# Cheapest place to send wool



## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

I need to send out some Icelandic fleeces. Were should I send them for the best price ?


Also any websites with detailed how to properly shirt a fleece?

thanks , Patty


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## carellama (Nov 12, 2007)

Is there such a place? What do you need done with it? WAsh and card? Yarn? 
I would also be interested in turn around time. I have sent fleeces off and then not seen the finished product for a LONG time.


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## WeaverRose (Jun 29, 2007)

There's a sign my husband has above his desk (he's doing the work of 3 people due to corporate downsizing, lucky him):
"If you want the job done, pick one: - fast & cheap or cheap & good." Meaning if the price is low and the turn-around fast, it usually causes quality to suffer. I've washed my own fleeces for years and sent the washed ones off to Ohio Valley, they do a fantastic job on my wool. I've used Frankenmuth but don't anymore. The point is, it's a ton of work to process fleeces, and everyone wants theirs done ASAP. If you're close enough to the Cincinnati area, you can send your fleeces to Ohio Valley and then arrange a time to pick them up - even watching the carding process that day.


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## MorrisonCorner (Jul 27, 2004)

I'm with WeaverRose.. the first year I had my (Icelandic) sheep I found the least expensive processor and sent my fleeces off. In my ignorance I assumed that I'd get them back "promptly." Months went by. Months in which I learned this was not the right way to get a fleece processed, and learned this was not the mill I should have chosen. I wrote them saying that if they hadn't processed my wool, I had a buyer for the fleeces, please send them back.

Naturally (she said dryly) that very day they'd been put into the processing. What I got back was not at all what I wanted.. in fact I still have it and consider it largely unusable. Maybe someday I'll make it into some kind of blanket for the back of the car. And I wrote a check for.. I think $250. Just not a positive experience all around.

I've learned that processing is expensive, time consuming (it usually takes 8 months or more) which makes "yarn from the sheep of your choice" an unreliable business plan, since most consumers expect we sheer the sheep... then a week later they get their yarn. I've also learned that impatience at all levels is not a virtue: as a small flock owner I skirt the fleeces very carefully, then pack and store them... usually every 3 years I have enough of one color to send in for processing. More is definitely better and yields a more reliable product.

I pay to have the wool skeined. A lot of people don't, it does add expense, but Icelandic is notorious for felting easily, and I feel the less I handle it, the better for the end customer. When I get ready to weave with it, I'll order it coned.

I will spend hours in the fall pulling the tog from the thel and discarding the tog fibers. Especially with lamb fleeces. I'm going to have those fleeces picked anyway, and any tog I pull off is tog not calculated in the weight of processing. I am ruthless where contaminated fleece is concerned... I don't want chaff in my wool yarn, and I don't want to pay for it during processing. And manure tags, of course, are not an option if you store the fleece under your bed!

My last spinning order was over $500. As you're standing at the table yanking wool off your fleece and discarding it you do well to remember that you are being charged by the weight that arrives at the mill... not for the stuff you're skirting off. For what it costs to process wool you want your very best stuff in that bag, nothing less. The stuff you're discarding you can go through again, culling off the real trashy stuff and using the remainder for your own spinning amusement or felting projects.

I got a lot more ruthless when I decided I would store fleeces and only send them to the mill every 3 years. First of all, I have my own storage issue (under the bed has only so much storage volume!). But secondly, you don't have that anxiety to "make the weight" which tempts you to include fleece that would be better left out of the bag.


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## Somerhill (Dec 13, 2005)

The fastest and best processor I know of is Debbie McDermott of Stonehedge Fiber Mill in Michigan. She has about a 2 week turnaround time, and does a wonderful job of processing. 

http://www.stonehedgefibermill.com/


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

A friend of mine also uses Stonehedge and is very happy with it. As for the turnaround, call first. They are going to run exotic fibers at the same time, whites at the same time, blacks at the same time.

Another cry for heavy skirting of your fleece. The mill is not going to hand pick out the crud for you.


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

Only thing I don't like about Stonehedge is what she uses to wash the fleeces. It creates a harsh feel. I did send a fleece last year, and she was very flexible though. I invested in a drum carder so I can do it 'as I have time' - and feel this was a better investment for me.

Andrea


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## Somerhill (Dec 13, 2005)

Hmmmm - I've only sent washed and often dyed fibers. I just went to her website and printed off info on yarn processing with the idea to have her do a run of BFL yarn from my lambswool. Now I wonder if I should have her do the washing......
Does anyone have yarn done at other processors who you'd recommend as really good?
Lisa


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## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Somerhill said:


> Hmmmm - I've only sent washed and often dyed fibers. I just went to her website and printed off info on yarn processing with the idea to have her do a run of BFL yarn from my lambswool. Now I wonder if I should have her do the washing......
> Does anyone have yarn done at other processors who you'd recommend as really good?
> Lisa


Zeilinger Wool Co. (www.zwool.com). We've been happy with their service. If you bring your wool in to them Jan-Mar and have roving or batts made and prepay with a check, they discount their price by 25%. Their turnaround time is pretty good with roving/batts (depending on the time of year). The yarn process is quite slow, but the yarn technicians are excellent, IMHO. 

Processing wool is an expensive business, and Zeilinger is not cheap. But we've used a couple of other processers in Michigan and not been as happy. So we continue to go back to Zeilinger.

We have had the following products made: roving (natural and dyed), quilt batts, comforter and mattress pad batts, yarn (4 weights), and socks.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Just got my newest issue of Spin Off. There's a great article about Stonehedge in there.


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

I just ordered spin off so I guess I will read it soon.



I will be processing Icelandic wool.


Patty


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I bring mine to Zeilinger's. There are two processors in Frankenmuth about a mile from each other. You don't want the one in the downtown/tourist area, you want Zeilinger's on Weiss Street. I just brought in some alpaca and wool last week. The turn around time right now is about 8 weeks. They use different machines for black and white, so you don't have to wait for your color. I only saved 10% by paying early.

They will blend your fiber with some of their own, if you want. I'm having my alpaca blended with wool. Last year I had some of my black wool blended with black alpaca.


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