WELCOME 
When someone says "bobban socks" do you know what they are?

I'm sure that every household on the islands in days gone by had some in drawers whether it was handknitted for the fisherman or the crofter? Bobban wool is a by-product. By this I mean it's main purpose is for weaving Harris Tweed only for years I and many others knit with it, Once I decide how many threads to use, then twist it, wash it to get rid of the oils and it knit's up beautifully. Not to be worn next to the skin as it can be coarse, it softens after washing.. It is 100% pure British Wool. So I am asking for you to help us to get a wool twisting machine on the Western Isles. At the moment we are currently sending the wool we use for our Hebridean Knitwear all the way to Cornwall to get plied and twisted, when it's ready it has to make it's long journey back to the Isle of Harris, then onto the needles, just think of the milage when the wool is already spun and dyed on the island!!! This is the wee machine I currently use to twist small batches that are needed quickly or perhaps not so quickly when it can only do 150g at a time and very time consuming.
From Bobbans to my wee twister
then onto the needles.
The Agteks Direct Twist machine would possibly be the best machine for twisting. The finished product would then be the truly Hebridean, where all the process has been done on the Hebrides. For generations mums and grans on the islands have been using this wool to make beautifully finished sweaters, bobban socks, hats and anything else they could knit, they did not have access to these big machines so everything was done by hand and spinning wheel.
Every jumper that I knit can take between 40-80 hours to knit by hand, and roughly a day or so to get the wool ready with the wee machine below, with the Agteks Direct Twist sufficient amount of wool can be twisted within minutes, It will be able to produce a 2ply, 3ply up to 8ply chunky knitting wool. Can you imagine what could be done if other fancy yarns were also plied with it? I would hope that other folk on the island who use Harris wool might get their wool twisted by us.
Whatever funds I raise will go towards this project and in return for funds I am offering rewards, please bear in mind that all the rewards I am offering are made by me and will come to you from the Isle of Harris. There may be a delay in getting rewards out but they will reach you. As the project is running until May if you are pledging for rewards then please do pop me a message and let me know what you'd like as I'd like to start sending rewards out as soon as, You can follow my Facebook page or twitter for up to date messages regarding rewards.
A massive thank you to all my pledgers.
I will not be charging any postage on my rewards regardless of where you live, whether it be next door in Harris or in the USA, it is merely a thank you for believing in my project and helping me get closer to my target.