Spinning Wheels

I have desperately been trying to get a spinning wheel because I would love to learn to spin my own yarn from the fiber raised on my future farm. I want to get a start on this as soon as possible so that by the time I have the farm I will be skilled enough to spin sellable, high quality yarns.

In the mean time, I'll just spin mediocre yarns for my mediocre knitting projects.

When I started my spinning wheel research, I was actually shocked to find that there are many more varieties and designs of wheels than I ever imagined. Initially, I pictured myself with the kind of spinning wheel that has shown up in fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. Through exhaustive online research, however, I found myself favoring more modern-style wheels. Below are two collections of some of my favorite traditional and modern wheels.

Traditional wheels clockwise from top left:

-Kromski Minstrel $419-$539

-Clemes and Clemes Traditional $855

-Schact Reeves Saxony $1268-$1520

-Kromski Prelude $349-$435

-Ashford Elizabeth $690-$1030

(Variable pricing is due to wood and finishing options)

Modern wheels clockwise from top left:

-Schacht Ladybug $525

-SpinOlution Mach II $649

-Clemes & Clemes Modern $459

-Hitchhiker Spinning Wheel $289-$349

-Lendrum Original $500-$622

If I could afford any wheel I wanted, I would absolutely buy the SpinOlution Mach II. I absolutely love the look of it and it would perfectly compliment our mixed modern style. Since I would practically consider my spinning wheel a piece of furniture when not being used, the MachII would be the most aesthetically pleasing for me. Second choice would be the Schacht Ladybug, as I like the mixed media metal and wood combination.

Since I have virtually zero dollars at this moment, I will probably end up getting one of the cheapest spinning wheels around. Babe spinning wheels are actually very well rated and the only reason they are so cheap is because they are made using PVC pipe rather than wood.

This is the Babe Production Double-Treadle wheel made out of white PVC pipe, a black wheelchair wheel and some pieces of wood. At $239, this will end up being the rig that I learn on while I save up money for the more expensive and more attractive Mach II.

Book: Living With Sheep

I just finished an AMAZING book called Living With Sheep by Chuck Wooster. Within the first few pages I fell in love with his style of writing and as someone wanting to dive into shepherding, he wrote in a no-nonsense, uncomplicated way about every aspect of sheep keeping.

He has an uncanny knack for soothing the worries of unsure shepherds, especially when writing about the potential problems that can develop in a flock. Since he himself was thrown into the world of sheep on a whim, he writes from experience about having no experience.


Another aspect I enjoyed was that although the book is not touted as an earth-friendly guide to sheep keeping, he did include many tips on how to work in harmony with your land rather than against it. He warns against things like letting sheep run wild in forested land as they will girdle the trees, eventually killing them.

Overall, his easily read style of writing and the wonderful full-page color photos make this what I thought to be a very thorough and enjoyable guide for the shepherd who is just starting out. He even includes a calendar in the back reiterating all the seasonal items he mentioned throughout the book (when to increase food, inoculate, deworm, sheer).

Here is an excerpt from the introduction. You can read the whole introduction at the Living With Sheep website here.

"Why sheep? Because sheep are soft and fuzzy and big enough to be challenging--yet not so big they can kill you with a kick or a butt. Because sheep have lambs. Because sheep are easy companions who require little beyond understanding. Because the wool sheep produce in abundance can be used for everything from sweaters to comforters to felt slippers to home insulation. And because, finally, as you sit in the hay on a spring morning with a warm, dry lamb sleeping in your arms and a watchful ewe breathing in your ear and nickering in the back of her throat to comfort the little fellow, you'll realize that you've grown unwilling to live without sheep."

All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in keeping sheep, or anyone who is simply interested in learning more about our ovine friends.

But don't take my word for it.

An Entirely New Endeavor

Recently, I have been transitioning towards a significant change in my life. I have decided to pursue the life of a fiber farmer, hand-spinner, knitter, fiber artist, entrepreneur, and shoveler of animal droppings.

The Fiber Flock is going to catalogue the most interesting aspects of the millions of things I will be learning on this grand new adventure with all these new labels.

I have always had childlike affection for sheep, goats, and other farm animals. As I have become more involved in the world of crafting, self-sufficiency, sustainability and homesteading- all of these concepts have collided in my head as a gleaming vision of me in Carhartts and knee-high Wellies proudly holding up the newest lamb in my flock.

I don't currently live on a farm, and I am either inexperienced or a complete novice at every one of the aforementioned labels, but I have plans to make the dream of running my own fiber farm a reality in about a year (two at the most). Until then, I will be learning as much as possible about being a shepherd, and about the ins and outs of processing fiber and making them into raw material and finished pieces. I will be posting interesting finds, great books, amazing artists, and whatever else I am learning about or find to be particularly interesting at the time. I could write about spinning wheels one day, and tractors the next. I never really know what I'll come across in a day's research.

So, here we go.