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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 1, 2015 0:24:11 GMT
Having just placed an order with WOW, I am hoping for delivery to USA within 2 weeks. I still think the postage is high for USA delivery. We spent 42 GBP on fiber with a shipping cost of 20 GBP. That was slightly under 2 kg of fiber, as an order placed for exactly 2 kg. sent us over to the next shipping fee level of 35 GBP. We eliminated our last 200 grams, as it would have cost an extra 15 GBP. We hope we will be so happy with the order that we won’t care about the postage!
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Post by Ali Iceloff on Mar 1, 2015 1:05:39 GMT
Having just placed an order with WOW, I am hoping for delivery to USA within 2 weeks. I still think the postage is high for USA delivery. We spent 42 GBP on fiber with a shipping cost of 20 GBP. That was slightly under 2 kg of fiber, as an order placed for exactly 2 kg. sent us over to the next shipping fee level of 35 GBP. We eliminated our last 200 grams, as it would have cost an extra 15 GBP. We hope we will be so happy with the order that we won’t care about the postage! I'd be interested to know what you think.....the prices are really great..and I like the selection. Do you mind sharing what you got? I confess I'm confused between carded wool and carded batts.....can anyone clarify?
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 1, 2015 1:14:25 GMT
I agree, the prices are good at WOW, but to be fair, you have to add back in the cost of shipping to the USA. In case, the proof is in the pudding, so we can evaluate properly once we receive the goods and can see the quality.
We ordered carded wool as well as batts: Lincoln, Southdown, South American, Jacob, Perendale, Manx, Massam, Norwegian, BFL, Whiteface Woodland and Rose Bush Fiber. We wanted Wensleydale, but they were out of stock.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 1, 2015 1:52:38 GMT
Ali, we're not sure of the difference either. But we do know what a batt is. ;-)
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Post by zed on Mar 1, 2015 12:12:00 GMT
I don't think World of Wool do 'carded wool' just carded batts. Carded wool would be anything carded, not tangled like washed or scoured wool/fleece Their 'fleeces' are scoured wool, sometimes dyed, if you look at their dyed BFL fleece, it looks the same as mine which I dyed recently (I dyed WoW scoured BFL) www.worldofwool.co.uk/products/272/dyed_fleeces/blue_faced_leicester_fleece.htmI didn't know until recently that wool roving is more common in the US than tops. The tops here from WoW are gorgeous, if you've only had roving, you'll be amazed. Obviously something like Manx Loaghtan is not as impressive as Merino, but still smoother than roving.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 1, 2015 18:05:33 GMT
The terminology can be a bit confusing, as we discovered when ordering from the WOW. It’s mostly roving here, although some shops sell “tops.” It will be interesting to see the differences.
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Post by Teri Berry on Mar 1, 2015 18:35:10 GMT
Am I correct in thinking roving is any washed and carded fleece while tops and sliver are long ropes of smoothly aligned wool fibres? The terms seem to get used interchangeably and I have never been able to figure out the difference!
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Post by zed on Mar 1, 2015 18:49:34 GMT
Roving is like tops, e.g long thin lengths, but the fibres are mostly combed in one direction. So if you used a diz and removed a narrow strip from the drum carder, that would be roving. Combed tops are the sheep equivalent of straightened salon washed hair I think Sliver is the same as tops, it's mostly used in terms of cotton though I have heard it used for wool. By the way, I always thought it was sliver to rhyme with river but at the Science and Industry Museum once, they said over here it's pronounced like the Liver of Liverbird, and in Yorkshire they rhyme it with river.
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Post by zara on Mar 1, 2015 23:00:15 GMT
So is the main difference between batts/roving and tops that the former has been carded while the latter has been combed? I have seen photos of "combs", but never used them myself. Always found these various terms confusing (we don't have translations to these in Swedish). In the meantime, I just continue carding my wool and felting... ;-)
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Post by Frances on Mar 1, 2015 23:09:56 GMT
Confusing - as long as it works I am happy
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 1, 2015 23:49:58 GMT
For the record roving is like a batt except it is in a long rope. Top goes though an extra process to have all the short fibers and nepps removed and the fibers are very aligned and smooth. Roving and batts are used to spin woollen yarn( for fluffy warm sweaters) and top is used to spin worsted yarn( thin wool thread for fine Italian suits) . Most of the wool you get in the states is top but many vendors call it roving either because they don't know or don't care. They use top and roving interchangeably. I have seen some very heated arguments on face book. the vendors using the wrong term usually just say well I like to call it roving So I am going to and you can't stop me. at witch point I picture them sticking their tongues out and stamping their foot. It is usually best to ask for clarification. True roving is hard to find. Batts seem to be getting more popular again they go in and out of fashion. The spinners are all going crazy to art batts and rollags. Sliver I am not sure on. it seems to be just a thinner rope of top.
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Post by zara on Mar 2, 2015 10:14:25 GMT
So is the wool for the tops carded again in some way, on a finer carder? Below is a link to a video with a lady combing wool. Have any of you tried this? m.youtube.com/watch?v=bGbhEuqyTGo
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Post by zed on Mar 2, 2015 10:55:28 GMT
I think those are known as @viking' wool combs, and 'English' are straighter, though people get things wrong all the time, and I have never used them. I did see the wool tops machine when I went to World of Wool, but couldn't see exactly how it was working. This is a video I posted fairly recently about a mill processing zwartble wool from fleece to yarn www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNWyzilOSIcit's really interesting, they're Irish though so have strong accents. But yeah, like a drum carder, bigger, finer. You probably get closer to wool tops than roving on your carder Zara, judging by your photos.
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 2, 2015 13:45:08 GMT
yes it goes through another machine. I don't know how it works. The combs are the way to do it by hand. the short fibers and nepps are left behind on the first comb as you use them. I have friends that do it but I haven't.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 2, 2015 15:29:22 GMT
Cool videos!
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