• Thoughts 06.06.2019 No Comments

    I wanted to post a link to Cherricongo’s spindle spinning tutorials.

    https://www.ravelry.com/people/cherricongo/handspun?set=tips–techniques

    You will need to log into your Ravelry account to view this. Steve, aka Cherricongo, has done a great job of explaining his system for spinning yarn on spindles. And he’s done four spindle spun sweaters at this time, so I’d say his system works. It’s worth your time to read through it. I am currently trying to figure out a system for my spinning projects. I want a physical notebook as the digital notes on Rav don’t allow you to attach samples. I’ll post more, once I have something in place.

    I have a new spindle to talk about and one more coming in today, so will post on those tomorrow. If you find the Cherricongo tutorials helpful, please consider making a donation to his Go Fund Me. The link is here:

    https://www.gofundme.com/my-friend-steve-needs-your-help

    He is living in Colorado in a travel trailer (sounds familiar) and recently lost his beloved African Gray. And he has some serious health issues to deal with.

     

  • Lots of spinning this weekend!

    I am on the third section of the spindle fractal. I’ll post a tutorial, as soon as I finish it and ply it. It’s working out pretty well.

    These are just bits of fiber. The white are some Falkland samples I got from Rosemary Wilkinson. The green is from Bam Huey and I need to find the rest of that fiber as I was trying to do a gradient. The brown is leftover Stone and Amethyst. I pulled out the Rose support spindle to play around with. It went pretty well, once I remember to do a long draw. I’m going to start spinning with that spindle at least once a week, until I’m good at it.

    This is some Targhee in the Durango colorway from Greenwood Fibers. It’s on an Aegean I picked up at Black Sheep last year. I’ve been taking my spindles outside, when I take the dogs out. (I have springers that are unhappy if I don’t go outside with them.)

    This is the latest wheel project. It’s 8 ounces of Falkland in the Sandpiper and Tribe colorways from Greenwood Fiber. This will be another double marled yarn, three ply this time. I’m going to make Lon some handspun socks. I really love double marl yarns. If you are going to try it, I’d recommend using the same fiber for both colorways. I had problems drafting on my other project.

    This will be a baby sweater for Abe’s first birthday. I need to start this soon. I also have a kit to knit a teddy bear. I’m thinking about using the leftovers of this yarn to do a bear sweater or scarf.

     

    This is a three-ply crepe yarn from Dorset Horn. It’s part of my sock yarn testing. I had some issues drafting from the first section. The twist kept running into the fiber. I finally figured out a way to draft it. I’m not sure if I did a good job on this or not. I have more sock yarn fiber to try, so will see if it looks better on my next project.

    This is Targhee in the Twilight colorway from Greenwood Fibers. I just ordered another eight ounces. I’d like to do a sweater out of this. I am thinking about a double marled yarn, but haven’t decided if I want two or three ply yarn. I really want to break up the colors. Still thinking about what I want to do.

    And..I had my spindles packed away, as I was clearing off my desk. (I found there is a secret drawer lock and I had to take the top off to get the drawers open again!) I rearranged the office yesterday and decided to put the spindles back out where I can see them. I really need to make a nicer storage area. It’s nice to see them all again.