What mill do you use?

[Roving Jacobs]

Yeah Roving, I got the impression that the mill we visited encouraged you to get them to wash the fleeces, because if they get a fleece in that isn't quite lanolin free it can mess up their drums.

I found a mill relatively close to me in PA that can do my cormo. I would prefer to hand deliver my fleeces instead of shipping. What a pain. How do you even ship your fleeces? Or do you drop them off at a fiber festival?

Now you've sold me on the rug yarn idea.

Usually either my mom or I just drive to mills that are close enough to get to in a day but dropping them off at a fiber fest we're going to anyway is easier. I dropped off a big load at Great Lakes Fiber Show last year because there were a lot of good mills picking up there. The mill either calls us to pick it up when they are done or they mail it back in a giant box. I just had someone in OR buy 5 lbs of seconds from me and I just squished it as much as possible into a plastic lined box and dropped it at the post office. $16 for shipping! I gave them a deal on the fiber because it was unwashed seconds I wasn't doing anything with so they were happy to pay for shipping luckily.

 

[SillyChicken]

http://www.roundbarnfiber.com/ I am thinking about sending my fleeces to this place. They have all new equipment and prices seem reasonable.

 

[norseofcourse]

Ohio Valley Natural Fibers is closing I'm sorry to find out about this, since they are one of the few mills I'd found that can handle longer fibers (12 inches plus). I don't know if they'll sell their equipment piecemeal, or try to find someone who wants it all, to start up another fiber mill.

I'm considering doing mine myself. I don't need mine spun into yarn, I just need it washed, picked and carded into roving. I have a drum carder now. I've been reading about the 'suint' method of washing fiber, and I'd like to try it - just have to wait for warmer weather. And I've seen plans to make your own wool picker (they look scary, but it's neat how they work). I may experiment with one fleece this next summer, just to see what it's like.