Handspinning Roving

All our natural and dyed wool roving is from our sheep flock and is offered directly to you for all your spinning pleasures. Other fibers included in blends are carefully selected for color and texture compatibility with our wool.

Spinning oil (a vegetable product) is added by the processor when roving is created to control the static electricity in the fiber as it flies through the machinery. If your roving should feel tacky or sticky, it is only a result of this added oil. It can easily be washed out by soaking in hot water and detergent either before spinning, or after the fiber is spun into yarn.

All dyeing is done here at the farm by hand. No two dye lots of roving will ever be quite the same, so be sure to purchase enough for your project. When it's gone - it's gone! If I do not have a sufficient quantity left to fill your order I will contact you immediately.

Remember that all computer monitors show colors a bit differently, plus my camera skills are not so great.  If precise shade is important for your project please ask for a sample to be sent to you before ordering. 

Note: Shipments outside the US will likely incur higher shipping costs than are calculated on this site. Please contact me prior to purchase so I can determine pricing for you.


Robin

I got the brown sugar roving on saturday and I got to tell u it is the nicest fiber I have spun, not one piece of straw! I am going to be using it for the sweater I am going to make for the fair. I will deffinately be ording more from you.

E.



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Hi friends...... believe me, it pains me to be out of as many of these rovings as I am.   I just received a large order which cleaned me out of a few colors and left small amounts of others.   I'm working to get wool skirted, washed, dyed and back on the shelves so I hope you'll have patience and keep checking back. Most recently returned is Misty Morn, Frog Pond and Pearly White.


Natural Colored 100% Wool
 

"Pearly White"
14 lbs available
$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$24.00 per lb     Buy Now

"Pearly White" is the name of this 100% wool roving. Not a glaring white, but more like eggshell, ivory or.... pearls!  This is a blend of Pearl, her daughter Tahiti and a Cotswold named Alexandria so there is some nice shine to the fiber.

A real pleasure to spin.



 

"Vanilla"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.50 per oz      Buy Now

$22.00 per lb     Buy Now

"Vanilla" is 100% lamb's wool, made from many white lambs in our flock, so it includes wool of several different breeds and types. This roving is a nice, bright white that spins into yarn with a good bit of luster. Very silky and pretty, and should take dye beautifully if that's your desire. And the softness of lamb.





"Pewter"

Temporarily Sold Out
$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$22.00 per lb     Buy Now


Colored Cotswold fleeces made into roving! This light, clear gray is silvery, and has no brown overtones as does Woodsmoke (below). The silky long-stapled roving spins very easily, and makes a crisp semi-worsted yarn with barely any effort. Takes dye beautifully and gives color with a lot of depth. Strong enough to spin into warp yarn, but with a soft enough hand to make great sweaters, too.

Very lovely and versatile!
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white Cotswold wool roving


"Snow Cone "

Temporarily Sold Out
$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$24.00 per lb     Buy Now


White Cotswold fleeces made into roving! This is a nice bright white roving with the shine of Cotswold. The silky wool spins very easily, and makes a crisp semi-worsted yarn with barely any effort. Takes dye beautifully and gives color with a lot of depth. Strong enough to spin into warp yarn.

Very lovely and versatile!



roving - woodsmoke


"Wood Smoke"

Temporarily Sold Out
$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$22.00 per lb     Buy Now


This roving slips through your fingers as easily as its namesake. A dream to spin, and a beautiful, warm gray/brown color which will coordinate well with other colors, or stand alone. The unspun roving actually looks lighter than in this picture, but the spun skein is close to this shade of gray.

Crisp enough to knit a textured pattern and have it show up really well. Has a moderate luster which confused my camera - it kept making the skein look much lighter than in real life.



 

"Pussywillow"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$22.00 per lb     Buy Now

This roving is Oh-My-Gosh soft! This is 100% lamb's wool, made from blending white and black lamb fleeces from our flock, so it includes wool of several different breeds and types. Very soft for next-to-the-skin wear, and it spins sooo easily. Light enough to overdye, but it's a very pleasant darkish gray on its own. Actually a little darker than this picture.




roving - black coffee


"Black Coffee"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$22.00 per lb     Buy Now

This easy-drafting wool roving is about as close to black as you can be without getting there. Not jet black, but really dark with just an occasional strand of gray wool present. The picture does not do the black-ness justice. Moderate luster. More even in tone that the spun skein would lead you to believe.

Spins up easily into a very springy, bouncy yarn. Nice!



 

"Chocolate Truffle"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.50 per oz      Buy Now
$22.00 per lb     Buy Now

Another roving made from 100% lamb's wool. This time from all black lambs who had some sun bleached tips, so instead of inky black this roving is deepest chocolate color. Soft enough for next-to-the-skin wear, it spins beautifully and makes a yarn with enough body to hold its shape well and show pattern work. Really nice.




"Toffee"

Combed Top

Temporarily Sold Out

$2.25 per oz      Buy Now

$34.00 per lb     Buy Now

Moorit color fine fleeces combed into easy-drafting, next-to-the-skin-soft roving. This is the most wonderful pale brown color! Moorit means the wool is actually a shade of brown - not black or gray. Some moorit animals fade with age to the most pale sand color. Wool for this top had faded some, making a roving that's the exact color of walnut shells. Lovely!




Dyed 100% Wool Roving

"Blue Jeans"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now


Sky blue dye plus gray wool equals a roving the exact color of your favorite pair of jeans. It will work into a drape-y yarn just as comforting as those jeans, too. A darker blue than the picture leads you to believe.

This blend is largely Cotswold with a little wool from gray crossbred sheep. Silky hand and high luster make for easy spinning and a great yarn.




Wine Country roving


"Wine Country"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now


Much like "Blue Jeans", this roving is gray wool but overdyed with burgundy. The result is a dark mulberry of differing shades that remind me of the many kinds of grapes grown in the Finger Lakes each fall. In real life a bit darker than this picture.


This blend is Cotswold and Border Leicester. Silky hand and good luster make for easy spinning and a great yarn.




"Frog Pond "

$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now


Gray Cotswold and Cotswold/Border Leicester cross fleeces overdyed with several shades of green (and blue and yellow, but you'll have to see the blog for details) have made a heathery, medium-dark green roving. Think lily pads, cattails and moss and...OK, let's be honest.....algae...all very natural and pretty greens. This fiber is a JOY to spin and has some luster too..

One word of caution - despite several rinses I did get a light bit of green bleeding into the water when I washed this sample skein. As you should always do, wash this yarn separately after spinning just to be on the safe side.




Wool Blends

Natural Colored Lamb and Silk

"Chocolate Amaretto"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.75 per oz      Buy Now

$25.00 per lb     Buy Now

Natural colored mixed breeds lambs' wool with just a little pink, salmon and beige silk added. This is a nicely springy yarn due to the medium wool influence in the mix, but with more luster than you'd expect due to the silk. The silk component blends into the yarn more than I anticipated, giving some flashes of color but also imparting an overall slight copper sheen. It makes for a very rich looking yarn.




 

Cotswold Lamb and Alpaca (65/35)
"
Brown Sugar"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$25.00 per lb     Buy Now

"Brown Sugar" is the name of this yummy lamb/alpaca blend.  White Cotswold lamb wool blended with red alpaca fiber makes this super easy-to-spin roving the exact color of light brown sugar.  Soft hand, some sheen from the Cotswold, and fabric will have a nice drape. 

This is really lovely stuff!




Cotswold Lamb and Alpaca (50/50)
"Whipped Cream"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$25.00 per lb     Buy Now

This blend is very popular with handspinners. White Cotswold Lamb wool is blended with white alpaca fiber to make a 50/50 mix.

Very soft and supple, with a subtle sheen from the Cots lamb. This blend will also take dye beautifully. Garments worked from this yarn will have a wonderful drape.

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Cotswold and Silk

"Irish Mist"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$25.00 per lb     Buy Now

White Cotswold wool with just a drizzle of dyed bombyx silk added. It's amazing how little colored fiber it takes to tint white wool! This fun to spin roving has frequent blips of yellow, green and rust silk which makes the fiber interesting to spin and gives a nicely variegated yarn. The green seems to show the most and gives the yarn an overall pleasant green tint with the other colors showing up too.


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Cotswold and Silk

"Polished Armor"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$25.00 per lb     Buy Now

Natural dark gray Cotswold wool with dribbles of blue, green and pale yellow dyed bombyx silk. This roving makes HIGH luster yarn that glimmers even in low light. The blips of color are very subtle but definately discernable. This is some of the easiest drafting fiber I've ever spun. I couldn't stop spinning it - my sample skein is way bigger than it needs to be! Just the right shade of gray. Great masculine color alone, or throw a pin or necklace against it and it's sophisticated girly.


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Cotswold Lamb and Silk (92% / 8%)

"Jade Frost "

Temporarily Sold Out

$2.75 per oz.      Buy Now

$38.00 per lb.     Buy Now

Cotswold lamb's wool dyed a happy grass green with drips of undyed silk scattered throughout makes for a pretty yarn! The Cotswold and silk are both high luster fibers, so the yarn will have a very nice sheen. This blend drafts like a dream. Treat yourself to something green in the depths of winter.

 


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Cotswold Lamb and Silk (92% / 8%)

"Lilac Frost "

Temporarily Sold Out

$2.75 per oz.      Buy Now

$38.00 per lb.     Buy Now

Cotswold lamb's wool dyed a lovely lavender with drips of undyed silk scattered throughout makes for a pretty yarn! The Cotswold and silk are both high luster fibers, so the yarn will have a very nice sheen. This blend drafts like a dream. A soft, romantic color to counter the cold and snow outside!

 


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Cotswold Lamb and Silk (92% / 8%)

"Rose Frost "

Temporarily Sold Out

$2.75 per oz.      Buy Now

$38.00 per lb.     Buy Now

Cotswold lamb's wool dyed rose-petal pink with drips of undyed silk scattered throughout makes for a pretty pink yarn speckled with white. The Cotswold and silk are both high luster fibers, so the yarn will have a very nice sheen. This blend drafts like a dream and will cheer you up just looking at it (but go ahead and spin it up!).


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Cotswold Lamb and Silk (92% / 8%)

"September Glow "

Temporarily Sold Out

$2.75 per oz.      Buy Now

$38.00 per lb.     Buy Now

"Luxurious" is the only way to describe the rich color and texture of this lamb and silk roving. Chestnut, crimson and gold combine to provide all the varied shading that nature produces on the beautiful leaves of autumn. The undyed silk adds flecks of beige that seem to accentuate the other colors. And of course it has the beautiful sheen of Cotswold along with the silk. Wow!


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Cotswold Lamb and Silk (92% / 8%)

"Spring Meadow "

Temporarily Sold Out

$2.75 per oz.      Buy Now

$40.00 per lb.     Buy Now

Lamb and silk blended together in spring time shades of green, yellow, blue and lavender. This roving spins up beautifully - like a field of bright grass full of buttercups, violets and bluebells. This is a "frosted" roving, with the colors lying parallel to each other with the green wrapped around all, so you can separate them if you wish, or just spin them together as I did in the sample skein at left. Also, between the Cotswold luster and the silk, this fiber sparkles in the light as though it had some synthetic glitz in there - but it doesn't! Just lamb and silk.


A Note on Cotswold Wool

Cotswold is considered a "coarse" wool, which I think is an unfortunate adjective because it sounds as if the wool is scratchy, itchy or somehow unpleasant. Not true! I think a more accurate term would be "thick" or "heavy" wool.

Cotswold has been called "The Poor Man's Mohair" and for good reason. The wool is extremely lustrous, silky, takes dye beautifully, and can have great staple length. When measured in microns, the fiber falls in the 30-40 micron range, which is comparable with Romney, Border Leicester and Lincoln.

While it may not be suitable for baby clothes or underwear, it is wonderful for all manner of outer garments. It spins easily into a fuzzy yarn from which you can raise a halo similar to mohair, or, when combed or put through a diz you can achieve a smooth, hard, worsted yarn that will wear forever.

All in all, it is a wonderfully versatile fiber.


Dyed 100% Cotswold Roving

"Autumn Spice"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now

"Autumn Spice"   This roving is quite a bit more subdued than the picture leads you to believe.  There are overtones of pink and gray that don't show well in the photo.  Imagine the color of perfectly baked pumpkin pie - pumpkin orange with shades and flecks of darker hues.  This is NOT a knock-your-eye-out color. 

Warm, but sophisticated.  And spins like a dream .




"Berry Patch"

Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$25.00 per lb     Buy Now


Blue, dark pink and green make a very pretty yarn with each color given a chance to "solo". These are spring/early summer colors - not pastel enough to be baby colors, and with no yellow it's not really 'flower garden' either. This roving drafts sooo easily, and has a soft shine since it's Cotswold. Despite what I thought was a good rinse after dyeing, I did get a little blue/green bleeding when I washed the sample skein, just so you know and wash the yarn separately the first time....

The colors work well together in the spun yarn - no fighting, just friendly taking of turns showing off.



Ferns and Moss roving

"Ferns and Moss"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now

This is a very pretty varigated blend of chestnut, gold and medium green, which spins into a complex yarn appearing sage green with hints of blue and streaks of gold-brown. It's earthy and subtle with a high sheen. This would work into an item with a lot of depth to the overall coloration. Beautiful, and one of my favorites.




"Viola"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$25.00 per lb     Buy Now

This combination of yellow and lilac look like the little spring johnny-jump-ups to me. The colors in this roving lie parallel to each other, so you can strip them apart easily if you want to get two clear colors. Or, you can spin them together as I did in the sample and get a cheerful "spring flower" yarn. Happy colors with the bright shine of Cotswold wool.




"Beneath the Waves"
Temporarily Sold Out
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now

Here's a gorgeous blend of medium blues and greens. Stare into a mass of this roving and you can almost hear the seagulls. The green actually shows up a little better than this picture leads one to believe.

Add in the luster of Cotswold, and you have a very rich-looking yarn that will still stand up to heavy wear. If you're a blue/green person like me, this roving is for you.



Misty Morn roving


"Misty Morn"
Exactly 1 lb. left!
$1.75 per oz      Buy Now
$27.00 per lb     Buy Now


If you like complex pastels, this varigated roving is for you.   Yellow, salmon and pale blue blend together in gentle colors reminiscent of a sunrise through the summer mist. While the yellow predominates, there are obvious streaks of blue and even greenish in here too.  Very pretty.

The sheen of Cotswold wool enhances the effect in the yarn.



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dyed Cotswold roving Twilight Time

 

"Twilight Time"

Temporarily Sold Out

$1.75 per oz     Buy Now

$25.00 per lb    Buy Now

"Heavenly shades of night are falling - it's Twilight Time."  Remember those lyrics?  This roving captures the plum, dark teal and rich salmon of twilight.  Subtle and sophisticated, the colors would be suitable for a man or woman.

And of course, it has the sheen of Cotswold.


     
   

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E-mail us at: robin@NistockFarms.com

www.NistockFarms.com


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