Spindlitis

New Wheel!

Fiber 24.04.2019 No Comments

I’m happy with the three wheels I have. The Pipy will always have sentimental value. The Louet S-10 is versatile and great for plying. The great wheel is amazing and I plan to use it more after the move. But I’d been thinking about getting a better wheel. I’d planned to wait until after the move, but started seeing some good prices locally on used wheels.

My first thought was an Ashford. They are reliable and no drama. I’ve never owned a saxony style wheel. I checked on a couple, but they sold or I didn’t get a response. I also checked on a Nagy which sold before I could look at it. There was a nice Country Craftsman, well written ad, and I asked if it was still available. The owner was knowledgeable and even sent a short video showing how true the wheel was. I was impressed. Lon took me over to look at it this weekend. I bought it, of course! And the owner showed us her great collection of antique wheels, which was a nice bonus. I am still learning about how to spin on this wheel. It’s a fast wheel, and feels like a production wheel. I did some plying over the weekend and I think I still need to work on that. It has the long flyer, so the bobbins hold 4 ounces. And it’s a very attractive wheel:

I have the Lazy Kate and a total of four bobbins. I am really happy with this wheel. And, this one is designed to break down for shipping. The legs are even numbered, so you can put them in the right place when you put it back together. It was a wonderful birthday present.
Spinning projects!

Fiber, Projects 11.04.2019 No Comments

Lots of projects going on this week. I am still spinning the Shetland/Mohair blend:

I am close to finishing the second bobbin and will be able to ply it, at that point. Then I can decide if I want to use it. I am also working on that knitting project, Quaker Yarn Stretcher, and am just about done with it.

I bought some fiber from Three Waters Farm. I’m very happy with it. I originally bought two colorways, with the idea of doing a double marl yarn. I bought Spring By Way in Finn:

And I bought some Iris Patch in Rambouillet:

Then I saw that there were too many colors in common on the two sets of roving. I am using the Spring By Way for a fractal on spindle project. For the double marl yarn, I bought a new roving. I’ll still use Iris Patch but with Graham Cracker Brown in BFL and Tussah:

It’s prettier than it looks in this picture. I have two other spinning project sorted out, both using Inglenook fiber. I’ll document those on a second post.
Grand Project

Fiber, Projects, Spindles 05.04.2019 No Comments

Know how you get an idea for a grand project? It’s one of those things that made sense at the time. I picked up a braid of Greenwood Fibers colorway Emily. I started with four ounces of Blue Faced Leicester. Then I got this idea that I could make a three ply yarn, using the same colorway in three different wools. They had Merino, so I picked up the Merino. I planned to get some Polworth, but they sold out and I never got around to it.

The BFL went fine. I was using one of my turks. Then I hit the merino. Merino is a project killer for me. I don’t like spinning it. It feels tedious. I don’t like the limpness of the yarn. I knew it was a mistake to buy it, but it fit in the scheme of the grand project! I lost interest. I finally did the last of the merino on my Pipy and plied it today. I kept the fibers separate and I must be missing a skein as I have about 7.15 ounces here. I’m pretty sure that I did spin all of it.

Now I have to figure out what to do with this. I do like the BFL, not crazy about the merino.

See this?

That’s from my polydactyl cat Pete. He customized some of my spinning equipment, like the big Turkish spindle and my niddy noddy. Pete passed away about two years ago, on Christmas day. He had a stroke several months before. I was able to share my prednisone with him.

Miss you, Petey (the black cat). Slobberpuss (the fold), not so much.
Oopsy!

Projects, Spindles 01.04.2019 No Comments

It just dawned on me that I’ve never posted my very nice Jenkins Aegean spindles here. (Might have put them on my other site.) Since I’ve actually been spinning with them today, here they are:

This is my crabapple, 17.9grams, with some Blue Faced Border Leicester:

And this is an Ambrosia Maple, 17.23 grams, with Greenwood Fibers Durango colorway, Targhee:

Guess which one I’m having more fun with! I didn’t like my first Aegean. There was something about the weight that just didn’t work for me and I sold it. But I like both of these, a lot. They feel like real workhorses. I would still like to get a Swan someday. Every time I go to a fiber festival and go to the Jenkins booth, I plan to buy a Swan. And I come home with something else.
Thoughts on spinning

Thoughts 01.04.2019 No Comments

This was triggered by discovering the wonderful Knitting Sarah blog (just added to my blog list). Let me say again how much I like her blog. I think she is doing beautiful work. And I am saying this up front, because I don’t want my thoughts here to be taken as a slam against her. But in one of her tutorials, she says:

“Most spinners you talk to will say their #1 goal is to spin a yarn that it could be mistaken for mill spun, or at least something that looks like the control involved could not possibly have been executed by human hands.”

I’m sure this is true of modern spinners. Back in the 70s,when I learned how to spin, we despised this. We did not want to replicate commercial yarns. We wanted yarns that looked like they were created by human hands. And we made all those crazy, irregular yarns that machines couldn’t make (until they started making thick and thin yarns!) What we see today are spinners using the same type roving the mills would use. It’s great stuff, don’t get me wrong. But it disconnects us from the craft. Let me explain.

Knitters used to create simple yarns and use their skills as knitters to create beautiful things. You can look at ads for yarns back in the 1900s and see that most were basic colors and usually four ply. There were novelty yarns of course. The knitter created the colorwork, from the pattern they chose and the colors they used. Think of Fair Isle. Now, we get the colorwork in the yarn and the patterns we choose need to be simple. You’ll see a few projects at Knitting Sarah where the yarn overwhelmed the pattern and she had to choose a different pattern. Makes life easier for busy knitters. No reason to do something complicated. We are handspinning yarns like the mills turn out.

Who makes the money under this system? The mills, that process the fiber and spin the yarn. It’s a system that rewards the ranchers that turn out white fleeces, preferably merino these days. Ranchers make their money off the meat, not the fleece. Small farms, raising endangered breeds or colored fleece, rely on spinners to help them keep going. Why bother, if modern spinners are not interested in purchasing a fleece and preparing their own fiber? What happens to the market for fiber prep tools? If you are buying nothing but commercial roving, why would you need a drum carder or cards? (You might want to blend even commercial fibers, but still.)

There is something to be said for watching a sheep get sheared, buying the fleece and processing it yourself. There is something to be said for having the ability to hand card or comb your on fiber. There is something to be said for being able to create your own beauty, out of simple yarns, using your skill as a knitter. And being able to do these things, makes you a better spinner.

I don’t want to take anything away from spinners that only use these prepared fibers. I understand that folks have busy lives and may not have the space or time to work from raw fleece. I started thinking about these issues when I was demo’ing at the local fair with a group of spinners. They had us back by the sheep pens. I looked and everyone was spinning commercially prepared fiber. So the next day, I brought my cards and combs and clean fleece. Some of the young folks with sheep came over to demonstrate their carding expertise! It was fun, if a bit hard on my cards. It made the connection between their animals and the yarn we were spinning. That’s important for the continuation of our craft. Be versatile! Go to a fiber festival (it’s important to support those), buy some raw fleece and learn how to wash and process it. Make something beautiful out of natural colored wool. Support local shepherds by buying their wool. Show young people that connection between the wool from the sheep and the yarn. Keep spinning alive by broadening it, not narrowing it down to replicating what the mills make.
New projects

Uncategorized 28.03.2019 No Comments

I am secretly doing a second shawl for my friend. I was going to replicate it, but if it does turn up, she’d have identical shawls. So I am using a different yarn, same colorway (as much as possible). I ran out of two of the colors, so have a few more days of down time, waiting for more yarn.

So I started another project. This will be for a co-worker. I am close to retiring and she has done so many nice things for me. I’m doing the Hap for Harriet pattern by Kate Davies.

It doesn’t look like much yet,but will be a lot more interesting when it’s done and blocked. And I bought more of that dual coated Shetland fleece. I had one ball of dark moorit and one that was lighter. The second pound of it is the same way. I’m not sure if I want to ply the two different shades together or keep them separate. For now, I’m just spinning it and setting it aside.
Shetland fleece

Uncategorized 11.03.2019 No Comments

I really love dual coated fleece. They are tricky to process and spin. You don’t want to just spin the long fibers and have a bunch of short stuff left. And you always wind up with clumps of the short stuff that won’t draft out. It’s never smooth and always a bit hairy.

This is a nice dual coated moorit Shetland fleece from Lost Acres Farm on Etsy.

It will be another hap. I also have some darker moorit to use. Way back when we were leaving California, I knit Jeffrey a sweater from some Norwegian wool. It was 4 ply moorit with the lanolin still in it. I always loved that yarn and it’s probably why I don’t care for yarn from fine fibers. It would probably be worthwhile to try and replicate it.
Been busy

Projects 09.03.2019 No Comments

I am still busy knitting haps. The one I featured in the last post has been great for the cold weather we’ve had lately. I really like the Bartlett yarn. My handspun hap is coming along.

I think I’ve found an edging that will work. The pattern calls for an 8 stitch edging. It’s just too small with this fine yarn. I’ll work on this one today.

I finished an hap for a friend.

It turned out well and I mailed it off to her last week. The post office delivered an empty box! I am trying to see if we can find it through their lost and found. I had her name and mailing address on the ziplock bag that the shawl was in. It’s sad. I really wanted to get that shawl to her.

The new Swift has been working well as an actual knitting bag. I picked up two Packing Cube Shoulder Bags, and they are great for these larger projects. I use one for the yarn and the other for the project. I have plans to do a few more haps, so I will need them. I also picked up a lot of blocking matts and a set of blocking wires. I was concerned I’d need another set of the wires, but it turned out that I needed more matts. I’ll have to reblock the Bartlett yarn hap, if the weather ever warms up.

Off for a relaxing day of spinning and knitting!
Lots of new stuff!

Fiber, Projects 26.01.2019 No Comments

I’ve been doing a lot of knitting and even some spinning on the Pipy! First up is my finished Hansel, full version.

I used charcoal Bartlett sport weight, with some Shetland yarn in “Cunningham Red”. I think the white might be Jamieson from Schoolhouse Press. The grey is Cascade 2020 worsted. I needed that color to finish and the fingering weight was just too light. I’m going to block it this weekend. I really enjoyed making this Hap. The pattern is well written and there is a Craftsy class.

Right after I finished this, I found out about the SpinOff Hapalong. It’s just started and I wanted to get in on it. But my fiber just got packed out in the truck. I ordered more. I ordered fiber for the Theme and Variation shawl in The Book of Haps. Then I ordered some natural colored grey wool for a second hap to be done at a later time. The grey came in before one of the wools for the first shawl. I started spinning it and haven’t stopped.

The Pipy had been out of commission for so long, that I had almost forgotten it had been fixed. This seems to be the perfect project. I’m trying for fingering weight. It has really been fun to use this wheel. I’ve owned it since I first saw it back at Arachne Webworks in Portland, in 1973. Once I got going on this, I knew that shawl one would now be shawl two. I ordered three more natural colors from the same Etsy shop, Lost Acres Farm. This is the grey with a white, black and charcoal. I should have leftovers which will likely lead to hap number three. I’ll post the yarn for the first shawl when I finally get the main color. It is taking forever to get here. I’m doing a pattern called Old Shale Shetland Hap. This is another one done from the center square out. I also picked up Shetland Old Shell Triangle and Square Shawl, which does the border, then edging and finally the center. I do want to try that style, but not just yet. Things are picking up around here as far as packing, so I don’t want to be working on something complicated just yet.

I have also been spinning up some odds and ends, mostly plying some on spindles.

I’m trying to gather up some of the yarn that needs to be plied and work on it as I have time. It helps me clear out a few things in the office, which needs to be packed up this weekend. We are going to refinish the floors in the bedrooms, so it all needs to be packed up. Also, I have a sewing machine for Abby. She needs to be able to patch Quinn’s work pants. I found a nice Wards Signature that I will go through tomorrow. It has built in cams, so probably fancier than she needs. But it looks to be a solid machine and is pretty quiet. I’ll have to go down and give her a sewing lesson too.

I have a new to me, lightly used Swift coming in next week. I wanted to buy one at Christmas, but had already spent too much. I seem to use one Swift for knitting stuff, one Swift for spinning stuff and the Yeoman duffle for projects that I’m working on. I don’t have an actual knitting bag and these haps are good sized. And I had to give in and buy some new henleys. I like the ones from Duluth Trading. I have worn the sleeves in two of them ragged and two other tees are worn out at the neck. And when I say they are ragged, they really are. I just had to give up and get something that was in better shape. And I’ve got to finish hemming the two walking skirts I made. I tend to get stuck at the hemming stage, but I need those skirts. I can’t find anything that is as comfortable. I may try using Abby’s machine on them this weekend.

So, more projects to come! Hope to be knitting the hap by Monday. And maybe I’ll have the Hansel blocked by then too.
No knitting problems this year

Thoughts 18.01.2019 No Comments

Last year, I was burned out from Christmas knitting and didn’t knit for about six months. This year, I never stopped. I got in the habit of knitting in the morning before work and knitting on the weekends. I started a new project every time I finished the old one.

You don’t know what stress is, until you have to pack up your fiber room. I had to pack some things up, just to get them out of the way, so that we could paint the room. And that meant that there were things I couldn’t find afterwards. Now, we are getting into the “pack it up for the move”. And I’m already running into problems. I packed up my fiber as I wasn’t spinning any major projects. Then, SpinOff did a Hapalong. I’m about to finish a hap and thought it would be great to join in. Only my fiber has already been moved to the big truck we are planning to use for the move. I bought new fiber for the project. All the bobbins for my Louet are in a bin in that truck somewhere. I can use my Pipy but it just has one good bobbin. I might be able to repair the other two, if I can get my desk drawers back open. I have a sweater that I was working on that is in hibernation now. I can’t find the two large balls of yarn I need to finish it. I’ve been trying to set aside the things I want to use, so they don’t get packed up. And, I find I get upset when my treadles leave the room. They aren’t packed up yet, but I miss them. It is crazy that I’m moving seven treadles across country, but I am. I’ve tried to limit my book buying, but somehow I keep finding books I want to read right now. I hope we finish the house soon, because I really want to be done with this. I get to retire when the house is sold and then I will have time to work on the projects that I want to do.