Wool for a Purpose - Spinning
There are so many different breeds of sheep that the spinner's palette of choices is full to overflowing. But how is a new spinner to know what to look for? There are a few books on the subject, In Sheep's Clothing by Jane Fournier and Fleece in ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Breed History - Manx Loaghtan - Spinning
While doing research on "primitive" sheep breeds, I found some interesting information on the Manx Loaghtan sheep. This Northern Short-tailed type of sheep is found on the Isle of Man off the coast of Great Britain and is descended from the ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Shearing Sheep - Spinning
Ah, Spring! That time of year, at least in my part of the world, when the lambs are on the ground and it's time to harvest the wool crop.... yes, shearing day is here at long last. While shearing day is something that every shepherd who spins ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Breed History - Jacob Sheep - Spinning
Perhaps one of the best known "primitive" breeds of sheep is the Jacob sheep. Their distinctive coloring and number of horns makes them easy to identify. Also known by the much older name of Piebald sheep, these sheep are most likely descended . [... more]
Bella Online |
Washing Grease Wool (Part 2) - Spinning
This article covers several methods for washing grease wool to remove the lanolin content. To wash wool, some basic equipment and supplies are needed. This list includes everything needed for all of the methods given below: A pH neutral soap or ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Fleece Characteristics and Handle - Spinning
One of the first things a spinner working with grease fleece needs to know to select good fleeces is how to assess the handle or hand of a fleece. Basically, handle is a subjective opinion of the quality of a particular fleece based on ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Making & Using Control Cards - Spinning
We all have many demands on our time: jobs, family and social obligations. We have errands to run and appointments to keep. With our busy life styles, it's not always easy to find the time to simply sit and spin. Many of us have only a few ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Conditioning Your Hand Cards - Spinning
While we expect new equipment to work well right away, this is not always the case with a new pair of hand cards. The wire teeth of the carding cloth may have tiny burrs on the cut ends of the wire and these little burrs will catch the wool ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Fleece Stains and Foreign Matter - Spinning
While structural fleece faults affect the actual structure of the staples, staining and foreign matter contamination is usually caused by substances getting into or on the fleece. A stained fleece or one contaminated by vegetable matter may be ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Classifying Breeds of Sheep and Wool Grades - Spinning
Sometime back, Spin Off Magazine ran a contest called "Save The Sheep". The focus of this contest was using wool from rare breeds for a project to show that these breeds and their wool had value and were well worth preserving. Included with the [... more]
Bella Online |
Crimp - Spinning
We all know that wool has crimp and that fleeces from different breeds of sheep have different crimping patterns. Some breeds, such as Merino have a high number of crimps per inch of staple length while other breeds; such as Lincoln have only a ... [... more]
Bella Online |
Border Leicester Wool - Spinning
I owe my love for Border Leicester sheep to a lady from the thumb area of Michigan. Janet McPeck sold me my first Border Leicester fleece. It was a black lamb fleece that was so dark and so clean, I actually asked her if it had already been ... [... more]
Bella Online |
