Still haven't found a dedicated handspinning community, but I'm hoping this will tempt some of y'all to the dark side ๐
I spun this last year, but haven't yet found a project worthy of it (open to suggestions!). Fiber is Merino wool, colorway is Tie Dyed Popsicles by the Wooly Witch, spun on my Babe's Fiber Starter wheel. It's about 15-16 WPI, so roughly a light fingering weight, and 170g. Planning to leave it a single since plying it might muddy those glorious, glorious colors, and that would be a travesty! ๐
Still a fairly new spinner, all things considered, and mostly self-taught, so I'm open to any constructive criticism and willing to answer any questions y'all might have! Thanks for letting me briefly invade your knitting space! ๐
OP, is there anything you do with the raw wool to avoid potential health issues? Maybe a specific way that you wash or treat materials to avoid any diseases that livestock can carry?
Admittedly, I've never processed my own wool before, but I do know the combed top roving I generally use is subject to a pretty long cleaning and preparation process. I know that the first thing to go is the natural body oils of the animal as well as any barnyard debris that might carry bacteria. Dyed wool, like what I've used here, is also bleached first to remove any natural variation in the color of the wool that might interfere with the dye color. The difference between dyed combed top roving and wool yarn you'd find at the store is one water bath to set the twist. I found this site detailing the process here: Processing Wool to Yarn
If you're still concerned about it, there are vegan alternatives, such as bamboo or flax fibers out there! I get a lot of my supplies from thespinnerystore.com (not affiliated, just a fan) and they stock a fair few alternative fibers.
Thank you for the detail, we're excited to figure this out so my wife can get started spinning her own fiber.
Glad I could help! If you're interested, Worldwide Spin in Public day is the third Saturday in September, so you might check if your LYS is celebrating! They'll have better suggestions specific to your area and might even have some basic spindles and fiber to get you started!