Any fiber (like spinning) people here?

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I have two LGD's and have just found out that people actually purchase their winter undercoats to spin into yarn or do "felting" with. I really don't know a thing about either one.

All I know is they have fur that looks like wool. Just looking to get some more knowledge on the subject.

Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

My wife is really into weaving on a loom, not spinning. Shes the treasurer of the local weaving guild. That shows how serious she is about weaving.

Her sister was really into spinning for a long time. She still has her photo in a museum from where she was putting on a spinning demonstration in Colonial costume. I remember helping her gather walnut hulls and stuff like that to dye her material. I think she even did some dog hair spinning.

If you think you might be interested, you might check around for a local spinning guild or something like that. They probably have beginning spinning classes and most are going to be real passionate about what they are doing. Theyd love talking about it and getting you involved. Things like that can be addicting.

You might want to start out with a long fibered product first to get the technique down before you try the harder short-fibers. Last year my wife gave me some cotton seeds to grow some cotton for her. She is thinking about trying to learn to spin. She went through the process of removing the seeds by hand, a real rough thing to do. When she took the cleaned cotton to a spinner in the Weaving Guild, she was told that was short-fibered cotton, really hard to spin. This year my wife gave me some cotton seeds of a long fiber cotton. They came up really well. That cleaned short-fiber cotton is still in the bag, untouched.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i know there is a spinning/weaving guild in NH. i found them last year when i was looking up places to purchase some roving to learn to spin. i'm not sure about ME having one but i am sure there is a guild that could help you out. this is the NH guild http://www.nhsdg.org/ here's one i found for Maine http://www.mainespinnersregistry.org/

now i have my spinning wheel i just need to get the drive band for it to start practicing! you might also be able to find some directions online on how to process the fur so it doesn't 'felt' on you when you try and clean it. you might have better luck looking up cat fur spinning since i know there was a lady that did cat grooming and would use the shaved fur to spin and knit into little purses to sell. or look up angora rabbit fur spinning. i forgot some people use the groomed fur from those overly fluffy buns!

 

[bj taylor]

when we went to buy our goats yesterday, the man had just sheared his LGDs. they were great Pyrenees/Anatolian mix. he said he sheared them just like sheep.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Thanks all. I certainly appreciate the art of spinning and things like that. I think it is amazing actually. Currently, it is just not on the list of things "to learn". It is very good to know from all of you though that people do spin with things other than wool. Once I get these dogs done, I will just put the fiber up on craigslist and see if there is any interest.

Ridgerunner, that is pretty cool that your wife weaves. Another skill that is very useful but going by the wayside. I can't imagine the time commitment into projects like that. It truely is a work of art!

ChickiesMomma, Great suggestion on the cleaning part. I had a lady tell me to check it to see if it would "felt" because there is also a market out there for felting material as well. Who knew?!

bj, I believe it! Their undercoat, really, really feels and looks like wool.

 

[ninnymary]

Stubbornhillfarm, I can't for the life of me figure out what LGD stands for. The only thing I can come up with is large great dane.

Mary

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

livestock guarding dog. usually something big and somewhat fluffy like a Great Pyrenees or Anatolian Sheepdog.

 

[ninnymary]

Thanks Chickies, I thought it was a type of dog breed.

Mary

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

oh, i found this. it might be of some help to you if you decide to use the fur to spin. http://joyofhandspinning.com/how-to-wash-your-fleece/ i bought a fleece a few months back and will be giving this a try myself sometime this weekend. will also try dying it too.

 

[Jared77]

My parents have a Great Pyrenees and the breeder they got him from uses a http://www.furminator.com/ and anything thats bagged up is given to a friend of theirs who spins it. Mind you they have a number of Pyrs so I'm sure they could start their own line of clothing with as much as they pull out of them!

They showed my parents a pair of mittens that were made from it. Pretty cool stuff.

I use a furminator on our Goldens and it works. Its amazing how much it will pull out of them. Use it outside and in the spring/fall when the season changes.