Spinners- can you help a sister out?

[Natalya]

I have had some HPY roving for awhile and have spun a good amount of it. It's been on my shelf for while and i want to get it out, but my hesitation to get it out is because i think my method is poor. In all the youtube videos i've watched the spinner has a big glob of roving and is pinching the roving and then twisting it up. this does not seem to work for my roving, so i have been peeling it off in strips and then spinning it off. this gets on my nerves! is it because the roving i have is longer hair? is there a better way?

[mum21andtwins]

Well how long have you been spinning. The youtube vids have people who have been spinning a while and have their technique down. but if you are not used to a fiber or a fairly new spinner preparing it this way is a must.
If you look at the vids for the spinningdvd here she tells you to make strips first.
For some wools I make strips other I can just go it depends, and I've been spinning for 5 or 6 years now.

[Natalya]

i'm a new spinner. i've been trying off and on for two years now, but by off and on, i mean mostly off. so making strips is an acceptable way? I just wanted it to go faster. the woman on your link makes it look so easy!! maybe someday...

[SleeplessMommy]

Some roving is stickier than others. If it is very sticky, you may need to separate into strips - or you just do this to get the colors the way you want. I have had some very sticky wool/mohair combos, and some sticky wool.

Just the right, amazingly smooth roving will draft perfectly. But how much of our stash is the perfect stuff?

After having done drop spindle for years, I took a 5 day class when I learned to spin on a wheel. Any kind of "hands on" class with multiple wheels will help you greatly. Or you can go to a well stocked wool shop and ask for good "beginner" roving. (I get Coopworth sometimes for easy spinning)

Also, your mileage may vary depending on wheels - lubrication does wonders for my spinning wheel, when I can fine the oil can.

[mum21andtwins]

Originally Posted by Natalya

so making strips is an acceptable way?

absolutely acceptable. anyway YOU feel comfertable making yarn is an acceptable way imo

[feest]

Originally Posted by mum21andtwins

absolutely acceptable. anyway YOU feel comfertable making yarn is an acceptable way imo

Yup

As you spin different fibers u'll find some work well if pulled into strips, some drafted, and some u can leave in a big glob.

There is no right way it's what ever way works best for you.

[flapjack]

I find that HPY fibre is very dry and alllllmost felted and so it needs predrafting to loosen everything up a bit- either stripping bits off or working your way up and down the fibre. It isn't just you, honest. You can still make beautiful yarns with it, though.

[Jenn_M]

When I spin I use a drop spindle and predrafted roving. I just can't get the hand of drafting as I go.

[Natalya]

Originally Posted by flapjack

I find that HPY fibre is very dry and alllllmost felted and so it needs predrafting to loosen everything up a bit- either stripping bits off or working your way up and down the fibre. It isn't just you, honest. You can still make beautiful yarns with it, though.

any more suggestions on roving that is easier to draft as i go? something real affordable too?

[Buddhamom]

I just started spinning a few months ago and I too make strips. I just find it easier since I am already doing a few other things with my hands and feet and this way it is one less thing to have to concentrate on.

[handspun]

I've been spinning (pretty much non-stop!) for a few years now, and I almost always prep my top by tearing into strips. Sometimes I also then predraft the strips a bit, but usually I don't. I never equated this practice with beginning skill level or experience- it's more (for me at least) about how I want the colors in my handpainted fiber to play out in the yarn. Tearing into strips = smaller amounts of colors dispersed frequently throughout the yarn as opposed to non-strips equaling longer stretches of each color.

[flapjack]

I actually find it easier to spin from batts than tops (technical term for the stuff HPY sell- it's combed wool, not carded.) I'm getting lazy in my old age, though, and teaching myself to spin in the grease so I don't have to worry about any of this.

[feest]

Originally Posted by Natalya

any more suggestions on roving that is easier to draft as i go? something real affordable too?

what do you consider affordable?

[SleeplessMommy]

Originally Posted by Natalya

any more suggestions on roving that is easier to draft as i go? something real affordable too?

Just ask your shop what they recommend as easy. Even a mail order place should be able to tell you. I think I use a coopworth or coriedale roving with lots of nice "crimp".

Halcyon yarn has several nice choices at less than $20 a pound. http://halcyonyarn.com/fibers/fiberswonderwool.html You could try several types to find out what you like.

In the long term, look for a local wool source. Or go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival or your local equivalent.