Instant Spindle!

August 28th, 2008

I wouldn’t normally be posting tonight, but at 5 minutes until bed time I feel the need to share something I find exciting. I always love making things, especially useful things that I can make easily. This is the epitome of easy craft, although I didn’t really make anything. I just put them together.

I cannot claim credit for this idea, but this is a hair stick (chop sticks work too) with a stone donut bead dropped down it. It makes the perfect bottom whorl spindle. The stone is nicely even and balanced, and the hair stick I just happen to have has spiraling grooves going towards the tip. I love tapered spindle shafts, and who needs a hook when a half-hitch works wonderfully.

It weighs roughly 1oz, which I have decided is about the best weight for most spindles. Don’t ask me what type of stone it is, but it’s a very cool mix of greens. The best part about this spindle (okay maybe not the best, but it’s really cool) is that I can slip the bead off and use the hair stick and bead for something else if I choose.

4 Comments | Categories: Spinning |

Yarn Fun

August 19th, 2008

So I’ve got some handspun and commercially spun stuff to write about today. I’ll start with the handspun…

First up, the [ply-as-you-go](http://www.crafty.greenkri.com/ply-as-you-go) yarn. This is the navajo plied yarn I wrote about where I’m spinning up a length then plying it before winding on. It’s a really cool technique, and if you’re a spinner I urge you to play around with it.

I’m aiming for thin sock weight on this yarn, and hoping to get a really sturdy 3-ply. I know it’s merino which I haven’t been impressed with as a sock yarn in the past, but hopefully I can make this fairly strong and hard wearing. I’ve got a ton of this green merino, plus some dark red/purple that goes really well with it. I’m not sure I have the stamina to spin about 6oz of yarn all in the same way, but if so they’ll make some really awesome socks.

I wrote a little about this cashmere yarn I’ve been spinning up, so here’s a small update. I’ve finished both singles that will be plied together, and can’t wait to get that process started today. This has been an incredibly fun spin, and totally fitting my style. A high twist very fine yarn that I can just cruise along easily with. Sometimes it’s nice to have a challenge, but sometimes it’s nice to just do something you know and love. It doesn’t look quite so soft now, but once it’s plied and that active twist is softened up it will be ohhh so luscious.

Oh I wish you could see this yarn in person. The light is just slightly too bright, but this is an amazing hand-dyed job by the [Kangaroo Dyer](http://www.kangaroodyer.com/) Gail from Webs. She dyes some stuff for them, and said the bottom color reminded her of my hair (and her sister’s?). I’ve never worked with yarn like this (I think it’s mohair) but I’m just itching to cast some lacy something with these. I’ve just got too many projects right now, but they will sit quietly until I can really do them justice.

I wish I had taken a picture of this in the skein. It’s an amazing silk yarn by Artyarns that I bought to knit a wedding gift. I wish even more that I had taken a picture of the little silk purse that I made, because I chanced upon the *perfect* cable stitch for this yarn. This yarn is called Silk Pearl, and it’s a very shiny soft somehow chain plied yarn. I don’t think this would ever pill it’s so well made, and the colors are really interesting in semi-solids. I want to knit the rest of this into a little purse for myself, because I loved the first one so much. *Next* time I’ll be sure to take a picture.

2 Comments | Categories: Spinning |

Cashmere: done!

August 6th, 2008

I finally plied this cashmere I’ve been spinning for all this time. It’s a bit underplied for my tastes, but I think it’s mostly balanced. I didn’t think it possible I could have put more twist in the singles!

I really wish my camera would do justice to the natural color in this yarn.

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Romney

June 24th, 2008

This is a very unexciting spinning project in a very unexciting color. However, I’m plodding through fairly well because it’s an easy quick spin. I bought this Romney fiber a few months back to give this new fiber a try, and I have a feeling this isn’t what Romney is generally like. It’s not smooth to spin, but it seems like the roving is just not prepped very well. Things are coming off in clumps sometimes, and it’s not drafting smoothly. I’m willing to give this fiber the benefit of the doubt, but if this is what it’s always like I don’t like it so much.

I’m still practically drowning in merino, which is unfortunate because I’ve learned it’s not the type of yarn I want to have spun. I love spinning merino, but there are only a few uses for it. I’m trying to branch out into other fibers that are useful for other stuff, and this Romney doesn’t have me enthusiastic about the process.

Cashmere, on the other hand, is something I can get excited about. I prefer to avoid this fiber because of how harsh raising the goats is on the land, and it’s just too expensive buuut…I had to try it just this once. I was spinning it more thick on a heavier spindle before I decided to switch to something more suitable (my Bosworth!). This is one single, which will be 2-plied with the other single when I’m done to give me an oh so soft and squooshy yarn. Ohh, what will I make with it?

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A Day for Dyeing

April 6th, 2008

I’ve got a lot of things to catch up on that I’ve been working on but haven’t yet written about, so I think what I’m going to do is write several posts in the next few days. I finally took the time to take some pictures today while listening to podcasts. I keep using the lack of sun as an excuse, but I’ve just had a hard time getting motivated to blog, so here goes an attempt at revival…

I’ve decided to try doing at least one non-knitting non-spinning craft every Sunday, and without really planning it last Sunday I chose dyeing. I’ve had these two skeins of [handspun white merino lace weight yarn](http://www.crafty.greenkri.com/finishing-at-1am) for a while that I’ve been meaning to dye. My dyeing methods are very haphazard because I just don’t have the patience or the scale to be meticulous and specific. Basically I fill my dyeing pot with lots of water, pour in some vinegar, mix some dye powder with a little water and pour that in. Then I put my soaked skein into the dye pot and turn up the heat. I do have a digital thermometer whose probe I use only for dyeing to make sure it doesn’t go above 180 degrees, and generally I go for a half hour around 180. This time I really wanted a green yarn so I took a bit of my blue and a bit of my yellow and mixed them together. It’s been a while since I dyed yarn, so my memory of how much dye powder I normally use was a bit vague, and the results of my yarn prove that.

What seemed to happen was that there was so much dye in the pot that it took barely ten minutes for the yarn to soak up the dye and set. I did a thorough rinse of the yarn afterward to ensure it had taken hold, and boy did it. This quick dyeing also gave the yarn a really unique quality that I really like. It looks slightly variegated, but that’s mostly because the dye stuck fast to the very outside of the yarn, and didn’t sink in quite as much towards the core. It gives it a sort of shimmery look that I totally could not have predicted.

There was some extra dye left in the pot, so I stuck a little red in with the tiny bit of green and finally added some color to my sampler of handspun angora (ignore the darker red as those are just the ties of a different yarn).

Then I had a teeny bit of that left, so I put a very small amount of purple in and grabbed some white merino roving I had. I had the merino roving soaking in the bathroom sink, and didn’t have a way to transport it without making a mess on the floor. I stuck a trivet and the dye pot on the bathroom floor for easy transport. As soon as I put it in the dye absorbed into the fiber as much as it could and the water was white. Completely not what I was going for, but in the end I think it will make a nice yarn. I only stuck it back on the stove for another 15 minutes to make sure it set, and my roving only came out a tiny bit matted. Definitely easily fixed by predrafting it before spinning.

And another picture just ’cause it’s purty.

4 Comments | Categories: Spinning |

SpinWiki

March 18th, 2008

I started this project a week or two ago inspired by the [KnitWiki](http://www.knitting-and.com/wiki/Main_Page) to create a [SpinWiki](http://spinwiki.greenkri.com). On the Spindlers Ravelry group, I find myself and other members explaining the same concepts over and over. I personally don’t mind this, and consider it a part of forum culture. New people arrive and need the same information as everyone else. However, I thought that perhaps having a place online with answers to their questions might help *some* people. I know there will always be those that need direct help and answers to their questions.

So I’ve finally opened up the SpinWiki publicly after spending quite a bit of time getting the basic structure up. I wanted to have all the policy, copyright, and help information all ready before opening things up. I also wanted to make sure I understood how things worked, and that I had some idea for a system in place for a community to form. I’ve had a little activity from others, but so far not a lot of information being added. I’ve been doing what I can when I’m feeling reasonably intelligent, but the articles I’ve added will definitely need *more*. Hopefully I can slowly build up a steady number of contributors so we’ll have one place where we can learn more about spinning.

3 Comments | Categories: Spinning |

Silk Thread

March 16th, 2008

I had a wonderful time on Saturday shopping at my local fiber store. Thanks to my awesome husband I got a lot of nice new fibers to try. One of them I chose specifically for the Spindlers group challenge on Ravelry, so I had to start spinning it right away. This is some beautiful hand-dyed silk cap that I thought perfectly fit the theme “Stirrings of Spring”.

If ever you have been told by your fiber or spindle just what you are going to spin, then you will know what it was like for me to start this “yarn”. I pulled out all my available spindles, which were all fairly light weight. I like spinning lace so this was fine with me, but I was not intending to spin quite as fine a yarn as I got. I tell you, as I was drafting out these long silk fibers I felt almost as if the spindle and silk were conspiring against me to do as they wanted. I thought to myself that even if I were to ply this thin-beyond-laceweight yarn it would be too thin to consider knitting. I like lace but geeze!

Another thing that makes this yarn unique is that it’s a very low twist despite being so fine. The fibers are so incredibly long (6″ and up, you can imagine how far apart my hands need to be to draft it) so they hold together very easily. This is perfect for embroidery thread, because I won’t have to ply and it will retain much of its sheen. It’s a very unique spinning process, I must say.

I’ve done some embroidery in my time, and in fact embroidery was my craft of choice for a good year before I decided to learn how to knit. I don’t like it as much as knitting as it doesn’t have that same meditative quality. However, it does satisfy my need to create, and I can get a bit more artistic with it than with knitting or spinning. It was decided then; this “yarn” that I was spinning officially became *thread*.

I’ve completed what seem like one or two layers of silk cap into what you see above. I leared my lesson with this first length of thread, and taped a tube of cardstock to the shaft of the spindle before starting the second batch. Winding all that thread onto a more manageable cardstock bobbin took **forever**, and I wasn’t planning to do it again.

I’ve been plotting, and scheming, and thinking about what I’m going to embroider with it. I’m thinking a mostly monochrome piece with some leaves and stems. I have some nice even weave linen that’s easy to embroider on, and we could use another decoration for the wall. Hopefully I can get some pictures up of my embroidery doodles as I tested out this thread. It works great! There is lots of shine with just a hint of texture.

2 Comments | Categories: Spinning |

Alpaca on a Turkish

February 20th, 2008

I’ve got lots of things to say today so let’s see if I can’t get them out in a clear and concise way. First, my new toy…

I have been wanting one of these Turkish spindles for a long time. It’s from [Jenkins Woodworking](http://www.jenkinswoodworking.com/Turkish_Spindles.htm) who did an amazing job on this handcrafted work of art. One of the draws to this type of spindle (aside from it’s stylish look) is that by winding your yarn between the cross arms you get a center-pull ball instead of a cop. They are designed so that you can slide the arms (and yarn) up the shaft and pull the arms apart while your ball remains in tact. However, I have found out a few more things about spinning with this type of spindle.

1) It’s not a space saver when in use. Of course while you don’t have yarn in progress going it flattens quite nicely. When it’s assembled for use the cross arms seem to take up about 4 inches in diameter, and can make it difficult when I sit and spin. 2) It tends to spin slowly despite what it says on the Jenkins woodworking page. It’s a hell of a long spinner, but it takes a good bit of force to get it going. Perhaps there’s a technique that I’m unaware of, but for now I have to be content with what I have. I’m having to spin counter-clockwise (unlike normal) because it’s easier for my fingers to put more spin into it that way. 3) It’s so fun to watch it spin!

I started off spinning the Turkish with this little bit of corriedale sent in the packaging. This is the first time I’ve ever spun this type of wool, and it really is beautiful stuff. It’s soft and fluffy, and I have a finished skein of navajo 3-ply hanging in my bathroom to attest to it. The fiber I’m currently spinning on it isn’t nearly as cooperative or nice to spin though.

It turns out that I just don’t have the knack for spinning alpaca. This fiber is a beautiful natural brown, and really quite soft. I have a bunch of it that was given to me as a Christmas gift, and I had almost given it up for good. However, I got some great advice from some over in the Ravelry Spindlers group that has helped me a bit. Some of the things I’ve learned lead me to start this alpaca on the Turkish spindle.

1) Alpaca becomes really wiry with too much twist, and the window between too much and too little twist is very small. This means that I have spindle droppage quite often, and for a fairly intermediate spinner this is *frustrating*. Using the slower (but long spinning) Turkish spindle makes it hard for me to put too much twist. 2) After dropping my spindle and the yarn breaking, I find it very very difficult to join the already spun yarn to the fiber. I have absolutely no problems doing this with wool, but for some reason the efforts with alpaca often elude me. I hate that it takes so much more time. 3) Some have recommended spinning from the fold. I haven’t been doing so for this yarn because I find it much more difficult to draft that way. However this yarn is turning out to be very directional, and fuzzes a ton when I slide my hands up it.  That may be why. Aside from these few difficulties, so far so good as you can see.

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9:58 PM

February 13th, 2008

Sometimes I just get the desire to spin away into the night.

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Finishing at 1am

February 5th, 2008

A few nights ago I finished the yarn spun with the exchange spindle by plying it together until about 1 or 2 am. For some reason I have a hard time starting to ply and picking it back up later. I feel this strong need to finish it in one sitting so I can wash and set the yarn to more quickly see what it looks like finished. This time I was not disappointed.

This is probably the finest yarn I’ve ever made (fine in thickness). It’s a merino 2-ply at about 16 wpi, and I’ve just got to finish another skein about half the size and I want to dye it all together. I’ve no clue what color I will dye it, but I’m thinking something vibrant. This is very similar to the merino I’m spinning on my golding, yet it’s a bit finer and the fiber feels just slightly different. Both white, and both will be dyed. I can’t wait!

I’ve got another finished project, but I need to find a creative way of photographing it before I post about it. It’s a project that has been a long time in hibernation, and just needs some ribbon and elastic string.

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