The Great Flyin' West Give-away

1/14/2013

So this is yesterday's blog continued ... Recap:
Dog Sick
Lot at Oz Museum
Mom at WoolFest

    Now all that left me at home taking care of the animals on Cold days. Well, I got on Ravelry and tried to find a group that just talked about blends of yarn. Not name brands but just blends and composition. For example mohair/wool or Alpaca/wool or Wool/silk (you get the picture) what percentages and what people liked or disliked about them. In order to improve products or come up with sucessful ones you have to have info. And to be honest it just isn't there... There are alot of sites that sell yarn and blends but they only post the reviews of the people that like their products. They all also have groups on Ravelry. Again only people who like their yarn join the group. That is fine with me but what about the people who didn't like the product? Why didn't they? Is there something that needs to change to make the product better? How do you know if a company is getting more "dislikes" then "Likes" The truth is you can't. And in this business you can only change your product at harvest time. Each harvest I look at our fleece and deside what to make... Yarn, Roving, Blends ... We came out with a roving blend last year and it didn't spin up so hot. All the shares sold out but not one person said anything ...Good or bad ... So I turned to my Mom and her friends. The Roving didn't spin smooth and while My Mother loved the Rustic look and feel I thought it wasn't the quality of my yarn So we didn't make it again this year.
    So What am I going to do? I need real feed back. So I am turning to the what I know works You!! The trouble is that not all my readers have tried my products because they sell out so fast and are limited because of our small herd/flock sizes. So where do I get the info? Well, there is one thing to be said about you all and your friends. You see I have made friends on Facebook, Twitter and Plurk not to mention most of those people are on Ravelry. There are a ton of people with Ravelry Groups and those same people have Podcasts that reach even more people. So I went to a group (podcast not a yarn owner or Dyer and with permission) And asked a simple question ... Okay it was more then one and it was long ... But still ... This is the post ...
    1 "Hi I am RJ and I have a question (okay more then one) Beside the over all quality of the fiber, the color and the staple length, what other Qualities do you look for in a yarn or roving blend? What blends of rovings or yarns are your favorite? What do you like about them and what would make them better? What blends do you dislike? Why? Can they be made better and if so how? Thank you for your honest input"
    You know what happened ... Nothin' Not one person is willing to talk to me about what blends are better then others and why. What they like or don't like. I tell you with Mom gone and Me not getting any feed back I was at a stand still. So, I got Mom to pick up a little something from WoolFest to get everyone interested.... Check this out ..

    This is 1/4lb. of a Merino/Silk Blend in the Colorway Bay Breeze by Ms. Nikol Lohr of Artclubshop.com She is known on Ravelry as "cupcake" She is also the author of Naughty Needles and her new book Literary Knits. I tell you it really looks better in person. So Now I have something to offer you for your time ... Now to get more of you ... UP STEPS Jetgirl1313!   (applause, applause ... Hug, Hug .. ) Most of you know her as Jetgirl1313 on Ravelry and Plurk or as Katie O the host of the Knittin' on the Fly Podcast. As for me .. This is "Katie O Spaghetti O" that Mom watches and I follow on Plurk. (I call her that with love she is just so bubbley and funny) Mom watches her because of her flying stories (Mom was an Air Force Brat you know) Katie is also having a contest right now that won Mom over because it is going to the snuggle project that makes beds for Cats and Dogs at shelters across the country.
    Anyway, back to my story... Katie asked if there was anything she could do to help. Well, that is when it hit me ... She has what I need ... More of you... and I have animal lovers that could help Katie win her contest. (Just so you know she has prizes too for her contest I even provided some) So Katie and I have teamed up to bring you "The Great Flyin' West Give Away" Here is how it works. You can win that great fiber in the picture from Me and Katie.  How do you win? All you have to do is go watch her podcast and get the secret code and then come back here and post it along with a blend of yarn you either hated or liked and why ... For Katie if there is any humanly way possible if you can make a snuggle for her project and you can win even more. You do not have to send the snuggles to Katie. You just post a picture in her Ravelry group on the thread and then donate them to your own local shelter. If you want to mail them to her you can but you don't have too. The idea here is to not cost you anything but get things to you at no cost ... LOL ... You can also get more info on her contest from her on Rav, Plurk or her podcast.
    The drawing will be held Feb 1st, 2013 at 7:00PM CST and will be posted here that night and Katie will reveal to her viewers on her podcast on the 2nd (which is her podcast anniversary... to cool huh?) Just so you know here is the yarn I picked for Mom to make beds with for Katie O's snuggle team.

Just for fun I want you to know when I say "Katie O - the Spaghetti O" I drag out the Os ... LOL Gotta Love Katie ... she has a kind heart and a great sense of humor ... After all she is celebrating the anniversary of her podcast by helping another person in the business ... The Fiber world doesn't get any better then that, does it? Katie has such a big heart!!!

vtknitboy@gmail.com

1/14/2013 09:32:08 am

hmmm. i can give you some feedback on where u are going with this....possibly a reason why people don't respond is that it is such a broad question. there are so many yarns and blends to talk about it is daunting! the main factor in talking about the pros and cons in any yarn is what do you want to MAKE with it, and what yarn/fiber characteristics do you WANT. let's compare the 2 fibers/yarn in your post. merino is the softest wool available. it has the highest micron count. higher=softer/finer. silk adds sheen, strength and a different type of softness to the yarn. also helps make a yarn drape (lay flat, hang softly). depending on what you want to make with it, will be good or not so good. ie, if i made socks with that merino/silk blend (after spinning it), they would be soft. but i wear out socks like nobody's biz! i find merino to weak for daily wearing. the silk would add strength, but the merino would prolly pill or wear out faster/easier. now, if i made a scarf or a cowl or a lacey vest (or if a woman did), it would be wonderful. it's called against-the-skin softness. you could wear it against your face/neck and it would be lovely. so right there are 2 examples of how fiber/yarn could be good or bad. it's easier to say, take this fiber/yarn, make something with it and tell me what you like/don't like about it. now, let's compare the red heart yarn. personally, i find it one of the least desirable yarns (for me). i'm not fond of acrylic. i prefer wool, alpaca, bunny, silk. etc. i mostly likely wouldn't use that RH for a cowl. now, it might make really durable heavy socks, as it wears like iron! i'm not sure if it felts easily or well, but it might make a good bed for a cat (like a knitted pet's bed, u know what i mean). now, let's talk about the yarn i got from you. it was the wool/mohair blend. it was soft, loftly, and had a great feel to it. it was also plied a little loose. so, i would say it was not great (for me) for wearable socks as is, because it would pill or wear out easier (tighter plied/twisted would be more durable, but not feel as soft). but, it would make a lovely cowl, hat, scarf. mohair is very durable, has a unique softness, and is warm. my intent was to knit into socks. so i took the trouble to add more twist to the ply ( i ran it through my spinning wheel). it was a pain in the butt, but it ended up making great socks! i also took the other skein and made a cowl out of it, without adding more twist. so, all this typing was just about 3 items. and it took a long time. to ask someone in general what they like, and pros and cons about a bunch of stuff one has used in the past would take forever, so personally, i wouldn't respond to a question like that! now, if someone sent me a fiber sample, like 1 oz of that merino/silk blend, or yarn, i would sample it, and say, this is what i like about it, and not like. ie, i can tell you from the start, that shetland yarn may not be suitable for socks, as it is not a really durable fiber. it is medium soft. but would be great blended with some alpaca and mohair. that would add durability to it. so i could use it for socks if not 100% shetland. sorry to run on about this.....if i can help more, let me know!

1/15/2013 12:35:27 am

Thanks so much for the great info but honestly I am a simple man. I was looking more for something like ... I once tried a southdown blend and it didn't spin up as lofty as I thought it should. Or ... I think alpaca and silk are to slick to spin. Or I tried a shetland blend and man did it spin up great .... Please don't be afraid to keep it simple ... LOL

Karen

1/15/2013 01:46:43 pm

As a new spinner I feel I have little to contribute. I was able to spin your roving so I loved it:). I don't like slick fibers they are too challenging for me at this point. I have done some Jacobs and it was similar to yours in that it was user friendly.

1/16/2013 12:22:24 pm

I am glad you liked the roving the bumps and bobbles did give it a rustic look

Sadie link

1/15/2013 03:43:24 pm

Hola RJ,
Right off the top, I'm Sadie a.k.a the one puttin the big petwarmingpalooza together, thusly I can't win anything, however, I do spin a fair bit so I thought hey, constructive feedback I are good at that (think lol cat there).
I am picky about blends, I am one of the many people allergic to mohair (luckily no hives but antihistamines and scratching its just a hot mess) so I see mohair and I say nay, I know a fair bit of others with this particular problem so that might be something to sway you.
My primary fleeces of choice are the jacob and rambou(myspelling sucks right now) which are odd choices but I find them to have a good amount of sproing (technical highly technical). I've spin everything from art yarns to fingering (ask Katie) sadly laceweight will have to wait, but what I find key is not necessarily the blend (although I rarely treat myself to the silk blends higher costs you understand and the dye takes to silk tencel etc less and I like a robust color) but the prep. PREP IS KEY! I get all kinds of wool fleece whatever I even process it myself and I can honestly say you can blend it away with all the finer frippings but if you have second cuts and neps in there (a little VM completely understandable) and it slows me down, slowing me down means less nice yarn, sometimes I'll spin the neps in for texture but if I want a nice smooth yarn for a good shawl or hat, I want the neps gone. Staple length is highly subjective generally I like a good middle but if I know its a shorter one I can compensate or I'd hope it was blended with something with a longer length. Blends I find get really slippy (silk or tencel) or give the halo or shine (alpaca or angelina) I don't like the tinsely looking stuff cuts up the hands between spinning and knitting.
You will find spinners of every kind some will tell it from the mountain to blend silk some will say alpaca is the bomb, my advice to you is take your staple length and ponder on that, and lets not throw babies out with bath water if the sheep in question are unjacketed then you'll probably want to go outer garment or a good sturdy workhorse beast of a yarn, next to the skin softness can be hard to find with unjacketed sheep, if they are jacketed then you may want to go for a lux mix and throw around the slippery mix ins. If it's a sproingier sheep, you know what i'm talkin about those fat lucious locks full of crimp, then don't blend too heavily, if it's more long wool don't go dressin up the tractor prep it properly and leave it be like Lopi seriously that stuff can take a shit kickin and felts up lovely too.
Not sure how much sense that made but really basic point, prep is key, and find your market ;)
cheers

1/16/2013 12:32:37 pm

Nice to meet you Sadie ... so you are the lady everyone is chatting about ... My Mom loves your project... She is the director of an animal shelter... Thanks so much for all the feed back ... there is just one little secret I wanted to let you in on though ... HEHEHEHE The soft next to the skin blend That Katie was talking about comes from unjacketed animals ... We tried jacketing our animals and found that it was more trouble then it was worth. It didn't change the fiber other then how clean it was and the number of times you had to soak it ... Now you know another reason why I am interested in Feed back.... We are slowly finding Myths and busting them ... Myth Busters Country style .... LOL ... Some do turn out to be true though....

penelope

1/16/2013 02:51:02 am

I am a first time spinner, in fact have some fiber that I won coming in the mail.
One thing that I do know is Llama is not a good blend. Very itchy.
I didn't spin the blend, but I knit it into a shawl. I can't wear it, but I can drape it on my Couch or Chair!
Looks like your are starting to get some great comments!
Penny

1/16/2013 12:24:10 pm

We did have a llama once but we didn't use his fiber because it was so yucky ... Itchy as you said....

Charis

1/16/2013 02:38:36 pm

Hey RJ,

Sorry you're not getting feedback when you ask! It makes me sad when people don't get the info they need to make things better. Anyway, for your question. I'm a reasonably new spinner, so most of my experience is with prepared blends. The only one so far that I really disliked spinning was a BFL braid that, I think, was slightly felted. That resulted in me way overspinning it. :(

I do have opinions on yarn blends, though! I knit with 50/50 alpaca/silk and loved it, but it was for a shawl. For socks, mostly wool with a bit of nylon for strength, and maybe a touch of silk or cashmere for luxury. I also like my sock yarns to have high twist, but my shawl yarns to be more loosely spun and drapey. Sweaters - don't know yet. I have plans to make several, though, so I'll be forming an opinion really soon!

On an unrelated note, I think that Miss Katie O should visit Oklahoma. Maybe around Fiber Christmas time? Katie, I'll invite you to my birthday party! (And which one of you came up with wild cow milking? That's just crazy!)

Charis (Nimrodita on Rav)

1/16/2013 03:02:32 pm

Thank you ... Your comment was right on the money and the kind of feedback I am aiming for. And I love, love, love the idea of Katie coming to Fiber Christmas ... That would be so awesome... As for the Wild Cow Milking That was Mom's doings... She told me my code should fit Katie and Me both ... since Katie was raised on a dairy farm and I rodeo the wild cow milking kind of fit and it was funny ... Katie and I have that in common too ... We are both funny okay so she is funny and I just think I am ... either way it worked. (Note:wild cow milking is an actual competitive event in ranch rodeos)

Pat link

1/17/2013 11:35:15 pm

Hi RJ! I've only been spinning for about 2 years. I've never seen a Wild Cow Milking but it sounds interesting. I really have enjoyed spinning a Polwarth/Silk blend. I started off with BFL and also spun Corriedale which I like. I also learned that I like fiber that has good prep too it. I just spun some fiber from FiberOptics and I didn't even have to predraft the fiber before spinning which I loved! I don't like spinning fiber that seems to be so matted that I practically have to rip it apart in order to spin it. By the way, I'm a retired teacher and I love that you doing all of this! Since I retired, my hubby and I travel around the country a lot and I hope someday I will get to meet you! I'd love to see your herd! Can you tell me how to go about buying fiber from you?

1/18/2013 03:31:42 pm

Our products are available in two forms and two seasons. First we have shares. They are only available in early months of the year and are for the spring shearing only. They can be found on the web page tab labeled General Store. In the fall, I keep all the harvest and process it into our inventory. I then sell that harvest at a booth in a local Fiber Fest in July. If there is anything left over from that booth then we sell it on the web page. Most of the time it sells out pretty fast because our shares and products are limited. For right now we are in the process of selling Spring shares. Hope that helps

Jen

1/19/2013 07:54:39 am

Hey RJ,

I just watched the knittin' on the fly podcast. Im not sure if it is necessay but..... wild cow milking? never done it or see it done. i know my aunt has mentioned it before.

But anyway.. i am a fairly new spinner. so i may not have much to contribute but i went threw what i have spun and tried to see what i have liked. unfortunately most of what i had spun and loved the feel of was merino or superwash merino. i did find 2 batts that i spun... or the cards with the information on them. they were art batts but i liked the falkland and merino silk blend it had. i didnt like the mix of locks but that was my own preference. it still came out cool anyway. i do have some alpaca as well that i love the feel of. i mainly go for soft but sturdy fiber.. if that makes sense. if it feels like merino... im most likely going to buy it and love spinning it.

I know im not much help but i hope i could help even just a little bit. I am in college now and it can get pretty expensive. im thankful for my scholarship and i think what your doing for yourself and other kids is great. keep it up and good luck :)

Kathy

1/22/2013 10:41:01 pm

RJ, I saw on Katie's podcast that you were looking for some feedback. I missed the secret code somehow but that's fine if I'm not in a contest. I just appreciate your asking what spinners like so I want to give you some feedback. I will spin just about everything, so types of fibers don't matter too much to me. Well I guess I'm partial to midrange or finer breeds, but I can enjoy a long wool sometimes. The best feedback I can give is to take care in your fiber prep. Even the least pleasing fiber is fun to spin if it is free of VM and second cuts and the like. If you're going to blend, make sure things are well blended. Having a chunk of something show up in the middle of a nice section of another fiber makes it more of an annoyance than a plus. You'll just have wasted that silk, for example, because no one will appreciate it's in there. Good luck to you. You have a good business sense so I know you'll do well.

Pam

1/23/2013 03:30:41 am

Hi RJ I am not a spinner so I can't help you on that end of things but I can tell you that my favorite yarn to knit with so far has been 100% Llama. I also love the merino, cashmere, nylon blends. I have never knitted with Alpaca yet but I have some and am planning on a shawl.

Amanda

1/26/2013 02:35:12 pm

I'm a new spinner, so I don't know much about fiber. I'd wager that you know more about it than I do. What makes me want to spin something? I would like something soft. I don't get very good yardage out of what I do spin, so what I can make with the finished yarn is going to be limited. So, I want something soft, that I can use as a headband to keep my ears warm when I run, or as a cowl.

If you wanted to try milking Kaylani, I'm sure that would make for a Wild Cow Milking experience. (She's a Dexter, and a very good Momma, and I leave the cow milk for the baby cows!)

Karen Z

1/30/2013 01:37:54 am

I just watched Katie's episode where you were featured and I am in awe of the work that you do! I am not a spinner but I do love to knit. Enjoy reading your daily adventures on the farm. Wild Cow Milking
Thanks

Sandy

1/31/2013 09:06:56 am

Hello RJ,
First of all, I would never want to do any wild cow milking no matter how easy anyone claims it is.

As far as spinning fiber, I've come across two different problems with fiber that I have spun. The first someone already mentioned and that is fiber that has become a bit felted, making it difficult to draft when spinning. The second was second cuts in the fiber, creating very inconsistent thickness of my single when the little tufts from the second cuts showed up.

Other than that, I haven't found a blend that I didn't like, but I haven't spun all of the fibers, yet. ;)

Good luck with your herd!

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