BYFC - Random Tip #6

 Speaking of roving...

If you are spinning right along and everything is going well and then you pick up a new length of roving to join on (or from the start) and all of the sudden things go off the rails and the fiber is not drafting smoothly and you are getting a bunch of jagged thick and thin spots and what on earth is going on here...?!?

Turn the roving around and spin from the other end. 

Most of the time you can run your hand loosely down the roving and feel that it's catching or grabbing a little if you are working from the wrong end. Sometimes you can't.  Regardless, at least try spinning from the other direction.  

If that doesn't work and you really can't see anything physically wrong with the roving, stop and take a break.  You'd be surprised by how much a cup of tea helps your spinning (or anything else) sometimes :-).

BYFC - Random Tip #5

When you are first learning to spin, don't be tempted by those beautifully colored braids of combed top.  Well, you can definitely be tempted and it's perfectly fine to add them to your future stash because...beautiful.  I just don't recommend trying to learn to spin with one of those.  

I'm not saying you can't learn to spin with them, but if you are trying and you are getting frustrated and not having fun, switch to roving.

What is the difference between combed top and roving?  Combed top has been...combed...and roving has been carded, which is more like brushed.  

Top is all the same length with all the super smooth fibers lined up side by side all matchy matchy.  At home I make that with actual metal tined wool combs.  I'm not sure how the commercial mills process it...now that I think about it.

Roving is all mixed together and can be different lengths and the fibers are all swirled around in less organized fluffy...fluffy-ness. This brushing can be done by a commercial mill with huge multi-drum machines or at home with a hand cranked drum carder or even using hand cards.

The picture above is roving.  See how it's fuzzy and airy and even a little messy looking?  This is Mini Moose and not only has it been processed as roving, but his wool is what I think of as a perfect medium wool.  Medium length, medium amount of crimp, medium fiber strand thickness, medium softness...  

A perfect learn to spin wool :-).

BYFC - Random Tip #4

I hope everyone is enjoying the 2026 Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl.  There are several locations open throughout this week and almost all are open again for the upcoming weekend.  Check the map for locations nearby!  We are open Wednesday from 4:00 to 8:00 and Saturday from 11:00 to 4:00.

Today's tip involves sheep care.  One of the most important things to put into place as soon, or before, you get any animals is making sure you have a safe and easy way (for you and your animals) to gather everyone into a small area so you can safely and easily catch even the wildest of the flock.

It's very important to do regular health checks and hoof maintenance, especially through the hot and sometimes wet summer months.  It's super important to be able to easily and calmly get your hands on a sheep who's having a problem.  It's much less stressful on everyone if this isn't a rodeo every time.

A sheep who's been injured does not need to be further injured by trying to grab them on the run in a large pen or out in the field.  

A sheep who appears to be sick does not need the extra stress of running...  

You and your help don't need the risk of injury trying to grab someone as they run past or being run over by a panicked group of sheep.

Create a small place where you can crowd enough sheep together so they can't go too far and there are enough "blockers" (big fat quiet sheep, usually of the Nistock variety :-) in the group to help corner the one you are trying to catch. 

We have a series of gates that close to bring the sheep in tighter and tighter until they are in a "working pen".  I start by closing all the outside barn gates, then move all the sheep into the outside shed and close that gate.  Then I push them all into the working pen and close that gate.  

It helps a lot that our outside shed is long and narrow and basically becomes a chute as I walk that last gate closed.  Play around with your set up and figure out what works best.  Gates are your friends :-).

Here I have 18 sheep crowded into a 12' x 12' area.

This is a good amount for my particular flock.  If yours are wilder, you may need to go tighter.  If they are really wild, you may need taller gates...   

You may need a second person or a good herding dog to help you push them all into the small pen in the beginning.  

Use common sense and don't wait until you need to catch them.  Practice penning them for fun things like cookie parties so that when you DO need to catch them, they aren't panicked trying to figure out what's going on.

Here I'm doing a routine FAMACHA check.  I think it's funny how the same sheep are always near the last to be caught.  This is Muffin, who even though she's been doing this very easy, painless check for over nine years, still tries to hide until the very end.  

Guess who's ALWAYS the biggest baby and very last to get checked. :-D

BYFC - Random Tip #3

Tip #1 talked about using contrasting colors in your roving to help see your angle of twist.  Today's tip is about creating contrast under your yarns to make it easier to see what's going on with not only twist, but also your drafting zone (the triangle between my fingers) and how thick or thin you want to spin...

You could make a special spinner's contrast cloth or apron with a light and dark side...

...or you could use a dark and light pillow case or t-shirts or even just wear dark or light clothes.

BYFC - Random Tip #2

Would you really like to knit a sweater, but are too intimidated to try?  Make a teddy bear sweater first!  You are probably going to make a mistake or two, but if you have to rip it out and try something again and maybe even a third (or fourth) time, you are only ripping out a small amount of knitting, not a crying amount whole month  of knitting.

There are quite a few patterns on Ravelry and other places online.  You can try raglan sleeves, drop sleeves, top down or bottom up, sweaters in the round or in flat pieces...

I wanted to try a cable sweater and picked this fun one for Chocula Chip.

Tiny sweaters are also a great way to test your handspun yarn for suitability in a bigger project...but that's a tip for another day ;-).