I received my fiber package!!!!

Today I received my fiber package from Susan Tipton. It is totally awesome. She really out did herself by sending my all kinds of fiber. Thanks Susan!!!!! It is awesome. I will have a detailed description on my blog sometime tomorrow. I can't wait to start spinning this luscious stuff but as a newbie I don't want to screw it up. :)

Yvonne's answers

* What do you use your fiber for? I am mostly a knitter, but also weave.
* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I tend to spin mostly worsted weight yarns, single or plyed, since I will be knitting it. But recently I have spun some yarn for socks, fingering weight.
* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at? I've knit all my life, woven for 20+ years, and spun almost as long. I'm probably an advanced intermediate spinner, sometimes better, sometimes worse.
* What fibers have you worked with? wool, llama, alpaca, silk, tencel, linen, blends.
* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? I hate to be boring, but I prefer wool.
* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? I have a flock of 50+ sheep, longwools, Finns, and crosses. I have plenty of raw fleece. But if this is what you would prefer to send, breeds other than my own would be great.
* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? I have 5 spinning wheels and assorted spindles. But one can always use another spindle!
* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? lately I have been interested in small projects, something portable, something I can spin a skein for. Isn't there a book called "One skein Wonders", or something like that? Patterns of that sort would be appealing
* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? surprise me!
* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? linen or cotton
* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? I like both, but like to be surprised by color.
* What are your dye and color preferences? I like jewel tones, bright, saturated color
* Do you have any relevant allergies? none

Diana's questionnaire!

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving? all of the above
* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I enjoy, drop spinning, wheel spinng and using my charkha, I usually tend to spin fine, will one day learn to knit lace
* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? I have crocheted for decades, but only a year for all th eothers, self taught What level of
expertise are you at? still learning to knit, but I spin very well now
* What fibers have you worked with? I think I have spun a bit of everything except maybe quvit??sp?? musk ox. I like it all
* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? merino and alpaca are my favorites
* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? yes, I like the whole process If so, what type? anyhting at all
* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? I don't yet own a drum carder nor any combs, they are still on my wish list, I have wheels, drop spindles, swift, carders, (both cotton and wool)
* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? drum carder and combs , and I like the videos about spinning, weaving etc
* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? musk ox
* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? can't think of any I wouldn't want to try
* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? I like both
* What are your dye and color preferences? bright autumn colors are my favorite
* Do you have any relevant allergies? not one allergy to any type fiber , thank goodness

Teej's Questionnaire (Sorry for the delay!)

Yikes! How'd it get to be May 9th already?! My pal has already contacted me, so hopefully I've not kept her waiting too long for this information!

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving?

I'm mostly a knitter, but I also do some tablet weaving (haven't tried this with any handspun) and some bobbin lace (again, haven't tried this with handspun).

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?

I'm pretty much still trying to figure that out. I've been spinning for about a year and a half, all on a drop spindle, and so far haven't actually made anything with my handspun. I have a couple skeins of 2-ply superwash merino that I keep thinking will end up as nice thick socks, though. Generally, I think until I get a wheel or much more proficient with a drop spindle, I'll likely stick to smaller amounts of worsted to lace weight and make things as they inspire me.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at?

I've been a knitter for about ten years (maybe less?) and am probably an advanced intermediate. I've done several lace projects, a couple smaller fair isle projects, lots of cables, etc. I'm still a beginner in both tablet weaving and bobbin lace.

* What fibers have you worked with?

I've spun some unknown samples, some border leicester (I think.. might have been blue faced leicester), merino, clun forest lamb, some silk and baby camel blended, and.. hrm.. more merino.. yeah. I was in the Breed Swap project, though, so I have samples of lots of things.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?

Something not merino, I guess! I seem to have spun mostly that and the leicester, and while I've liked both, I'd like to try out something different. Maybe something with a longer staple? The camel/silk blend has a bit longer staple and spins up very fine, so maybe something I can practice that with? Or something dyed - I've never spun a pre-dyed roving that is multi-colored and I'm kind of curious to try that.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?

Not really. I got some raw fleeces last fall and ended up having them sent out for processing because it was just too much time to process them myself. I prefer to spend my time spinning and knitting instead of cleaning fleeces. I also don't have any kind of cards or combs, so even washed fleece, unless it could be spun from the lock, would be difficult for me to work with.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?

Heh. I have two drop spindles - one heavier one that I do most of my spinning on, and one *very* light one that I'm spinning the camel/silk on. The heavier one is top whorl and I like it that way, and the lighter one is bottom whorl and I also like it that way. *shrug* Oh, and I have a PVC niddy noddy that I *love* because it comes apart and is very portable.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?

Um.. not really. Someone else mentioned a WPI tool, which might be neat. I'd like to learn to Navajo ply, but I'm usually a tactile learning, so I'm not sure a book or video would help with that.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?

Hrm.. I'd like to try to spin flax, but I think that might be more advanced than I am at the moment.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?

I'm leery of cotton because I can't visualize how to draft it, but if it were processed somehow, that might be okay. I'm really not afraid of short staples (the lamb's fleece is only about a 2 inch staple) or long staples. I don't think I'd like working with fiber that had a lot of lanolin still in it, though.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?

Either, both. I have some of both in my stash. I don't have any that are dyed multiple colors, though, and I'm intrigued by how those can spin up.

* What are your dye and color preferences?

I like saturated colors, so no pastels (though I do have a bunch of cochineal dyed merino that a friend dyed that is a rosy pink that is lovely, so take that with a grain of salt).

* Do you have any relevant allergies?

None that I know of. ;)

Thanks again for your patience! I hope I haven't driven you to distraction!

Elsje's answers

Sorry for the delay...

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving?
I am primarily a knitter but I dabble a bit in needle felting. Some time in the past I was an extremely proficient crocheter but I rarely get the hooks out anymore.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?I naturally tend to spin fairly fine, often with socks or gloves as the end result. I’m trying to work myself up to spin a little thicker as my husband is requesting a sweater and I’d rather work in a heavy worsted weight if I can pull it off.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at?
I learned to crochet when I was 6 or 7, learned to knit when I was 16 (but took about a decade off until my mid 20’s). I consider myself high intermediate or beginning-advanced at both of these. I’ve only been spinning for about a year but I love it and my skills have come quite a long way since I first began.

* What fibers have you worked with?
I’ve mostly worked with Romney, BFL, Corriedale, and Finn. In a spinning class that I took the teacher brought samples of all kinds of exotic and man-made fibers for us to sample but other than that experience I’ve really stuck with what I know best so far.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?
I am still learning what I prefer and so am open to trying most anything (especially if helpful hints are included with anything that needs unusual handling).

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?
I haven’t done it yet but I’ve been giving it more thought lately, I'll probably try some out this summer sometime.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels, etc.)

One spinning wheel (Lendrum, LOVE IT!!)

One drop spindle (never use it anymore…)

Niddy noddy, ball winder, umbrella swift

Just the basics I guess.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?
Not that I know of… Oh wait, a WPI tool would be cool, also I always look at those nifty bead row counter things but I’m not sure how they work and haven’t ever handled one in real life.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?
I think I don’t know enough yet to know what I would like to try… surprise me!

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?
I only tried cotton once and got extremely frustrated. I’m staying away from it for now. I don’t especially care for the man-made fibers.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?
I like them both. I’ve been playing around with dyeing just recently.

* What are your dye and color preferences?
In the past I would have said that I prefer strog and dark colors, especially blue, green, red and grey/black… lately however I’ve been finding myself more and more drawn towards brighter (but still strong) colors like intense yellow and fiery orange.

* Do you have any relevant allergies?
No allergies

Mary's questionnaire

What do you use your fibre for? I use fibres predominantly for spinning, but sometimes for wet felting or needlefelting (see some of the jewellery on my blog for instances of this).

What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I spin to knit (or sometimes crochet)
If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? In the early 80’s I won a fleece, and thus had to learn to spin. It was a Welsh Black Mountain, a lovely colour to start with. A year or so later I bought myself an Ashford double drive wheel. Since then I have spun when I feel like it.

What level of expertise are you at? I’d say I am an intermediate spinner. I don’t keep accurate records, but sample a lot before embarking on a project. I often dye fibres before spinning them. Just occasionally I dye my spun yarn.

What fibres have you worked with? I have spun various breeds of sheep (Gotland is a favourite), alpaca, silk, cotton and other plant fibres.

Which fibres, fibre blends, and types of fibres do you prefer? I like to spin fine yarn, and often blend silk in with fleece. That way I can get colour and/or shine without losing the elasticity that the wool imparts.

Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? Anything that will result in a fine yarn, and that is naturally white or grey to black. I don’t like buff or browns.

What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels, drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? As I mentioned before, I have an Ashford double drive wheel. I also have a Bosworth spindle, hand cards, swift, and a couple of niddy noddies.

Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? Amy R. Singer’s recent book “No sheep for you” sounds interesting. I haven’t yet seen a copy, so am not sure whether I would buy it. I already have an extensive library of textile books, built up over the past 30 years or so. I don’t have an inch/centimetre gauge, usually using a ruler when I want to check yarn dimensions.

What fibres are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? Having read of qiviut and buffalo fibres, I’d like to try them, just a handful or so. I’d also like to try out milk protein fibres, again in small quantities. Surprisingly, I haven’t yet tried Blue-faced Leicester.

Which fibres do you absolutely not want to work with? Anything artificial, course in texture and/or buff in colour.

Do you prefer natural colour fibres or pre-dyed fibres? I like both. I like merino/silk, merino/flax, and merino/cotton mixes.

What are your dye and colour preferences? My favourite colour is purple, and I like vibrant bright jewel colours, using either synthetic or natural dyes. Otherwise indigo is a favourite. I don’t like pale pastel colours, but do like the acid greens/yellows/oranges that are the opposite of my favourite colours.

Any allergies or things your pal should be aware of? I dislike smoke and animals anywhere near me or any of my things. I refused to spin some dog hair a few years ago for that reason.

Em's Answers

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving?
I'm a knitter! I'd like to learn crochet, and needle felting, but I haven't got there yet.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?
I'm pretty new to spinning, and began with some homemade drop spindles. I'm very happy with spindle-spinning, and plan to play around with the various kinds and weights for a long time to come.
By the grace of Fortune, however, I've been loaned a spinning wheel for a few months, and a trying to get as much experience with it as possible!
Again, all my spinning turns into yarn I plan to knit up (someday), but right now I'm really just loving that I can make any yarn at all! I have hopes that in the future I will be able to spin fine enough for some couched-thread embroidery and lace knitting.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at?
I've been knitting for about five years and feel pretty accomplished with it; I love complex work like lace and cables, but there are also some techniques that I haven't even tried yet!
I've only been spinning for a few months, but I'm %100 addicted, and try to spin a bit every single day.

* What fibers have you worked with?
So far I have only spun wool, but have played with Coopworth, BFL, Merino, and a lovely long-stapled "mystery breed" (unmarked bag).

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?
No real preferences yet, as I've just scratched the surface, but I love feeling fibres for softness and sheen.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?
Sure! Any type!

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?
Various handmade drop-spindles (furniture wheels, art-clay whorls, soapstone bead), an Ashford Elizabeth wheel (on loan), and I have once used the cat brush as a flick carder...

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?
It would be nice to someday have a spindle that looked pretty, and I'd love to get some combs and carders eventually. There aren't any book titles I desperately want, but as a bibliophile I do love having a well-stocked home library.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?
New things! More special wool breeds, silks, maybe even flax...

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?
Smelly ones? Really, I'm open to trying anything, so long as it's quality.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?
No preference, but I do enjoy the natural colours of fleeces equally to dyed ones.

* What are your dye and color preferences?
I love seeing the range of colours that can be achieved from all-natural dyes. That said, there are some truly beautiful non-natural dyes, too! I love autumnal colours (reds/coppers/browns/greens) and jewel tones (burgundy/emerald/sapphire/etc), but find myself also oddly drawn to soft, spring-flowery colours sometimes as well.

* Do you have any relevant allergies?
Pollens/smoke and I don't get along well.

Shelby's Questionnaire

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving?
I knit, and have tried some needle felting.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?
I haven't really figured that out yet! I've got some that I plan to use for hats/scarves, and others for socks.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at?
I learned to knit 25 years ago, but have been knitting consistently for about 3 years. I've been spinning for 1 year.

* What fibers have you worked with?
wool, merino, silk/merino blends

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?
Anything SOFT. The softer the better. I really liked the merino/silk blend, and BFL is so soft too!

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?
Not at this time.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?
I have a spinning wheel (Ashford Kiwi), and 2 drop spindles

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?
Nothing I can think of! Always looking to try new things though. Someday I'll get some hand carders (MSW is tomorrow- maybe I'll break down and get some).

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?
Anything soft and yummy. I'm easy!

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?
anything scratchy

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?
Both!!

* What are your dye and color preferences?
I love purples, blues, greens, reds, pinks. I'm not a huge fan of yellow/orange, but most other colors are great!

* Do you have any relevant allergies?
just smoke. Everything else is good with me!

Silver's Questionnaire

Here’s my questionnaire! The general idea of me is that I like to learn new things, and there are some old things I really love, so if you combine those two things in my package, I’ll be a happy camper! (Cyberfibercamper! Ha ... ha ... ehhh...)

* What do you use your fiber for?

Spinning yarn for knitting, and recently I've been weaving on small looms with commercial yarn, so I'll probably weave with handspun at some point. I've been *thinking* of trying felting with unspun fiber, but haven't actually started yet, as I have no felting stuff. ;)

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?

At the moment I spindle spin, and see above for what I use it for. :D I’m still experimenting with different types of yarn.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of expertise are you at?

I've been spinning for a couple of years, knitting for a few more than that, and weaving for maybe a year on and off. I'm a novice weaver, probably an advanced beginner spinner, and maybe an advanced intermediate knitter. Oh, and I just started dyeing a lot (mostly with food grade dyes, but I’ve also used Jacquard Acid Dyes) and acquired a drum carder recently. :D

* What fibers have you worked with?

Alpaca, llama, various wools (including Merino, domestic blends, Colonial, Columbia, Cotswold, and English Leicester), tussah silk, a small amount of cotton, a teeeeny bit of flax, and I have some ramie waiting for me that I haven't played with yet. Probably also some other random things that aren't occurring to me right now. ;) I have some chiengora waiting for me in the stash, too.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?

Finer fibers, things with alpaca, things with sparkle. Someday I'll start spinning more plant fibers because I live in Florida and Must learn to work with cooler fibers. I like roving and batts equally, and I'll happily card and spin anything that comes along in another format, like spinning bells or laps or locks. Hand-dyed stuff is love; and even solid-colored, standard, commercial rovings are fun to blend, so all is well. :D

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?

Sure! :D As above, finer fibers are usually my thing, and alpaca, and llama if it's not full of guard hairs. I also like Cotswold wool, and Columbia, and weird breed crosses, and things I won’t have to wash three times to get all the lanolin out. ;)

* What fibery tools do you currently have?

A few drop spindles (all home-made except two), double-pitch mini Valkyrie hand combs, Ashford fine cloth hand carders, a Louet roving carder, a 2x2 inch Weavette, and a homemade 12-inch square hand-held loom. There’s also a plastic umbrella swift, a ball winder, and an Ultimate Sweater Machine I haven’t taken the time to figure out yet. ;) I have no nostepindes or niddy noddies (except some jury-rigged sticks-with-dowel-rods-in-them that I used to wind skeins before I got the swift).

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?

Tools: One of those WPI comparison thingies that you're supposed to hold your yarn up to to keep it the same weight as you're spinning; a WPI wrappy gauge thingie; more nice spindles (I seem to mostly use light to medium weight, or a takhli or a Navajo spindle would be interesting to try out); more small hand-held looms; a nice wooden hairpin lace loom; weaving cards or any other small weaving thingies. If you happen to have them around and just want to get rid of them, I wouldn’t mind having a hackle (blending *or* flax ;)), some cotton hand carders, one of those little counter gadgets you use with a swift that tells you how much yardage you have, or a McMorran yarn balance, either. ;) (If you want to do a partial trade or something, rather than just being a crazily generous swap partner, feel free to ask ... ;D)

Books: Spin to Knit, Mabel Ross’s Encyclopedia of Handspinning, the Alden Amos book, Weaving and Spinning edited by Yvonne Deutch, The Spinner’s Companion by Bobbi Irwin -- really, almost any spinning book except Lee Raven's and The Joy of Spinning by Marilyn Kluger, which I have; and any magazines on spinning, knitting, weaving, or dyeing, except for the knitting magazines that came out in about 2005 and early 2006, a lot of which I think I have already.

Videos: I don't have any yet, sooo ... if there's an amazing one I need to have, you’d probably know better than I do!

Other stuff: It’s not tools, books, or videos, but I’d love some more dyes ... even if it’s just Kool-Aid packets or Wilton’s icing colors. I need blue, green, and yellow! :D I’m also interested in trying different wool washes, since I’ve only ever used Eucalan and random dish soaps.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?

Hmmm. Angelina (for blending)! Also Blue-Faced Leicester or Pygora, neither of which I've tried yet, and I've been drooling over JJFarms's stuff on eBay, and all the custom batts I keep seeing on Etsy and eBay. I also always like really nice clean Columbia, light-colored blanket alpaca, washed Corriedale, and any of the wild silks aside from tussah and muga. I've never spun superwash or most of the exotics like guanaco or camel or ox down, so I’d be happy to try those.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?

I'm allergic to angora, and I prefer not to use bombyx silk.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?

I like both. :D

* What are your dye and color preferences?

I have no preference on dye type as long as it's colorfast, except that I think natural dyes are super-neato. My favorite colors are blues and greens (deep colors, bright colors, and light colors, not so much duller or muted colors), but I also like purples, grays, and white. I particularly like blends with sparkly bits and blends with multiple colors, including non-favorite colors in small amounts.

Thanks, fiber swappy partner! :D

Heidi Kim's Questionnaire

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving? Spinning and knitting.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I spin mostly lace weight yarn, but like to spin bulky yarn also.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at? I learned to knit and croch when I was going on the children school, so I think that I have been knitted from I was around 10 years old. Spinning I have not done so long time, when I got 4 angora rabbit lat fall 2005 it became naturyaly to begin to spin. I began first with drop spindles, and last year I bought a spinning wheel. I don't quite know what level I will clasified myself with, but between intermediate and advanced.

* What fibers have you worked with? Angora, different type of merino, BFL, silk, alpaca.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? I like to fibers that are so fine and soft that you can weare them intil the body, ore fibre to knit socks of. I have some blend with silk and merino, lovely stuff.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? I have only expericene with washed fleece, so I am intrested in that. But not raw since I have no facilities to wash them.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? I have all the 3 type from Simplet Market, a lot of differente drop spindles from Bosworth, that is my favorits. Spinning wheel is from Majacraft, Little Gem II, hand cards.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? Maybe about handdyeing and colour in spinning.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? I love to get hold in some Qiviut ore Moskus that we call them here in Norway. But all fibre under 25 microns I love to spin with. And I am intresting in trying some Romney that many spinner talk so warm about, but since I am curious I would always like to try new wool and fiber.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? Rough, harsh fiber over25 microns, I got some Shetland from UK. Terrible stuff, did not spin with it at all. I am not so found in mohair yet, have some kidmohair blend with merino maybe that is better :o)

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? I like both, but I am not so found in pastel colours.

* What are your dye and color preferences? I am not so difficult there, not so much pastel coulours. But soft and clear colours I am very found of.

* Do you have any relevant allergies? The allergies I have is not in conflict with the spinning, but I am sensitive for strong sents.

*Do you have a blog? Yes, it is hkangora.wordpress.com

Susan T's list

What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving? I use my fiber for knitting and weaving.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I tend to spin woolen for knitting at light dk to sock weight. I also enjoy spinning heavy lace weight. For my weaving I spin more worsted and higher twist singles.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at? I've been knitting for 34 years with a few years off now and again. I would say I'm an advanced intermediate knitter. I've only been weaving 2 years and am still very much a newbie. I've been spinning for 4 years almost everyday. It's how I unwind.

* What fibers have you worked with? I've spun as many wool breeds as I can get my hands on. I love spinning angora, silk, cashmere, alpaca, and mohair as well. I've got linen, cotton and hemp in my stash but haven't had the time yet for them.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? I love wool or wool blended with other natural fibers. Silk and cashmere and alpaca all come second. I don't have much interest in synthetics or the new manufactered fibers- at least not to date.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? I love working with raw fleece except for really fine wools like rambouillet or merino, cormo, etc. Those I prefer to have someone else do the work:) Right now I'm pregnant and won't work with any raw fleece till the baby comes in November.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? I have a Majacraft Suzie, a Kromksi Symphony, two bossie spindles that are for silk along with a few others nameless spindles I hold onto to teach kids with. I also have hand cards, a drum carder and a dyeing station in my garage.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? I would love hackles and of course another loom with more shafts than my 4 shaft.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? Some really soft mohair- I got some doggy stuff a while back that I thought represented the breed for a long time. More silk. Cormo, Targhee, GCN, blue faced leicester, quality icelandic.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? I can't think of anything except that merino isn't my favorite.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? I love natural colors and tend to buy them or natural whites to do my own dyeing. However, sometimes I splurge and get predyed fibers just to see what other dyers are doing.

* What are your dye and color preferences? I love colors, especially blues and greens. Or beautiful strong reds. Only colors I stay away from personally are pastels-though some of my children look beautiful in them and I dye for them as well.

* Do you have any relevant allergies? I am very happy to not have any!

Rhonna's Questionnaire

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting or crocheting, weaving? Spinning, and ultimately knitting or crochet. Some things can be felted (e.g., slippers and bags), but I'd rather use a cheaper commercial wool if I'm going to felt something.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I started spinning because there were yarns I wanted to use which I couldn't get here, and even if I could find them, I wouldn't find them at a reasonable price. Those yarns are the really soft fibers, such as fine merino, and especially the blends, such as alpaca-silk, or merino-tencel, or simply silks, and anything laceweight. That means that while I'll spin a few things for clothing, most of my spinning goals are for knitting lace, fingering, and sport or DK weights, with heavy emphasis on the first two.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of expertise are you at? I grew up with crochet, and consider myself very advanced there. But, I've had to drop most of it because it's harder on my hands. I started knitting about 4 years ago, and consider myself in the intermediate range. I'm not afraid to try things, and I can follow instructions, so I'm fairly convinced that there's not much I cannot do. :-) I just started spinning over the Christmas break, so am totally a greenhorn at it--but it's not stopping me. :-)

* What fibers have you worked with? I've deliberately tried to sample a little of everything, so the list is a bit lengthy given that I've only been doing this for a bit over 4 months: Cormo, Corriedale, Merino, BFL, alpaca, Merino-tencel, Merino-silk, unknown blend (Sheep Shed Studio). In the wings I have: CVM, Falkland, Tussah, Bombyx silk bells, superwash (Sheep Shed), Shetland, Mohair (not kid), Merino-Mohair blend, and an Alpaca-Corriedale blend.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? Since I'm sensitive to wools and I'm spinning the yarns I can't get, I prefer the fine wools and softer blends. Any of the next-to-skin fibers, in other words. Some folks hate slippery fibers, but I'm finding that I actually like them.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? Actually, yes, but only if it's very very clean since I don't have facilities or a washing machine for handling it, and only if it's very very fine or soft. This, however, is something I'd like to try *eventually.* At the moment, I really am content to work with the commercial tops, particularly since I'll soon be able to do my own blends.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels, drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? A Majacraft Rose spinning wheel. Spindles include a .7 Bosworth mini, 1.8 Cascabeles, 2.1 plying spindle from Tracy Eichheim, plus a 1.0 from him enroute, and a 1.4 Turkish from Wanda and Ed Jenkins enroute. I cannot use hand cards or combs, so just splurged on a Strauch Petite drum carder, also enroute. I also have a ball winder and a skein winder.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? I think I'm ok on this front. I have a fair amount of what I want, and I don't think I need any more tools.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? Any of the fine fibers, or fibers under 25 microns. I'm easy here. And of course, since I'm a newbie, I'm interested in trying nearly everything just to see what it does or how it handles.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? Not the coarse or medium-coarse fibers since I've no idea what I'd do with the final product. A good rule for me is to keep it under 25 microns.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? Both. :-) I have some oatmeal BFL which is beautiful, and I like browns, but obviously whites and creams are more flexible and can be dyed. However, I love some of the vibrant space-dyed and multicolor fibers, and am experimenting with everything.

* What are your dye and color preferences? I'm happy with almost all colors, except large quantities of yellow and orange, but the reality is that most of what I spin isn't going to end up with me. :-) So, all colors are viable (except solid yellow/orange); it will eventually find a home. My own personal preferences are both earth and jewel tones, or colors that have depth. I've begun dyeing my own using Jacquard acid dyes and have a stock of the 6 basic colors.

* Any allergies or things your pal should be aware of? I can't handle smoke. I'm fine with the lavender and cedar many people and shops store with their fibers to keep away the moths. No worries.

I do blog my spinning efforts. There's a "Spinning Gallery" on the blog, as well as my own form of note-taking for each venture. If you're trying to figure out where I'm at in the process, that's a good starting place since it displays goofs as well as successes. :-)

*Do you have a blog? Yep. It's here: http://rhonna.net

Questionnaire for Chelsea (SpininMamma3)

* What do you use your fiber for? Mostly knitting, but I do some crochet.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? Mostly just for the sake of loving to spin, but sometimes I pull out the fiber when I have a project already in mind. Other times it’s to try for a previously untried end result in the yarn. I don’t do any of the true (I did plenty of those beginner novelty yarns!) novelty fancy yarns with lots of slubs and big beads, etc. I just don’t have the right kind of wheel for that.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at? I’d say advanced beginner knitting and almost intermediate on spinning, but I’m not afraid to try anything. I haven’t done any intricate lace knitting, but I just haven’t really had the chance yet. I’ve been knitting for 3 years and spinning for a little over a year.

* What fibers have you worked with? Most fibers except the rare and expensive ones! Lots of different wools, I’ve done bamboo, tencel, silk, cotton, alpaca, angora, mohair- no igneo, cashmere, yak, buffalo, or those really rare ones like Quivit or Vicuna. I have some soy silk but haven’t tried it yet- maybe this weekend! I also have some llama and a small sample of camel, though I haven’t done anything with those yet either.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? I like the wools and blends of wool and other soft fibers. I really enjoyed the merino/tencel blends. I do have an issue with medium or coarse wools though. I guess I have sensitive fingers because I have trouble with them hurting when I spin anything that’s not next-to-skin soft. Most medium-fine wools have been good still though. I have a small same of Polwarth wool and would love to get my hands on some more of that- luscious stuff!

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? I have a few right now, but I’d take the Polwarth in the raw fleece!!!

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? One wheel, 18 spindles, drum carder, skeinwinder, ballwinder, niddy noddy, and a yarn meter.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? 4-pitch combs and a wool picker- LOL! “The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer's Field Guide” by Arleen and Alan Bessette, and “Mushrooms for color” by Miriam Rice look interesting to me- I love mushrooms!

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? More of the Polwarth and the Merino/tencel blend.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? Chiengora of any kind- it drives me nuts when I’m spinning it. Tried a border collie/wool blend and got about 1 oz into it before I put it away for good!

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? Like both except for browns and the black fleece that looks more like a dark brown. Blue-black fleece is good.

* What are your dye and color preferences? Pretty much anything except the brown- and if it’s dyed in earth tones that’s good, just not plain brown.

* Do you have any relevant allergies? Nope, but I don't like the smell of smoke at all.

Answers

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving?

So far only knitting but I am taking a weaving course and have plans for doing some thing there along the lines of blankets and rugs.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?

I have several spindles and a Roberta electric. I spin mostly as recreation, as I find it very soothing and I like the feeling of the fibre. I rarely spin with anything in particular in mind unless I'm aiming at socks.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things?

I've just started weaving, I have been knitting for about 15 years (I consider myself intermediate) and spinning for about 4 (still a novice). I have made quilts since I was a child and needlepoint for at least 25 years. But I am a process person so I don't necessarily hang on to what I've made.

* What fibers have you worked with?

Wool almost exclusively, except since I started with spindles and that's added camel down and silk. Wool breeds I've spun: merino, BFL, English Leicester, Romney, Corriedale, various unbranded but probably merino cross.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?

I haven't spun enough of anything to know what I like. There are so many kinds of wool that I haven't spun all that I have yet.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?

I am but I cannot be sent raw fleece from outside Australia as it is prohibited by Quarantine. If I fall in love with a fleece and it's raw, I will buy it but it has to be special.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?

I have an Ashford drumcarder, about 5 drop spindles, a Roberta spinner because I have knee and hip problems and can't treadle.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?

I'd love the Ashford book on carding, some of the spinning DVDs,

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?

Sheltand, rare breeds like California Red or CVM, kid mohair, coloured wool.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?

Coarse anything, merino (as I am surrounded by merinos and don't need more!)

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?

I like both as long as the dyed are colours I like.

* What are your dye and color preferences?

Don't care how the fibre is dyed but I hate oranges and conversely drab colours like olive. I am trying to get out of a pink/purple/blue rut so reds or greens would be welcome

Carol
swanknitter.blogspot.au

Knitspin Fibers - http://home.mindspring.com/~knitspin/

What do you use your fiber for?
Spinning to make handspun yarns

Felting, needle felting, knitting or crocheting, weaving?*
I do mostly Knitting.

What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?* I like to do thick and thin, but I also do thin handspun yarns

If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery pursuits, how long have you been doing those things?
I have been knitting since age 7, I have been spinning for 3 years

What level of expertise are you at?*
Knitting Intermedia and spinning Intermedia

What fibers have you worked with?*
merino, alpaca, romney, BFL, silk, shetland

Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?*
everything, I'm easy

Are you interested in working with raw fleece? yes, as long as they are clean.

If so, what type?* any type

What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels, drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?* spinning wheels, 2 drop spindles, cards, louts carder

Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?*
yes, I would love to have a diz or anything if fine.

What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?*
Gotland or or something that is not listed on these questions.

Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?*
no preference

Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?*
I like all type of fibers

What are your dye and color preferences?
I like to try all different type of dyes and color preferences (suprise me)

Just one thing I'm allergic to smoke and perfume, I faint. So please make sure that the items fibers are not in a smoke room or has perfume.

Nicol (Polly): Answers

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting or crocheting, weaving?

Nothing, I just hang it up and criticize it. It's become quite the ritual. Also my handspinning has become quite the decoration for my bathroom.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?

I'm spinning way too thin and trying to teach myself to spin fatter.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery pursuits, how long have you been doing those things?

Knitting 10 years, Crocheting since I was a teeny child, needle felting not seriously for 3 years, but my latest thing is learning to make felt.

What level of expertise are you at?

Knitting - Intermediate to Advanced

Spinning - Beginner

* What fibers have you worked with?

Corriedale, merino, BFL

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?*

Im trying to practice more with Merino, but I really like corriedale but I am up for anything

Are you interested in working with raw fleece?

I dunno

If so, what type?

anything but it's got to be clean

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels, drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?

Spinning wheel, drop spindle, a drum carder coming in the mail that is supposed to be great for colorwork

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?

I love gadgeting things, I dont have any spinning books and limited DVDs so if there is anything out there Im up for it.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?

I dont live near anywhere I can actually touch and buy, so I generally want everything

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?

Anything that will frustrate me and make me cry.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?

Pre-dyed is great, but I can also dye it so I get natural fibers, I dont get brown

* What are your dye and color preferences?

My favorite color is emerald green... I like really bright colors, but primary... but I'm in a summery mood right now... plus since I live in glitzy Vegas, anything understated gets lost in the shuffle of sequins, slots, and buffet lines.

Lucy - Workbasket blog

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting or crocheting, weaving?

I usually knit, although every once in a while I will do something else if the fiber calls for it.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?

I spin on both spindle and wheel. I've only made a few things with my own handspun so far.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at?

I've been knitting for at least 10 years, spinning for a few years also, but just recently got into it. Those are what I do most of the time. I've known how to crochet (and do so sometimes but not as often) for a long time. I haven't really done any weaving or needle felting, just a little bit of playing with both of those. I feel like with knitting and crocheting I'm pretty advanced, for spinning I'm intermediate.


* What fibers have you worked with?

wool (unknown breed - free), bamboo, alpaca, and the silk/merino blends.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?

I like anything really, I haven't developed too many preferences yet.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?

I have worked with raw fleece (that would be the free that I mentioned above). I have no problem processing my own fleece, and would love to work with either raw or processed

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?

I have access to a spinning wheel (not mine, but it's in my house), a spindolyn, and a couple drop spindles. I also have hand cards.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?

I don't have any dvds of any kind of fiber instruction. shrug. I just got a bunch of different books, so I'm not craving anything currently.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?

I have not done any silk, I'm planning to get some hankies at one of the fiber festivals this spring perhaps. I would also like to try some different breeds, as the only wool I've done is either unknown or commercial merino roving.

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?

anything that's common and easy to get online, as I can get those any time, nothing in particular though.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?

either is fine. natural is good, especially if natural is not a white color. I've only done food dyes (and only feel comfortable playing with food dyes around my kids), and love color

* What are your dye and color preferences?

If it's something dyed I have no dye preference. Almost any colors work, I like most colors, and knit for a variety of people (my girls love pink and primary colors, i like jewel and earth tones, my husband likes others, so the colors would just go to different people)

* Any Allergies?

I am allergic to cats and dogs, I haven't had any problems at all with traditional fiber animals (sheep, alpaca, bunny, camel, etc)

Thank you!!
Lucy

tisjewel (Flawful Fibers & Yarns) Qs

Julie O'Neil aka tisjewel
tisjewel.blogspot.com

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving? Lots and lots of things! Knitting, spinning (handspun yarns), crochet, felting (though just starting), fiber arts, mixed media.

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for? I use both spindles and spinning wheels. Spin for sale and for knitting, and well to feed the addiction! Love all weights of yarns for spinning and knitting, but have to say that singles are my favs.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of expertise are you at? I crocheted when I was a teen, but only got back into it and learned how to knit last year. Learned also how to spin last year, and have used fibers in my mixed media art work for few years now. I learn new things everyday about these crafts, so it's a continuous process, so wouldn't want to put a specific level of expertise to it.

* What fibers have you worked with? Too many to name, I can tell you what I haven't worked with that I would like to one day :) polwarth, camel down, gotland, cormo, perendale, clun forest, tunis, cashmere

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer? Of course I love soft fibers, but have worked with and like working with a lot of different types of fibers. I do not like to work with dog or cat fur though.

* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type? I actually still have quite a bit in my stash so would prefer not to work with more raw fleeces at this time until I reduce some of it, unless they are very clean to begin with with extremely little VM (would be willing to work with clean llama, camel, angora, alpaca, etc.).

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)? I have 3 spinning wheels, a few drop spindles, drum carder, ball winder, wpi tool, niddy noddy.

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos? Would like to get some fine cotton hand carders, the andean plying tool, and a wool-picker one day. Love knitting books. And would also love to learn and get the tools for tunisian crochet.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on? Cashmere, camel down, silk/merino top, falkland top, etc. BUT LOVE MOST FIBERS! I'm an addict...

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with? Dog/cat fur, anything too coarse.

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers? Either!

* What are your dye and color preferences? I love earthy tones (blues, browns, greens), muted colors, rich baroque colors, antique colors, but nothing too bright or too pastel.

*Do you have any relevant allergies? Some dogs/cats, smoke, heavy fragrances, and the norm - mildew (once got 40 lbs of mildewed and heavily mildew scented smelling llama - the seller had no idea how to store it..., had to throw it out as even being in the same room as the bagged stuff made my allergies go into hyperdrive) & dust

Peggy - Knitting and Spinning With Ewe Blog

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting or crocheting, weaving?

Knitting. And I knit a variety of things. Socks, scarfs, sweaters, hats, gloves.......

* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?

I primarily spin for knitting and plan on primarily spinning fingerweight, dk and worsted.

* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery pursuits, how long have you been doing those things?

I've been seriously knitting for 15 years (but I learned to knit 41 yrs ago) and crocheting for 36. I've been spinning for about 2 - 3 months.

What level of expertise are you at?

Knitting - Intermediate to Advanced

Spinning - Beginner

* What fibers have you worked with?

Romney, Jacob, Wensleydale and some wool/silk blends.

* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?*

Really, I am interested in all fibers.

Are you interested in working with raw fleece?

Yes

If so, what type?

I presently have some romney, border leicester and cormo.

* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels, drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?

Spinning wheel, drop spindles and hand cards

* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?

A drumcarder? :) Any tools, books or videos on fiber or knitting. I'm easy.

* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?

Being a newbie I want it all!!!!

* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?

I do not have any at this time

* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?

I told you, I'm easy. Really any.

* What are your dye and color preferences?

Greens, Corals, Browns, Blacks pretty much anything but pastels I think.

I have no allergies.

My blog is: http://www.knittingandspinningwithewe.blogspot.com

Questionnaire!!

Here is the Fiber Swap Questionnaire! One of the participants helped me to devise this list, so here goes! If I've left out anything, please let me know.

Please post this questionnaire to THIS blog as soon as possible, so your pal can find out all about your preferences.

Thanks!!

* What do you use your fiber for? Felting, needle felting, knitting
or crocheting, weaving?
* What kind of spinning do you do or what do you spin for?
* If you knit, weave, spin, crochet, needle felt, or do other fibery
pursuits, how long have you been doing those things? What level of
expertise are you at?
* What fibers have you worked with?
* Which fibers, fiber blends, and types of fibers do you prefer?
* Are you interested in working with raw fleece? If so, what type?
* What fibery tools do you currently have (e.g., spinning wheels,
drop spindles, combs, cards, etc.)?
* Do you crave any tools, books, or videos?
* What fibers are you absolutely dying to get your hands on?
* Which fibers do you absolutely not want to work with?
* Do you prefer natural color fibers or pre-dyed fibers?
* What are your dye and color preferences?
* Do you have any relevant allergies?

Sorry for the delay!!

Things have been crazy on my end. I got matches done, but haven't had a chance to e-mail them out yet. I'll do it tonight, I promise!! Then we can get started!!