Join instructor Rachel Smith in this extensive workshop exploring various sheep breeds available for spinning, including fine and medium wools, long and down, and double-coated and primitive wools. Within each class of wool, we will explore what classifies them within that category, some of the uniting characteristics and reflections about the yarns we can create with these different wools available to hand-spinners.
Spinning Sheep Breeds will provide an excellent ground for you to continue your own study of wool, spinning and yarn. Included in this workshop, we:
- learn the differences between wool classified as fine, medium, long, down and primitive wools.
- show how to spin the wool and the thoughts behind these choices.
- explore uses for the yarns we make from various wools.
- talk about project planning and inspire you to use your own handspun.
This workshop is not meant to be exhaustive but is meant to provide a good foundation of learning, particularly for those new to spinning different sheep breeds and recognizing that there are various types of wool.
Share your course progress and work with us! You can find the chat over at the SOS Community Forums and tag us on Instagram with #sosspinning and #schoolofsweetgeorgia.
You want to know one of the hardest parts of being a dyer…? The names!!! 🤣🙈😅
It might just be me, but I am the worst at coming up with names. I've been staring at this color on my wheel for almost two weeks and I have been trying to come up with a name but I've got squat. Seriously, I've got nothing.
So, if you happen to have any good names for this colorway… I would be incredibly grateful if you could drop them below! 😊
I finished my first handspun socks!
Okay, so a lot of you have been asking for a fiber update and I am going to go ahead and set a date. I have a bunch of fiber already dyed but just need to get it photographed and listed on my website. I was going to be ambitious and shoot for June 24th so it would be the week before Tour De Fleece starts, but life has been hectic and I told myself I deserve a break (I was shocked I was actually able to convince myself… 🤣).
Therefore, I will be having a fiber update on July 1st 19:00 CEST! This update will include Merino Sock, Corriedale, and BFL. I will have other fibers in the future (I already have kilos of other breeds purchased… 🙈) but these are the ones I've been able to test myself so far!
So, who's ready to get spinning? 🚴♀️🧶
Extending on what we learned in Diana Twiss @dianatwiss's first Colour & Play course, learn strategies for larger fibre prep quantities in the drum carder and on the blending board in Colour & Fibre Play II! Learn how to prep your different fibres before blending them, how thin to add your fibre layers, how much to add to your equipment and much more at the course page – link in bio!
Are you a new or newer spinner looking for just the right spinning fibre to help you on your hand spinning journey?
Don't miss reading Debbie Held @doodler01's Best Wool for New Spinners post where she talks about the traits to look for that can make spinning with certain wool breeds and preparations easier for those who are learning. It's also important to try as many varieties as you can get your hands on – this excitement keeps you coming back to the wheel, and that is how we learn to spin!
Read the post at the SOS site – link in bio »
In the new SOS Colour & Fibre Play II workshop taught by Diana Twiss @dianatwiss, we further explore some of the themes taught in her first Colour & Fibre Play workshop, where we looked at textured and heathered yarns. In that workshop we focused on the tools; blending tools like hand carders, drum carders, hackles, and the blending board. In this workshop, we take it one step further and we look at what we learned from that – how to make more of those beautiful small batch yarns!
How can we make more of these yarns – how do we maintain those pops and rivers of colour, and maintain that consistency over a huge project?
Learn more at the Colour & Fibre Play II course with Diana, where she talks about scaling up and scaling out. Find all the info at the course page »
To all the spinners out there, what resources did use to help learn to spin?
I have clearly fallen down the rabbit hole and I want to soak in all the information. I've Googled and YouTubed as much as I could and have also been binge watching spinning courses from schoolofsweetgeorgia , but I know there is still so much to learn!
I have a tendency to throw myself 115% into anything new I try because I love to learn and I guess the same has happened here. So, any tips you can give me on how I can gain more knowledge are very appreciated! 😊
NEW at the SCHOOL // Following the first Colour & Fibre Play course over at the schoolofsweetgeorgia, we're excited to continue the wonderful spinning journey further at the new Colour & Fibre Play II, taught by Diana Twiss dianatwiss!
As fibre artists, we are often faced with the challenge of successfully repeating something – and this challenge is even steeper when you are blending fibres and colours to make a unique yarn. In this fabulous online spinning course, Diana guides you through techniques to scale up from 30 grams of a unique fibre blend to 500 grams or more. In addition to making larger amounts, learn spinning and plying techniques to illustrate the variety of yarns you can get from the same blend (whether done on a drum carder, blending board, or even hand carders).
Learn more at the course page – link in bio »
If you're not yet an SOS Member, we invite you to come and see what the School is all about! Using the code: SPRINGSTART you can get 7 days for $1 and then 10% off your SOS membership. We can't wait to see you there!
Following the previously released SOS Colour & Fibre Play course, we're so excited to continue the wonderful spinning journey further at the new Colour & Fibre Play II, taught by Diana Twiss @dianatwiss!
As fibre artists, we are often faced with the challenge of successfully repeating something – and this challenge is even steeper when you are blending fibres and colours to make a unique yarn. In this course, Diana guides you through techniques to scale up from 30 grams of a unique fibre blend to 500 grams or more. In addition to making larger amounts, learn spinning and plying techniques to illustrate the variety of yarns you can get from the same blend (whether done on a drum carder, blending board, or even hand carders).
Learn more at Colour & Fibre Play II – now available at the School (link in bio) »
We hope you also share your adventures and successes with the SOS fibre learning community over in the forums, so we can keep the learning going!
#sosspinning #dianatwiss #schoolofsweetgeorgia #spinning #spinningyarn #spinningworkshop #spinningfiber #blendingboard #spinnersofinstagram
The Spinning Sheep Breeds course is broken into separate modules:
- Module 1: Fine & Medium Wools
- Module 2: Long Wools
- Module 3: Down and Down-like Wools
- Module 4: Primitive & Double-Coated Wools
- Module 5: Conclusion
Buy a Spinning Sheep Breeds Kits at the SweetGeorgia shop »
Remember your 15% off discount as a SOS member available here!
Download the Spinning Sheep Breeds workbook »
Access the School of SweetGeorgia Sheep Breeds Chart »
Save a copy of it to your Google Drive for personal use.
Download the Fine and Medium Sheep Breeds full video transcript »
Download the Long Wools Sheep Breeds full video transcript »
Download the Down and Down Type Wools Sheep Breeds full video transcript »
Download the Double Coated & Primitive Wools Sheep Breeds & Module 5 full video transcript »
Download the FULL COURSE video transcript>>
Have questions about this course? Click here to discuss it in the forum »
Course Content
About Instructor
