BYC Spinning Fiber

[ninny]

Thanks! I think I'll wash it. Now to decide what to do with it. I'm getting 2lbs white and 1lb each of light brown, dark brown and gray. My friend who has them wanted me to make him things instead of paying for them. I want to see how this year goes first. What do you suggest doing with it? I want to have a lb to dye and keep a lb natural of the white. I would like to have things to take to a craft show this fall. So i'm thinking hats winter stuff.

 

[Chiramc]

New to the Forum and a relatively new spinner. I'm being brave. But ... craft shows - hey - old pro here.

The down side of making hats for sale is folks want to try them on. That is fine, but ... not everyone is hygenic and there is a risk. I know - but felt the need to put it out there. The same is true to a lesser extent for gloves. hand warmers and scarves.

Enough ick. You are competing with machines and acrylics. I don't care what the "artists" say, it's true. You can have beautiful items, but if the average person can't afford them, they will not sell. And people will not tell you that you items are over priced, they will just walk away. Craft shows are not art shows. You should know the difference.

Barter is always good, but you need to figure your yield and your time vs. cash price. Unless you have a vendor turned to friend, and that makes all the difference. You can also take "custom orders" but do get your cost of materials in advance. That way, if something happens, you can sell it elsewhere and take the loss on your labor.

It has to be "cool" weather for wool items to sell. I don't know why no one thinks in advance, but they don't. So save the money on the fees for the summer shows and know you will be working weekends fall and spring.

Lessons learned -- for what it is worth.

 

[peepacheep]

Wise words Chiramc and welcome to BYC.

Ninny, my husband and I have done craft shows for 2 decades. There can be a fine line between time and materials and what people are willing to pay for an item be it a handmade coffee mug, wood salad bowl, or hand knit socks. This can vary show to show depending on demographics, advertising, local economy, and whether it is a free come-one-come-all street fair or an indoor $10 dollar admission fee craft show. Juried craft shows have worked the best for us to sell higher end wood work, but we did lots and lots of outdoor festivals early on. Like wool, it we have found it is harder to sell wood vessels and sculpture when it is over 80 degrees.

Is it a thought to make some bright felted purses? Some fun colorful beaded jewelry with the hand spun? Something that would work in a gift price range? I would be tempted to spend time on Etsy looking at other people's fiber work to see what sparks and inspires me, to not copy, but to explore different techniques. Take an idea and use it as a jumping point. Will this be your first craft show? Most important advise I can say is to have fun. We have met so many friends over the years doing craft shows and have learned so much from other crafts people. I am very curious to see what you come up with!

 

[ninny]

Thank you! I am hopeing that I can do some this fall. But I have baby number two coming in August. I'm thinking maybe spring will be the better bet. I'm sewing baby bibs as a quick sell about 1 to 2 dollars a piece. Going to stay with baby things for now I think. I may take some drop spindles and roving. Spin while I'm there, should catch someones eye. How can I find out about craft shows in my area and fiber festivals too. I'm really wanted a used ashford kiwi spinning wheel I think. I've heard good things about them.

 

[peepacheep]

There is at least one subscription craft show guide that has been around a long time. We have done west coast and east coast shows. I do not know much about shows in your area. Local crafts people and spinning suppliers in your area maybe the best source of info. I only go to one fiber festival a year, it would be way too hard on the budget otherwise!

I tried lots of different wheels, when a Louet S10 came up on Craig's list I was already familiar with the model. It was a fraction of the cost of a new one. I have been spinning on it for 6 months and am very happy with it.

Congrats on baby #2!!!!

 

[ninny]

I have yet to be able to find a wheel to try unfortunately. The kiwi was suggested to me and the reviews on it seem good.

 

[itsy]

Earlier in the season, I was contacted by a herding dog trainer to ask if I wanted 6 free sheep fleeces. They were Dorset, Shetland and Dorset X Shetland. I drove down there ASAP and picked up some awesome fleeces.

I was just contacted today by a fellow who has 13 sheep that were just shorn yesterday. Three are Dorset and the rest is a mixed flock. He said I could have them all for free and they were done professionally.... so I will, of course, pick those up this week!

My question.... Why do so many people keep sheep if they have no intention of using or selling the fleece? I don't believe the second person is eating them. Just as very expensive pets? A tax break on their property?

Either way.... I get free fleece

::does a little dance::

 

[tamberlin]

Wow! What are you going to do with all that wool?

 

[itsy]

That's a good question! I washed a pound of one of the fleeces myself and spun it...then knit it into a hat. lol. I believe I'm going to bring the rest of it to a mill here in NY to have it processed into roving. I'll probably dye the roving and then sell it and spin up some of it myself. Depending on how the fleeces are, I may have some of it machine spun so I could dye those skeins.

I'm not quite sure...

I'm shopping around right now for the best mill prices possible.... I didn't think it would be so expensive to do, but apparently - it is.

 

[bnjrob]

My question.... Why do so many people keep sheep if they have no intention of using or selling the fleece? I don't believe the second person is eating them. Just as very expensive pets? A tax break on their property?

Either way.... I get free fleece

::does a little dance::

I think they intend to do something with the fiber but just never do it. Selling things isn't always easy - getting set up to sell, pricing, marketing, actually cleaning it since some spinners are loathe to buy any fiber if it doesn't come already combed/carded, etc.

I knew of a woman several years ago that gave me a bit of fleece. She said that she had fleece in bags all over her house - probably several hundred pounds of it, but just had never gotten around to setting up shop to sell it. I wouldn't be surprised if she has several hundred pounds of felted wool on her hands by now.