During a trip to Mesa, Arizona I ventured over to Main Street and visited The Fiber Factory. They moved into a new location which is actually a few doors down from where they were.
The Fiber Factory has been around for a long time and anyone in Arizona can tell you all you want to know about this fiber shop. The shop has a selection of wonderful spinning wheels to try and they help you do that. The selection roving or fiber is small compared to shops like Studio Three here in Prescott which has a wall of fiber to choose from.
I did find Texas Brown Cotton Fiber. I purchased a pound for $20. Now that I have it I need to begin the spinning process.
Last year I attended a wonderful Judith MacKenzie spinning class with Treadles and Treads Guild. Judith did spinning with exotic fibers. We tried all of the fibers she took from her great fiber filled table . Judith talked about spinning short fibers and how best to spin them with the long draw. Being a fairly new spinner I needed to learn this long draw process. I think I have it now and I love spinning the cotton.
Here is cotton on the bobbin of my Oak Jensen Saxony.
I enjoy using a distaff with every spinning process. Sometimes I just use it to support the fiber I plan on spinning.
There is something about a Saxony Wheel that just fits to my feeling of what a spinning wheel should look like. I have several other wheels I love dearly but the Saxony makes my heart skip a beat.
Nearly every wheel maker has a Saxony Wheel in their line. If you need a real work horse to travel with check out the best wheel to travel, but for me the Saxony is it.
Our home consists of many antiques and maybe that is one reason for my love of the Saxony Wheel. It just fits into my life.
If you want to know more about Texas Brown Cotton Fiber check out what Sally Fox has done for the cotton spinning world. http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/ilives/lecture12.html