(no subject)
Feb. 11th, 2020 08:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unicorndukemy favorite fiber dyer has just discontinued the base fiber that I liked so much :'(
they're switching entirely to merino or blends with nylon, which. fine I guess.
They just aren't my favorite to spin because they are much better suited to short draw and I only really do long draw. You can long draw them, but its much more difficult.
now there's the decision of: do I buy the discontinued fibers that are left in their shop or do I stick to my resolution not to buy fiber until may?
I did just spend a ton of money on seed orders......and I already have a ton of fiber.......
(is this what fomo is)
ugh
they're switching entirely to merino or blends with nylon, which. fine I guess.
They just aren't my favorite to spin because they are much better suited to short draw and I only really do long draw. You can long draw them, but its much more difficult.
now there's the decision of: do I buy the discontinued fibers that are left in their shop or do I stick to my resolution not to buy fiber until may?
I did just spend a ton of money on seed orders......and I already have a ton of fiber.......
(is this what fomo is)
ugh
no subject
Date: 2020-02-11 04:10 pm (UTC)If they can't get the long base (at a reasonable price, reliably, etc.) you likely can't. (Unless you want to take up producing it, which has a definite feel of "and the Devil crept up behind them" even to type.)
So your non-be-sad options would appear to be to stock up and hope for a better future, or to add to your spinning capability so the short draw stuff is fun/practical. (Which might not be an option, but if it's a question of the wheel rather than your preference you could plausibly get another wheel instead of buying out the remaining stock of the pretty-and-fun-to-spin stuff.)
If the wheel option is cheaper/comparable, it's a permanent gain in capability and thus inherently preferable. If the fun-spinning issue isn't the wheel, buying up the remaining fun-to-spin stock, provided this doesn't threaten rent or nutrition, seems like a no-brainer. (the supply of fun spinning inputs has gone from a flow to a finite, shrinking stock; the most fun-spinning future available is to have all of the stock.)
This may not have been helpful, but I hope it might be.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-11 04:33 pm (UTC)The long vs short draw is entirely how to spin preference, I hate short draw spinning, its just not comfortable for me and I find it annoying so I prefer the fiber types that lend themselves to long draw, which is ones with more crimp and length. Merino: not so much.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-11 04:46 pm (UTC)Glad it helped!
(Given that short-draw is annoying, you might-maybe need to find a shepherd with a heritage flock of something. I'd bet you could do a deal with Lady Llama on the order of "I get a quarter of this back, you sell the rest" were you to show up with some long-draw fibre.)
no subject
Date: 2020-02-11 05:02 pm (UTC)I've got some great sources on heritage breeds and I'm actually working on a project with that right now where I'm spinning as many types of fibers as I can. Blog is here And once I figure out what I like, I'm going to spin a lot of it lol. The sheep and wool festivals are great for this sort of thing and I'm planning to make the trip down to MD in may for that festival.
I do want to look around for some more indie dyers doing neat stuff with various fibers, finding them is the problem, but again, festivals. That's where I found Llady Llama, so they are out there!
no subject
Date: 2020-02-11 05:22 pm (UTC)I recall your long list of fibres! And may you have the best of luck at festivals!