Expensive yarns???

I have raised sheep on the farm and I have an inkling of how much a
pound of wool costs to raise and, well it all seems way too much!
Perhaps, I should return to the farm and raise wool myself, eh?

Padishar Creel

This info will give you a basic idea of some of the expenses involved for a
lb of wool before processing. Eugene doesn't factor in the care of the sheep
or the cost of processing.
http://www.philosopherswool.com/Page...ophersWool.htm
DA

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 15:00:37 GMT, Wooly spewed forth :

probably two weeks' of my life, if we figure a week as a standard
40-hour day - 80 hours of spinning, perhaps half that in the knitting.

I should not be allowed near a keyboard until I've had at LEAST two
coffees.

A "week" is comprised of five 8-hour days, 40 hours of work.

Hah!

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

I figured that right away, and was GOING to say, Wooly hadn't had enough
coffee when she typed that one!
LOL!
Noreen


--
change n e t to c o m to email/reply to me.
"Wooly" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 15:00:37 GMT, Wooly spewed forth :

probably two weeks' of my life, if we figure a week as a standard
40-hour day - 80 hours of spinning, perhaps half that in the knitting.

I should not be allowed near a keyboard until I've had at LEAST two
coffees.

A "week" is comprised of five 8-hour days, 40 hours of work.

Hah!

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Folks that spin AND knit, work way too hard!

Aaron
"Wooly" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 05:40:01 -0700, Leah
spewed forth :

Handmade yarns take a LOT of handiwork to produce from harvesting, to
cleaning, to spinning, to dyeing, to marketing, to shipping, etc., so
most of what you pay for premium yarns is for the labor involved in
producing it.

Yep. Manos del Uruguay comes to mind as a rather well-known hand-spun
yarn. That stuff is now up to about $14/hank I believe.

If you know how to spin, and how to dye, you can buy a fleece or
whatever natural material and make your own yarn, and probably save a
lot in processing and shipping fees.

I've spun and knit myself one sweater, among the many small handspun
projects I've made. That spinning for that sweater accounted for
probably two weeks' of my life, if we figure a week as a standard
40-hour day - 80 hours of spinning, perhaps half that in the knitting.
Most "working" knitters can't afford the investment of time
represented by handspun.

I won't knit with anything I won't wear. Since I'm a fiber snob that
means I don't work with acrylic, except as nylon incidental to wool
sock yarn. There are plenty of frugal natural-fiber yarns on the
market if you'll but take the time to look.

Brown Sheep American-made yarns are good value for money: well-spun,
durable when properly cared for, and modestly priced.

Nashua (distributed by Rowan) is VERY nicely priced. The alpaca/wool
line comes in two different weights, $8 ball and as much as 220 yards
per ball. I made an ample scarf from two balls. A friend eked a vest
out of four, and one could probably manage a sweater from 8.

Cascade220. MSRP is still under $7/hank, 220 yards per hank, and I
have yet to find a piece of hay in a hank of it, and I've used a LOT
of Cascade. Cascade220 Superwash is somewhat less thrifty at
$9-10/ball but each ball is 220 yards and the superwash makes it
suitable for kidwear.

Harrisville Designs, Jaggerspun and Bartlett Yarns are three American
spinning mills that produce excellent quality wool and wool-blend
yarns.

Meg Swansen's yarn offerings at SchoolHouse Press (all 100% wool) are
the very nature of frugal. If you wear an average size (say, a 36)
you can buy your sweater yarn for as little as $60.

elann.com has already been recommended. As has been said, order more
than you think you'll need because you won't be able to get more
later, unless you're buying out of their house line.

KnitPicks has gained a cult-like following with the "make it on a
budget" crowd for its inexpensive natural-fiber yarns. I personally
regard KP as an up-and-coming Walmart of the yarn world. I won't buy
the stuff, and I trade it along if I happen to acquire some in a swap.
I did make one pair of socks out of standard KP sock yarn to see how
they stand up against my Opal, Trekking and Meilenweit socks. So far
I'm unimpressed.

BaBaJoe's WoolPak used to be widely available, but I've been having
trouble finding it for the last year or two. Three hanks of the
10-ply is more than adequate for an average adult sweater (with
matching cap!). The last RETAIL price I paid was $19/hank, I've
gotten it for as little as $13/hank on sale.

A good tool for researching yarn quality and pricing before you commit
is (beat the horse, Wooly) http://www.wiseneedle.com All of the
reviews are written by knitters who have worked with the yarns they're
reviewing. Kim vets the technical info about the yarns before she
adds a review to the DB. The reviews themselves are the opinions of
the individual knitters.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Hi Wooly,

Just remember I'm still around when you get yarn you don't want.

Hugs,

Nora

in a word, Aaron... multi-tasking, grin!
Noreen

who knits, spins, crochets, tats, works bobbinlace and is currently hooked
on Sudoku besides!

--
change n e t to c o m to email/reply to me.
wrote in message
. net...
Folks that spin AND knit, work way too hard!

Aaron
"Wooly" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 05:40:01 -0700, Leah
spewed forth :

Handmade yarns take a LOT of handiwork to produce from harvesting, to
cleaning, to spinning, to dyeing, to marketing, to shipping, etc., so
most of what you pay for premium yarns is for the labor involved in
producing it.

Yep. Manos del Uruguay comes to mind as a rather well-known hand-spun
yarn. That stuff is now up to about $14/hank I believe.

If you know how to spin, and how to dye, you can buy a fleece or
whatever natural material and make your own yarn, and probably save a
lot in processing and shipping fees.

I've spun and knit myself one sweater, among the many small handspun
projects I've made. That spinning for that sweater accounted for
probably two weeks' of my life, if we figure a week as a standard
40-hour day - 80 hours of spinning, perhaps half that in the knitting.
Most "working" knitters can't afford the investment of time
represented by handspun.

I won't knit with anything I won't wear. Since I'm a fiber snob that
means I don't work with acrylic, except as nylon incidental to wool
sock yarn. There are plenty of frugal natural-fiber yarns on the
market if you'll but take the time to look.

Brown Sheep American-made yarns are good value for money: well-spun,
durable when properly cared for, and modestly priced.

Nashua (distributed by Rowan) is VERY nicely priced. The alpaca/wool
line comes in two different weights, $8 ball and as much as 220 yards
per ball. I made an ample scarf from two balls. A friend eked a vest
out of four, and one could probably manage a sweater from 8.

Cascade220. MSRP is still under $7/hank, 220 yards per hank, and I
have yet to find a piece of hay in a hank of it, and I've used a LOT
of Cascade. Cascade220 Superwash is somewhat less thrifty at
$9-10/ball but each ball is 220 yards and the superwash makes it
suitable for kidwear.

Harrisville Designs, Jaggerspun and Bartlett Yarns are three American
spinning mills that produce excellent quality wool and wool-blend
yarns.

Meg Swansen's yarn offerings at SchoolHouse Press (all 100% wool) are
the very nature of frugal. If you wear an average size (say, a 36)
you can buy your sweater yarn for as little as $60.

elann.com has already been recommended. As has been said, order more
than you think you'll need because you won't be able to get more
later, unless you're buying out of their house line.

KnitPicks has gained a cult-like following with the "make it on a
budget" crowd for its inexpensive natural-fiber yarns. I personally
regard KP as an up-and-coming Walmart of the yarn world. I won't buy
the stuff, and I trade it along if I happen to acquire some in a swap.
I did make one pair of socks out of standard KP sock yarn to see how
they stand up against my Opal, Trekking and Meilenweit socks. So far
I'm unimpressed.

BaBaJoe's WoolPak used to be widely available, but I've been having
trouble finding it for the last year or two. Three hanks of the
10-ply is more than adequate for an average adult sweater (with
matching cap!). The last RETAIL price I paid was $19/hank, I've
gotten it for as little as $13/hank on sale.

A good tool for researching yarn quality and pricing before you commit
is (beat the horse, Wooly) http://www.wiseneedle.com All of the
reviews are written by knitters who have worked with the yarns they're
reviewing. Kim vets the technical info about the yarns before she
adds a review to the DB. The reviews themselves are the opinions of
the individual knitters.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

What wonderful information from you all! I learned a great deal
today...thank you...

Padishar Creel - who always orders an extra ball or two for every
project..GRIN

I just ordered a big pile of one yarn so I can do several projects without
knitting new swatches.

Aaron
"Padishar Creel" wrote in message
oups.com...
What wonderful information from you all! I learned a great deal
today...thank you...

Padishar Creel - who always orders an extra ball or two for every
project..GRIN

LOL I must admit, I *was* wondering what planet you were on. g

Higs,
Katherine

Wooly wrote:
On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 15:00:37 GMT, Wooly spewed forth :

probably two weeks' of my life, if we figure a week as a standard
40-hour day - 80 hours of spinning, perhaps half that in the
knitting.

I should not be allowed near a keyboard until I've had at LEAST two
coffees.

A "week" is comprised of five 8-hour days, 40 hours of work.

Hah!

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Good idea.

Higs,
Katherine

wrote:
I just ordered a big pile of one yarn so I can do several projects
without knitting new swatches.

Aaron
"Padishar Creel" wrote in message
oups.com...
What wonderful information from you all! I learned a great deal
today...thank you...

Padishar Creel - who always orders an extra ball or two for every
project..GRIN