the fibers will behave in the dyeing process. And then spin them, of course. 🙂
@@AnnikaScheer - As my house is very small and crammed full of things, space is at a premium. For that reason I’ve opted for combs. They don’t take up a lot of space. Once a batch of fibre is washed and almost dry (I’m a bit impatient, LOL) I comb what I washed and diz it off the comb. I’m lucky enough to have been gifted a set of Mayacraft mini combs (single row fine combs). One comb full yields me about an arm’s lenth of top that makes a nest around the size of a hamburger bun, maybe larger if it’s springy wool with a lot of crimp. An evening of combing yields me 10-20 nests depending on the quality of the fibre (nepps/VM) but I’m a slow comber and quite particular about my fibre. Fine fibres like alpaca are faster, because alpaca is a lot softer and combs out better. I could card, I have a set of jumbo-sized dog brushes but I haven’t tried them out yet. They’re useful for dizzing slightly compacted commercial combed top though. The thing about a large project like processing an entire fleece is a bit akin to what a friend told me. She’s part Native American. It’s a wisdom that comes in the form of a question: “How do you go about eating a bear?” The answer is “One bite at a time.” Don’t look at the whole. You might get overwhelmed. Only looking at a portion and finishing that one portion however, works. At least, it works for me. 😊
There is, apart from a spindle or a traditional spinning wheel, another option: an e-spinner.
E-spinners are more expensive than a spindle, but depending on the model and brand, they can be a lot cheaper than a traditional spinning wheel. The advantage is that you can concentrate on your drafting because you don’t have to treadle. This also means it’s a valid option for people who for some reason or another cannot treadle. Due to a back injury, I can’t treadle for more than a few short minutes if I want to be able to function properly in daily life. This meant an e-spinner was my solution to being able to spin more and faster when I felt spinning was something I wanted to pursue further after using spindles.
An e-spinner also takes up less space than a traditional wheel, which is an element to consider. Depending on the model, you can use a battery pack to allow you to spin without a wall socket.
One thing I’d advise anyone who invests in a spinning wheel, be it a traditional one or an e-spinner: make sure you have enough bobbins. A minimum of three or four bobbins is, in my opinion, a minimum. It is possible to manage with one or two bobbins… but you’ll soon find yourself frustrated and ordering more anyway.
I learned to spin from CZcams videos and only started a little under a year ago. Recently I joined an online spinning group for Tour De Fleece and believe me, connecting with fellow spinners is worth gold. You get access to a lot of experience, tips and tricks, and lots and lots of inspiration. In the few short weeks since I joined, I’ve tried so much I was feeling hesitant about. If the group is more or less local it can also be a nice source of information on where to get good fibre locally, and if you’re feeling adventurous, free fleeces to process.
About those fleeces: in my area at least, a lot of people have a few sheep as pets, essentially lawnmowers with a heartbeat. Some even keep alpacas for that exact same purpose. They don’t know what to do with the fleeces because those animals need their yearly haircut. A lot of it gets thrown away. As soon as those people know you’re a spinner, and possibly willing to take fleece off their hands, they will be very happy. And you’ll be up to your eyeballs in fleece. A lot of it entirely free. Read up on sheep breeds, it’ll serve you well on which breeds are nice for spinning the yarn you like to spin. And free fibre is a wonderful way to lower the threshold when experimenting with techniques you want to learn.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a valuable and thorough comment! ❤
You are absolutely right, e-spinners are an option as well. I don't have any experience with e-spinners (yet), that's why I didn't include them in the video. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
I've heard about Tour De Fleece but haven't participated yet. Where did you find your online spinning group?
The tip about looking for local sheep owners is also very helpful! I do have some llama fiber that I got from someone local but it is just a small amount.
Experimenting with different breeds is somehthing that I enjoy doing quite a lot at the moment. It is so interesting to see how fibers from different sheep breeds behaves.
@@AnnikaScheer - I found the online spinning group through CZcams and Facebook. Jente from the Mijn Wolden CZcams channel mentioned it in one of her videos, it’s a group specifically geared towards people from The Netherlands and Belgium who want to participate. I simply looked it up, applied and got in. Since the Tour started, several members have recommended two other groups as this one goes mostly quiet once the Tour has ended, except for the occasional post on what members made from the yarn they’ve produced during the Tour. The groups I joined are (1) a group focusing on local wool/fleece, where people who have sheep and fibre artists get together. If someone has (a) fleece(s) to offer, they post it there. Fibre artists post what the wool turns into. Another group is mostly hobby spinners sharing their work, both the yarns and what is made with those yarns.
My daughter will often quip that Facebook is for dinosaurs, but it’s pretty handy for me to get ideas and to exchange quite directly with other spinners. More: these past few weeks they’ve ever so gently and encouragingly pushed me to try new things. The fibre arts community in Belgium and The Netherlands is quite small and apparently more focused on weaving. So it’s nice to connect with like minded people without having to travel for hours.
About the fleeces: I do have to point out that in other countries, it might be harder to find people who have sheep or alpacas as pets… or as lawnmowers with a heartbeat. But it’s always worth a try. I know that depending where you live, sheep are some times used to keep steep inclines and roadsides tidy, and I know a lot of farmers keep sheep for their meat. Depending on the breed the fleece is very nice to spin and is simply thrown away. I that case, I’d advise to ask for the first shearing (yearlings?) as the younger the animal, the finer and softer the fibre.
If you happen to know someone who lives in the countryside or who has family who does, it’s worth simply asking if they have sheep and what they do with the fleece. Even if they ask for the shearer’s fee in return it’s bound to cost less than a fleece at a fibre festival or even raw fleece bought through a specialised website.
Example: in early Spring my daughter showed me a picture a university classmate shared in their chatgroup: newborn lambs. I asked if she could inquire what they did with the fleeces, because I’d be interested. Answer: the shearer takes them with him for a removal fee. Mind blown. “Tell him I might be interested in a yearling’s fleece!” Well, they didn’t have a yearling’s fleece, but I did get the fleece from a 2-year-old yew. It’s a little coarser than I’d like, but still suitable for hats, scarves, socks etc. The staple is quite long (almost double that of Merino) and spins very nicely. AND IT WAS FREE! I’ve already got dibs on the fleece of a yearling (or two!) next year as they’re keeping two of the lambs… and were hoping I’d take more.
Through the Tour De Fleece spinning group I’ve already been offered Walliser Schwarznase and Blue Texelaar.
Some times, a whole lot of spinning happiness can be found in a small message in a chat group. And if I don’t watch out, I’ll be sitting on more fibre than I can spin or knit up.
Sorry for the looooooong reply. But I thought this might be useful to you or to another spinner. Fibre arts can be an expensive hobby to have. But if you know where to look, turns out it doesn’t have to…
Oh, and to anyone scared of scouring their own fleece: don’t be. It’s easier than you think. Just don’t pour the souring water down your sink as the lanolin might clog your pipes. And yes, sheep’s fleece is smelly. It smells like the zoo, like the circus, like a barn. But as soon as you dunk that fibre in a tub of soapy water the smell is pretty much gone and dissipates quickly. I don’t have the physical condition to do an entire fleece in one go but in stages it’s very manageable. Or… find a fellow fibre friend or two willing to share a fleece.
Greetings from Belgium!
Edit: I saw on your page that you’re from Germany, where there might be similar options as in Belgium. The bit I added regarding sourcing fibre was mostly geared towards outside of Europe where the options for sourcing fleece might be very different.
Again, there is so much valuable information in your comment, thank you so much for taking the time share! I have pinned your comment to the top so that others will be able to access the information easily.
How do you process the fleece further once it's scoured? Do you comb it? Card it?
It is certainly something I would like to try in the future but I am a bit hestitant to bring additional fiber arts equipment into our small house...
With that being said, what I will definitely experiment with very soon is to dye some roving with natural dyes. Since I am a yarn dyer, I do have the supplies already and I am so interested in seeing how the fibers will behave in the dyeing process. And then spin them, of course. 🙂
@@AnnikaScheer - As my house is very small and crammed full of things, space is at a premium. For that reason I’ve opted for combs. They don’t take up a lot of space. Once a batch of fibre is washed and almost dry (I’m a bit impatient, LOL) I comb what I washed and diz it off the comb. I’m lucky enough to have been gifted a set of Mayacraft mini combs (single row fine combs). One comb full yields me about an arm’s lenth of top that makes a nest around the size of a hamburger bun, maybe larger if it’s springy wool with a lot of crimp. An evening of combing yields me 10-20 nests depending on the quality of the fibre (nepps/VM) but I’m a slow comber and quite particular about my fibre. Fine fibres like alpaca are faster, because alpaca is a lot softer and combs out better.
I could card, I have a set of jumbo-sized dog brushes but I haven’t tried them out yet. They’re useful for dizzing slightly compacted commercial combed top though.
The thing about a large project like processing an entire fleece is a bit akin to what a friend told me. She’s part Native American. It’s a wisdom that comes in the form of a question: “How do you go about eating a bear?”
The answer is “One bite at a time.”
Don’t look at the whole. You might get overwhelmed. Only looking at a portion and finishing that one portion however, works. At least, it works for me. 😊