Drafting troubles?

[Piper0110]

I feel like I'm taking over this thread.

I've been spinning with my Annie May spindle and the roving that came with... and I'm having a TON of trouble drafting. I've pre-drafted, done everything, I think, and I still can't figure it out.

A friend just mentioned that she had a lot of trouble spinning that roving as well - that perhaps her roving is just a bit more processed?

[xantha]

A friend just mentioned that she had a lot of trouble spinning that roving as well - that perhaps her roving is just a bit more processed?

Some of the roving (not all) that I received from her was slightly felted, which made it a lot harder to spin. All of the roving I ordered from her needed a fair amount of separation

Are you whacking the roving against something to help separate the fibers a bit more? Sometimes that helps...

Can you offer a bit more information on what problems you're having drafting?

[Piper0110]

Well, it just doesn't want to pull. It's not smooth - I feel like I'm fighting with it.

I've been taking the strip, dividing it into 4 strips, then I've been jerking it to loosen all the fibers, and then pulling it a bit more, so the fibers slide like they're supposed to... but then when I start spinning, it's like it doesn't want to separate.

I could be doing something wrong though too.

[xantha]

Well, it just doesn't want to pull. It's not smooth - I feel like I'm fighting with it.

I had the same problem when I got my first fiber. Don't try to pull it at first, just unwind a couple of feet from the ball. Shake it violently, smack it against a wall, anything. Then pull off a piece slightly longer than the staple length of the fiber, do your 4 piece division and you might have to do more shaking.

I think that's pretty much how I had to do it with some of the stuff I got from her (I am in no way bashing her, I think what happened is the fiber has all been in plastic bags without air for a while, so they felted a bit).

I have less of a problem with this when I work from the fold...

[Piper0110]

Thanks, Jess, I'll definitely give that a try tonight!

Yeah, I'm not trying to say anything about her fiber - I just wondered if it was a little different and I had to treat it differently. The colors are absolutely amazing, and it is spinning up nicely - it's just a bit of a struggle.

[xantha]

Yeah, I'm not trying to say anything about her fiber - I just wondered if it was a little different and I had to treat it differently. The colors are absolutely amazing, and it is spinning up nicely - it's just a bit of a struggle.

And a quick fyi -- she pretty much sells the Ashland Bay fibers (http://www.ashlandbay.com/fibers.htm). :)