I’ve been saving for a few months now, waiting to get a drum carder. The time finally came and a decision had to be made… I compared several carders in my price range, including the Ashford carders, particularly the Wild Carder which appealed to me because it was a compact design. However, I eventually plumped for a Minty carder, 72 ppsi with extra-deep sides and a packer brush (http://mintyspinningsupplies.com/page3.htm). A couple of factors swung it for the Minty – the deep sides mean you can put the carder on the floor or a table and there is room to turn the handle without it crashing into the surface and crushing your fingers, and it’s good to support a local craft supplier instead of the big guys for a change.
It arrived by courier a couple of days after ordering, well-wrapped and the only construction needed was adding the handle. Since then, nothing has been safe from the carder – the dog is looking nervous again, after having escaped from the purple dye earlier in the year! I seem to have an addiction to angelina sparkle and have added it to two of the three batts I have made so far.
I’ve thrown merino, shetland, angelina, washed/dyed fleece and silk into the mix so far and it’s going fine. Putting the fibre through twice helps and I’ve learned the hard way to be patient and only add a little at a time. I’ve also discovered that there is a fine line between having a range of interesting colours and everything turning sludgey…
Spinstar Creations 