fiber addiction

[ptarmic wumpus]

My name is ptarmic wumpus, and I am a fiber addict.

There are fleeces scoured and bagged, stacks toppling off of my craft shelving.
There are baskets of roving on top of the television and on the coffee table.
There are bags of fleece stuffed under the sofa.
There are more baskets of locks on top of the bookshelves.
There is a raw jacob fleece on my small apartment porch.

And what did I do this morning? I ordered a 10 lb romney-border leicester cross raw fleece.

[Belladune]

Hello Ptarmic Wumpus!

I have 5 clean fleeces in my craft room closet.
I have 4 1foot cubes stuffed with random braids, tops, and batts, what nots.
I have an entire section of the entertainment unit dedicated to all things fibre related (bobbins, book, lazy Kates, fibre etc.)
There are tops, and batts in both of my closets, and a basket of felting fibres on the floor in my bedroom (which I share with my very tolerent husband)
I've recently made two purchases of crochet cottons for both cores and wraps and plies. (likely over 300 dollars worth for only 30$!! How could I not?!)
I'm expecting 5 fleeces some time soon from one farm, and am stopping at another on my way to fibre week, to collect 4-5 more. 
Then while at fibre week, I will be buying a few more, and likely some "fun" fiber. 

My Name is Belladune, and I too, am a Fiber Addict.

[mullerslanefarm]

You both sound perfectly normal to me!

My name is Cyndi and when my 3 children grew up and moved out of the house, I took over two of their rooms.  In one room I  have 5 hanging cubbies (four 1 foot cubes on each) plus some totes beneath in the closet.  My dress mannequin has a Civil War era dress on it with a full hoop skirt.  The hoop skirt is full of washed & unwashed fleeces.  Across the room is six 1 foot cubes full of rovings.  There are totes of various spun yarns on the floor underneath the shelf of other totes of hand spun and store bought yarns.

There is another room dedicated to weaving.  It holds a 1930 Danish floor loom under reconstruction, a Harrisville Design T-6, a 4 harness J-loom (table), a 32" (?) rigid heddle and a couple of small 2-harness 'toy' looms ... and a couple of extra fleeces ...

I am a Fiber Enabler and NEED so much roving and yarn because I give a lot away to new spinners, weavers, knitters & crochet folks  

(at least, that is my story and I'm sticking to it!)

(and I'm not saying anything about my 'corner' in the living room with the floor to ceiling bookcase full of books, magazines, bobbins, flyers, et al within it or the what nots hanging from it)

[ptarmic wumpus]

The hoop skirt is full of washed & unwashed fleeces. 

Hahaha!

[jexxican]

Hi my name is Jessie and you guys inspire me.
 
I'm trying to build my stash but find myself wanting to spin faster than my budget allows me to stash. I do have a big box at the end of my bed with fibers but they're all mostly either white SSS, stock I'm building for when I finally bust out my drum carder that I got for C-mas but haven't used yet, or smaller balls for needle felting. I was hoarding the white and felting balls so I could wet felt a set of Matroyoska dolls but, alas, my dream doesn't look like it will be coming true. I also have a set of 3 shelves that are full of yarn. Oh, and all of my hand spun hangs proudly in a hammock on the living room wall. Even that is growing thin because I find others are more apt to use than I so I tend to swap it or give it away a lot and lately that's been faster than I can supply my spinning habit.

I might be able to call myself a fabric addict because I do still have about 2 1/2 toy chests full of fabric, but even that I've been learning to tame and destash. Thank you swaps.

You all inspire me and if you ever feel you lacking in people to enable... *wink wink* *nudge nudge*

[breabadair]

I hope to have that rooms full of yarn and fiber someday. I have been knitting for four years, spinning and weaving for two and a half. I have two standard shipping boxes full of fiber and yarn in my closest. I don't work at the moment and I attend school at outrageous out of state tuition costs, so all of my money goes for that. (At least I'm going to school for Textiles, so I get to weave for credit ) But, when I'm done with school and can find a job that actually pays a living wage, those two boxes will become more, far far more.

If it helps at all, I've taken over my parents family room temporarily with my floor loom, table loom, and spinning wheel.

So while I'm still at the beginnings, my name is brebadair and I am a fiber addict.

[sarahj2001]

Ok you fiber addicts...where is the best/cheapest place to buy a larger amount of cleaned ready to dye fiber?  I've been looking online...but not sure if there's some place wonderful that I don't know about.

[ptarmic wumpus]

What kind of fiber are you looking for? Sometimes processing mills sell fiber in various forms for cheap....

[sarahj2001]

What kind of fiber are you looking for? Sometimes processing mills sell fiber in various forms for cheap....

I don't know something nice to dye and spin.  ha...I don't have a lot of experience with different types of fiber. 

I got a huge bag of unwashed wool one time (for free) and will never do that again.  I do not want to wash it and card it and all that...not for me!

[Belladune]

There's always the Sheep Shed Studio, but the last time I was at the site it seemed like there was a shortage? and there was no guarantee to what you would get  in a box?  Something like that, anyway.  I do know that there are a few etsy shops who will put together a bulk order with a discount, and Oppulent Fibers (which has it's own site) gives a bulk discount too. (Like if you order over 1lb, you get 25% off? or 35%? something like that anyway.)  She has really nice fibres and blends too.  19 micron Merino (very soft) and Merino silk blends.  And maybe some others by now too, I know she'd been adding them lately. 
And I go to Flannelberry Creek, because it's Canadian.  They've got some really nice fibres, and the Shetland top is beautiful, both to dye, and to spin.

[ptarmic wumpus]

Ohio Valley has some good prices on merino top, although I see they have gone up a bit since last year:
http://ovnf.com/Fiber.htm

If you are looking for wholesale, you can get better prices with some vendors, but you need to order a *lot*.

[ptarmic wumpus]

ps. wool cube!

[Belladune]

ohmygosh. that is hillarious.

[mullerslanefarm]

R. H. Lindsay is my "go to" fiber supplier.

I guess it depends on what you consider a large amount of fiber ...  if you only want a couple of pounds, then go with fiber mills or Carol at Sheep Shed Studio.  If you want 15 pounds of more, then R.H. Lindsay is a no brainer.

[mullerslanefarm]

And I go to Flannelberry Creek, because it's Canadian.  They've got some really nice fibres, and the Shetland top is beautiful, both to dye, and to spin.

How cool is it that Colleen & Lonna teamed up!!!

[ptarmic wumpus]

MLF, do you happen to know what kind of wool the white carded sliver at RH Lindsay is? Or the domestic top?

[Belladune]

And I go to Flannelberry Creek, because it's Canadian.  They've got some really nice fibres, and the Shetland top is beautiful, both to dye, and to spin.

How cool is it that Colleen & Lonna teamed up!!!

Ha, you know them?!    I met them last year at Fibre Week!  They are so awesome.  And it's super awesome that they teamed up.

[mullerslanefarm]

PW the White Carded Sliver:

White Scoured Carded Sliver, Product #21  We've taken a blend of Romney and Perendale to create a soft, bouncy sliver. First we scour the wool to eliminate grease and dirt. Then the wool is carded and gilled into a sliver (rope-like) form. This wool is recommended for learning the nuance of any handcraft application - spinning, felting, doll making, or needle felting. Specifications: processed roving, white, semi-lustrous. Staple length 3.5-5 inches (80-125mm). Fiber count 48s (32 micron).  $9.00 per pound

Domestic 56s

Domestic 56s Wool Top, Product #91  Made from a Heinz 57 variety of breeds which reflects sheep raising in the eastern half of the United States. The colored but bulky nature of this product is perfect for those who want a familiar wool handle. It is ready for use in spinning and felting and priced for classes and bulk use projects. Specifications: processed top, average white. Staple length 2.5-3.5 inches (60-70 mm). Fiber count 54-56s (28-29 micron).  $7.50 per pound

If you go to their "Products" page, they give a more detailed description of their products.

[mullerslanefarm]

Ha, you know them?!    I met them last year at Fibre Week!  They are so awesome.  And it's super awesome that they teamed up.

Only online.  I lost contact with Colleen (aka Flannelberry) a number of years ago.  Lonna (aka Frazzlehead or Applejack Creek) and I have been good online friends for a long, long time.

[ptarmic wumpus]

Thanks MLF! Not like I need more fiber, especially since the wool cube has been expanding....

[sarahj2001]

Thanks guys!  I ordered some...now I'm excited to get it.  

[Belladune]

Ha, you know them?!    I met them last year at Fibre Week!  They are so awesome.  And it's super awesome that they teamed up.

Only online.  I lost contact with Colleen (aka Flannelberry) a number of years ago.  Lonna (aka Frazzlehead or Applejack Creek) and I have been good online friends for a long, long time.

In person they are very sweet.  I ended up in thier camper by accident trying to find some BFL that was advertised on the bulletin board.  We had a great big long chat   They didn't have the BFL, but Frazzlehead taught me a knit stitch I was totally confused about. It was pretty fun.  And I leave for another week of it tomorrow!!! eeps!

[Rodelphia]

sooooo.....its after midnight in my neck of the woods and i'm up waiting for wool to be done in the dye pot. does that count as being a fiber addict? i got bored because the hubby is off seeing Pink Floyd and the baby is sleeping.

[Belladune]

Yep! I'd say that counts

You guys, I'm at Fibre Week.  Are you jealous?

[breabadair]

Eeee! I'll admit to being both totally happy for you and teeny bit jealous I'm sure you are having a crazy awesome time!

[Belladune]

It's a brilliant time!  So much info, and so much fibre!