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Sooo what do you do with wool?

3K views 24 replies 5 participants last post by  AmyBoogie 
#1 ·
Once you shear...what do you do with the wool? Ive always been curious what the next step is.
 
#4 ·
Well, you can, but you would get a lot more money for it if you first turned it into roving. Most people spin roving, not plain wool which is nearly impossible to turn into any sort of yarn. You can felt raw wool though.
 
#6 ·
A whole fleece might sell or as well as 4.00 here, and people give it away usually. Cool thagt people actually buy it, though. Shropshire wool doesn't get very long, though, so we would have to turn it into roving before selling it as spinning locks.
 
#7 ·
The market for wool is very different all over the place (wool is my main line of business). And of course you all know your area best and what they want. The meat breed sheep weren't doing well with selling fleeces but that's starting to change. I think people are seeing the value in a lovely Shropshire or Cheviot fleece and not just sticking to the Merino which isn't nearly as easy to wash as a Shropshire.

Having it made into roving is always good and usually helps it sell no matter what the breed. And having it milled into yarn also helps it sell. But sheep and wool fairs give a decent place to sell fleece.

Wool pools can be a decent place to sell fleece too. If someone doesn't want to deal with having it made into roving/yarn nor deal with finding a buyer, it's an easy way to get rid of a fleece and make a little money. Some of my favorite stuff to spin has been from a wool pool
 
#10 · (Edited)
I discovered that spinning in the grease(meaning raw and greasy) is pretty fun with a nice finished product. There's A raw fiber for sale group on FB where you can post pics and details and try to sell raw. If it was professionally sheared and not real dirty with hay and what not, you might find some interested people. People pick their fleece as best as they can, and if its decent wool, they usually sell around $35 to $50 plus shipping for a skirted fleece. There might be some of lesser quality cheaper and of course clean fine wools, larger fleeces and all around nice fleeces from respected sellers are higher.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I've never processed (I process myself) or spun shropshire before. I just looked it up in my book, The Fleece And Fiber Sourcebook, without much detail other than the breed being crossed with others. After what I've read and what Amy said, I'd be interested in buying shropshire sometime. That said, then I'd look at pics of the fleece, its quality, was it nicely sheared or 1/2 a fleece of 2nd cuts, and consider other details from the seller before buying.
 
#12 ·
Deb Robson's book is a treasure. As is Deb herself. If you ever get a chance to take a class with her or Beth Smith, you'll learn so much about breeds. Which coincidentally, Beth Smith's book about sheep/spinning should be coming out soon. It doesn't include Shropshire but it has Suffolk and the Dorsets. She made so many samples, I can't wait to see the finished book.

I might know where you can pick up Shropshire if you can't find it on your own. I think my shop has some that's been processed but The Spinning Loft specializes in raw fleeces (especially hard to get ones) http://thespinningloft.com/products-page/

Your spinning looks beautiful!! Purple rabbit!! ha! I always said if I got a white fleeced animal, I would dye it on the hoof. So far everyone is naturally colored :)
 
#13 · (Edited)
Amy -
THANKS! I'm gonna go check Amazon for the book right after I'm done here. I've become very interested in sheep breeds and trying different wool. I recently tried some Clun Forest wool from Canada. It was finer than the that available here, but the loft..WOW! Pretty neat. I would love to attend classes of Deb's or Beth's. That would be so fun. Owned By Goats said Shropshire's not very long. Do you know what the common staple is? I don't want to waste time turning it into cleaned roving if I don't have to. I can spin 2" pretty well. I can go shorter but slow going. The purple bunnies gave me lots of practice below 2"..didn't want to waste anything. I'll definitely check out The Spinning Loft. Is that your shop?

Thank you for thinking my yarn is beautiful:cool: Hard work appreciated by a professional! I am beaming inside!!

I've seen pics of sheep dyed/painted before shearing hooves and all. The neatest one looked like a quilt with 6" squares, each square a different and fancy square. Would have loved to see that spun up. The hooves were pink. lol
 
#14 ·
I didn't see Beth Smith's new book available for pre-order but I did find a new book by Deb available for pre-order and available 8/7, The Field Guide to Fleece and. It's reasonably priced even..$11.28! I'm going to pre-order that one and will keep an eye out for Beth's.
 
#16 ·
Beth's book isn't available for pre order yet. She's finishing up the editing and photography. The Spinning Loft is Beth's website. Mine is linked in the blog in my signature.

Rhinebeck sheep and wool is a good place to take classes. As is most other fiber fairs. Rhinebeck is just the next big one coming up. I know Beth is teaching but I can't remember if Deb is.

Do you spin on a wheel or spindle?
 
#21 ·
Beautiful hat and scarf set. So fluffy!

That Country Spinner is pretty fantastic. We had one set top in the shop for a while. Fricke makes a good affordable wheel with the delta orifice and bulky bobbin its good for novelty. I do most of my novelty on a Louet though I do have a Salish spinner that is great for fat singles.

Winter is pretty cold here too. I love it. I'm trying to finish a sweater now and its killing me to knit in the heat.
 
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