Fibers, Yarns and Equipment

NOW ACCEPTING CREDIT CARDS DIRECTLY as well as through PayPal. I am happy to recommend PayPal as a payment method, having had no problems with the service and checking it out thoroughly before I went with it.

I am also happy to arrange for layaway. Personal checks are always welcome.

NO shopping cart yet as stock still changes frequently and is very custom, but one is in the works

– please call or email for information.

Fibers & Fleeces	Yarns, Kits, Patterns	Strauch Drum Carders. Ballwinders & Tools.
Roberta Electronic Spinners	The Bosworth Drop Spindles (from the Journey Wheel people)	Majacraft Wheels & Kumihimo

The Fire Ant Ranch Fibers

Why do we spin? We want the pleasure of a special fiber running through our fingers. We want to make a yarn that is very much our own creation.

So why should we limit ourselves to commercial rovings and top?

Fire Ant Ranch Fibers come straight from my studio from fleeces I hand select or are custom milled to my specifications.

My Gulf Coast is wonderful – soft, lustrous. My Black Welsh is fabulous for tweeds and felting. My Blends are fun.

My mohair has many, MANY fans.

I do ALL of the Dyeing of the fibers and yarns, and ALL of the spinning on the handspun yarn.

And About those Commercial Fibers? Yes, I do carry a selection of special ones at certain times.

Ant Mounds

Hand Dyed Texas Mohair Curls

4 oz.-$12. 8 oz.-$24. 16 oz.-$48.

Ant Trails

Studio-Produced Hand Pulled Rovings

or select commercially produced roving and top of various fibers – including exotics, cottons and others

8 oz. @ $24 is the usual put up

with 4 oz. @ $12 and 16 oz. @ $48 put ups available occasionally.

Austin Batts (Smoothies and Cheekies – see below **)

(named in honor of the famous FreeTail Bats of Austin Texas – bug eaters extraordinaire)

Introduced several years ago at the Taos Wool festival and selling briskly every since. Hand Made Spinning or Felting Batts of Gulf Coast, Black Welsh or other Wools or Blends. ** Batts available in Smoothie and Cheeky versions, and variations in between:

Smoothies are very smooth batts with a delightful feel. Cheekies are deliberately lumpy/bumpy/textured for a lively, funky feel. The variations are somewhere in between.

$3.00/oz. in batts of 4 oz. to 9 oz., in both Hand Dyed and Natural Colors – all limited editions

Rock Piles and Dust Devils

(available on a limited basis)

Wool and Wool Blends.

Picked jumbles, ready to card or spin as is.

4 oz. - $10. 8 oz. - $20. 16 oz. - $40.

Email or call about current colors available as they are always changing.

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Yarns, Kits & Patterns (including OPAL Sock Yarn)

Handspun 1-ply and 2-ply Sport, Worsted & Lt. Bulky Weight Yarn in ALL Fibers MOST Skeins @ $6 per oz. making a 2 oz. skein $12. I’m also now making more 4 oz. skeins @ $24. If you purchase three or more of the $12 (2 oz) skeins, they are $10 each! If you purchase three or more of the $24 (4 oz) skeins - $20 each. Other skeins priced individually @ $6/oz. in varying sizes.

Gauge: 4-6sts/inch on most yarns: Appx. 2 skeins for tam, 3 skeins for scarf.
Gauge: 3-3 ½ sts/inch on Bulky: Appx. 3 skeins for big bulky hat.

Specialty yarns available including my Shawl Skeins:

4 oz/1600 yds of hand dyed laceweight w/label pattern @ $25 – limited editions and various fibers

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Yes, I carry OPAL Sock Yarn and other self-patterning sock yarns!
ONE skein makes a pair of socks with some left over.
ONLY $16 per skein for most colorways and $20 per skein for Hand Paints and other Special Runs.

Knitting Patterns from various designers including Fire Ant Originals: $3. - $10

Custom Spinning/Knitting on Request.

Fiber Samples available for small charge

Kilt Hose a specialty (see page) Prices on Custom Kilt Hose START @ $85-$90

LABOR on other Custom Knitting STARTS @ $250.

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Tools and Equipment

Note: I’ve done my best to keep my Equipment Prices up to date but they do change rapidly given the rising costs of materials. These should be current as of 6/1/08

The Strauch Drum Carders & Other Equipment

(Ask about other items not listed. Drop shipping included on most items.)

The Petite Drum Carder My Best Selling Model A MID-Sized Machine (NOT a roving carder!), with the 128 point card cloth! A brush attachment is also available. Makes a 6"wide batt. Same great Strauch quality, but in a slighty smaller package. Belt-drive instead of chain-drive. Very compact overall and has a sliding feeder tray. All tools are included: Doffer, Batt Picker, Infeed Roller Cleaning Tool. $341 in kit form or $356 assembled.

(shown w/optional brush attachment).

128, 98 or 72-tooth card cloth (Model 205) Main Roller - $550
The Finest with 128 tooth roller, 6:1 ratio and deluxe finish	$674 - not pictured

Accessories and Tools

Brush Attachment Batt Conditioner for carders   $75
(a great tool for taming flyaway fibers)

Knuckle-Saving Batt Picker $20

Flick Cards (98 pts) or Doffer Brushes (72 pts)    $14

Half SizeWool Hand Cards (112 pts)     $55
Half Size Cotton/Fur Hand Cards (255 pts)     $55

“Full” Sizes of above hand cards @ $65 – I prefer the smaller!

The STRAUCH BIG BALL WINDER – a sturdy American oak beauty you just about can’t kill - $95

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The Jonathan Bosworth Products

I use and recommend their Journey Wheel. Jonathan and Sheila are marketing their Wheels and Charkhas directly, and I am happy to recommend that anyone who wants one of these treasures order directly from them! They are definitely worth any wait you might have. (www.journeywheels.com).

And of course, there are those very balanced top whorl drop spindles.
These highly collectable drops spin forever and are some of the best I’ve ever used.

I’ll always have a a good selection of these spindles in stock, just ask!

Minis & Featherweights: 2” whorl on 7.5” shaft ( .42 - .88 oz.) - $38
Midis: 2.5” whorl on 9” shaft (1.2 - 1.45 oz.) - $48
Maxis: 3” whorl on 10” shaft (1.5 – 1.9 oz,) - $58

KOKOVOKO Drop Spindles – Also U.S. woods and U.S. made - $20 for most and $25 for Balkan style.

The Ertoel Roberta Electronic Spinner

Runs smoothly and is effortless to use. This is the Australian made one in that lovely dark furniture finish that I’ve wanted for years. Roberta is a very quiet machine even with top MOTOR RPM of appx. 2600.
It is bobbin lead and Irish brake system, but has a very light touch once broken in which happens quickly.
The sliding yarn guide flyer accepts both sizes of bobbins.

All controls are up front and easy to reach. An optional on/off pause control is available, and I recommend it and include it with every spinner purchased although it is certainly not necessary.

Yes, absolutely the BEST electronic spinners out there. There! I said it and my loyalty is strong. I wanted one of these beauties for myself even before I learned to spin.

Worth every penny - after all, quality and service should not come too cheaply. When you start looking for a new wheel, do your research. The Roberta is indeed priced competitively with all the other fine treadle spinning wheels out there, as well as with the electronic machines.

AND how can you possibly go wrong with a spinner that has a 10-YEAR WARRANTY on the motor?? It is the best warranty you’ll never have to use.

I include the optional Pause Control (a $75 value!) with every spinner purchased

I’ve spun miles on my Roberta – all sorts of yarn. Just ask me a question about Roberta – price, availability, merits, etc. Just copy the email address into your email program and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Combo Model includes 2 regular bobbins and 1 jumbo bobbin

In both Single Power and Dual Power (my favorite and best-selling model) – the Dual Power is very portable – run it off a convenient wall plug, take along a portable power supply available at any hardware store, or even use a solar panel (RV suppliers carry those)!

Jumbo Model includes 3 jumbo bobbins and also comes Single Power or Dual Power

Extra Bobbins available in regular and jumbo

STILL a Top-Selling Roberta Dealer! I’m a Roberta Specialist and you’ll ALWAYS get great service.

www.ertoel.com - for any technical questions I can’t answer

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Majacraft Spinning Wheels

"The Double Treadle Spinning Wheel Company"

THE LITTLE GEM: Unique design. Very portable/foldable and comes with its own carrying case. Three bobbins and a Lazy Kate are included and all the Majacraft accessories fit. Of course it’s double treadle! $735 RRP.
The Suzie: Double Treadle with easy, heel/toe action. Folds with a pop-up handle for portability. Adjustable spinning head to suit the individual spinner. Ball bearing drive and plastic drive band for maintenance ease. 12 ratios standard, and additional high speed head is available. Delta orifice, sliding yarn guide, built-in Lazy Kate and 4 bobbins. $775 RRP (Suzie Green $795) (“special” Alpaca Lover’s model - $830)
The Rose: All the great features of the Suzie in a traditional spoke wheel design with an embossed rose. This is considered the top-of-the-line Majacraft wheel. 10 ratios standard plus a 2^nd whorl. Fine fiber flyer included. Separate Lazy Kate. $865 RRP
The Millie: Same great double treadle in a compact, graceful wheel. All the features you expect from Majacraft, including multiple ratios from 4:1 to 12:1. Built-in carry handle, delta orifice & 4 bobbins. $660 RRP

 Extra regular plastic bobbins for all wheel models $17

E-System Flyer and Hook $66

Wild Flyer Kit - $112/$120 for Gem

Other Wheel Accessories also Available – Please inquire

MAJACRAFT WOOL COMBS - very nice mini combs with storage holder

Single Pitch Combs $95 (complete system - $155 – includes block, clamp & diz)
Double Pitch Combs $132 (complete system - $175 – includes block, clamp & diz)

Majacraft Kumihimo Stands and Accessories
(Kumihimo is the art of Japanese braiding)

Tawa (deluxe) $172 stand only or $293/ the set – includes box of 8 bobbins and book

Bobbins available @ $20 each
Boxed Set of 8 bobbins @ $137

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