Folks doing a "shears to garment" contest will dye their sheep first so if you see a colored critter out there it might be for a contest. They have to shear the critter (usually a sheep), prep and spin the wool and then make a garment out of their yarn. I'm not too sure of the details, but I remember seeing a picture of a rainbow colored sheep and that was the explanation.
Do they call that "park and draft"? I forget, but since your spindles are so light, it is probably the best way to go at the moment. If you had heavier spindles, they'd be able to stay spinning while you drafted but with really light spindles getting a bit of twist in the yarn to work with makes up for the lack of spindle weight.
That's lovely spinning, although the spindles do look a little light, but if they are working then it's all good. My first spindles were made from a wood circle made with a big drill bit mounted circle cutter. That was put on a chopstick with a bit of metal added for the hook. They were pretty light, too, but the fiber being spun was angora which is a pretty light fiber. A lighter spindle may be why your yarn looks to have some nice loft to it. You'll discover all sorts of nuances as you work with different fibers and spindle weights.
Have you tried plying your yarn? If you wrap some paper around the shaft of the spindle and wrap the plies on that, you'll be able to slip them off the spindle and still have them neat and tidy. That would be similar to a bobbin on a spinning wheel. Make two "bobbins" of spun fiber then spin them together spinning your spindle the other direction. Have you heard of "Z" and "S" twist yet?
You'll eventually end up with all kinds of fun stuff. Niddy noddies, swifts, drum carders and breakers. You'll probably end up with a spinning wheel, too. Those are a LOT faster. But what you learn on the spindle is excellent for being able to use a spinning wheel easily later.
A pair of hand carders will make prepping the fiber a lot easier but dog slicker brushes is a good starting point. For fine fibers, a pair of "cotton" cards is real handy. But once you get into it, a drum carder is a good thing.
Some fibers don't need that much prep. Angora and alpaca can be spun directly off the critter although it seems alpacas like to roll in the dirt. The yarn will need a lot of washing after it's spun. Some sheep breeds are easier to spin than others, it seems to be different from fleece to fleece. The finer fleeces have a tendency to have more lanolin and be more "sticky" if they are spun in the raw. It is pretty easy to wash the fiber, though. Mix laundry soap into a pot of water until the water feels real slick. Get another pot of the same size and fill it with water but no soap. Heat them up to just under boiling. Put the fiber into the pan with the soap. Just lay it in there, no stirring, don't push it around but you can press it under the water. Let it sit for twenty minutes, pour the water out. Put a plate on top to protect the wool, then pour the hot water from the other pot into it. Let it sit for a couple minutes then pour that off. Squish the water out and spread the fiber out on a screen to dry. Spin the wool and then you can wash it again as yarn.
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu219/hotzcatz/IMG_2090.jpg
:bun :bun :bun :bun :bun Fuzzy bunnies!!! :bun :bun :bun :bun :bun
This is Sherman, he's an angora bunny. The yarn made from his fiber is incredibly soft.
i think i saw someone do something like it in a youtube video... park and go? not sure what it called it...
i washed my mohair with dish soap. was going to do the same with the yarn. but i will try that too.
They have them more as pets, but knew the fiber was worth something, so they didn't get rid of it. She is going to send it to me for free - all I have to do now is process and learn to spin! Had to share with people that understand the excitement! lol!
