This is one of the few homesteading skills that I still have yet to have mastered. However, I have spent the past several weeks (almost months) searching for the "One" wheel that screams at me to "buy me!!" and find that in the process I am learning more about wheels and fiber than I ever really knew existed. Of course, I am a connoisseur of wool yarns. During my time making wool baby pants I managed to accrue a rather extensive and vivid array of types and color variations. I could tell you straight off that a mohair blend would wear longer, but was a little rougher on the skin. That Blue-Faced Leicester had a great sheen and durability. That Merino was ultra-soft, but tended to pill much more severely. Yet though my search for the perfect wheel, I am also learning about alternative fibers.
The one I am most anxious to try is Alpaca, yet there is also yak, silk, angora, mohair, llama, bison, qiviut, and so many others. Even dog hair can be blended and spun, a tribute to a favorite pet. Natural fibers tend to come in a variety of un-dyed colors, from white and silver, to browns and black. Of course, I have to be difficult and look at raw fiber that will require a certain amount of processing to get it to the point of being able to spin. The way I see things, I may as well start at the beginning. While I am not able to keep any fiber animal larger than an Angora rabbit, I am determined to start with fiber as close to the animal as I possibly can.
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