WnS Ep. 176: Spinning All the Loose Ends

Dear Spinning Circle,

Direct YouTube link here.

Thank you for being here today, especially those who were able to make it to the Live Stream. I appreciate your time spent here in this place with me. You are most welcome. I hope you feel most welcome because you are welcome here.

BONUS Breed & Colour Stuy: How I Spin: Bonus content released earlier today on the Charollais spins that I did for Breed & Colour Study. Link here! Everyone welcome!
Patreon 2021’s Video has been released this morning for you to watch and catch up with what’s happening here at Wool n’ Spinning – Patreon post here.

Enjoy the show!

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There is a lot going on in our community! It’s a lot to cover and remind you of each week. If you are curious about what happens in our community, please click the links below, reach out to me: rachel @ welfordpurls (dot) com, or reach out on Instagram/Ravelry/Slack (if you are a Patreon member, @welfordpurls_admin).

Housekeeping

Be sure to sign up for the Wool n’ Spinning Newsletter at welfordpurls.com.

For a softcover copy of How I Spin: A Sock Study, check here & e-book link here

Unbraided: The Art & Science of Spinning Colour – e-books here & book orders here.

Natural Shades Along Ravelry thread here & use #sweaterspin channel on Slack

Tin Can Knits ALONG Ravelry thread here & use #sweaterspin channel on Slack

51 Yarns SAL Group A here & Group B here

Book Club – for more information, check the #booksbooksbooks channel on Slack (patrons only)

On & Off the Needles & Bobbins

Finished Objects – Spinning

Kinfolk Organic Polwarth – deep stash

• Majacraft Suzie Pro, 28:1, short continuous backwards draft, worsted
• Plying – treadled 8 times (including wind-on) for each 30” length of yarn
• Created very high twist 2-ply, light sport weight

CVM roving – processed at Kingdom Fleece & Fiberworks

• traditional 2-ply, over 200 yards finished yarn
• to be swatched with another handspun yarn for possible colourwork sweater yoke

Works in Progress – Knitting

Albini by Orlane Sucche

• Disdero Ranch 100% Shetland 3-ply
• woollen prep – pin-drafted roving, spun semi-worsted (continuous backwards w/o smoothing)
• swatch gauge: 19 stitches x 4 inches
• ripped majority of the sweater out over the weekend: cocoon shaping of the sides meant the hips didn’t allow the sweater to close for my personal measurements and sleeves were waaay too big

Montana Mountain Cowl by Andrea Mowry

• using my Hallowe’en Rolags handspun – vlogs of making these rolags here and part II here
• Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Pitch Black (4245), held double
• striped vs. blended project – note the differences between the two yarns
• barber-poling vs. heathering in the finished yarns

Updates – Knitting

RIPPED Love Note by Tin Can Knits

• Small Bird Workshop 80/20 CVM/Mohair pin-drafted roving (handspun page here)
• Spun on Ashford e-Spinner 3 – continuous backward draft, full draft & minimal smoothing
• Knit swatch – 16 stitches per 4 inches with yarn HELD DOUBLE
• Update: slowly separating the yarn from being held double & washing; ready to move onto another knit TBD

Community Participation

For November, please tell us about your favourite item(s) you’ve made based on an emotion or feeling.

Episode thread here or comment below here on YouTube!

BONUS Breed & Colour Stuy: How I Spin

Bonus content released earlier today on the Charollais spins that I did for Breed & Colour Study. Link here!

Wool n’ Spinning Radio this month featured our own Marceline Smith of the Hey BrownBerry Podcast. Episode to listen or watch here. Her amazing podcast here.

Handspun Knitting

Mary (@mjm) shares: The comments for the October episodes got me thinking & moving. Here it is November and the year is almost over, while I am not a deadline I did let my goal of learning more about blending slip away from me, so this week I got the drum carder out and started to play. I am going for a yarn that would be similar to daylight by Harrisville Yarns. I also wanted to compare how my colors would look if I put them through the drum carder once, twice and three times. And of course I started sampling with the finished yarns.

Sarah R. shared on Slack: I finished some yarn and I’m super happy with it. It’s a Shetland/Corriedale/seacell blend that I mentioned in the episode thread about blends, and that really prompted me to just spin it. There were a ton of complimentary colours in here, and I let them mix how they like, because I quite like complex muddy colours. It spun up to around 345m if fingering weight yarn with incredible drape. This was really a lesson in letting the fibre tell you what it wants, because before sitting down to spin I really thought this would be a bouncy worsted weight hat yarn!

Pernille shared on Slack: I finished almost 200 grams of handdyed merino from Garngalleriet in Denmark. I ended up with a 3-ply, 500 meters and 191 grams. I had an intension to use it as the contrastcolor in a Shifty with a blue-green fade as the maincolor. But seeing them done and together I think it would be a shame, they should each shine on their own… and I dont really wanna knit the Shifty anymore. Maybe some day. I think the merino would be nice paired with a light grey, either commercial yarn or handspun, I think I wanna spin it myself. I am not sure wich patterns to use, now I dont wanna do the shifty, but I will know when the right pattern comes along, and right now christmasgifts is much more important.

Tin Can Knits Along #tincanknitsalong

Linda (@nauti54knitter) shares: I recently completed a Flax for my great nephew and a Barley hat to go with it. Now I want an adult version for me.

Zero to Hero

Cath shared on Slack #sweaterspin: I had to share this! This is my first significant fleece-to-yarn project destined to be a sweater. It is organic Romney lambswool bought at Wonderwool last year. There is around 1400m of 3 ply approx DK weight. It’s also fantastically sproingy! My plan is to dye the skeins before knitting, with natural dyes – probably brownish but still need to work that out!

51 Yarns – Group A – Bast

Rebecca (@rebbiejaye) shares: What an interesting spin! Different from any fiber I’ve spun before. I definitely vastly preferred wet-spinning it, as it was a bit slippery and fuzzy without it. I spun it instinctively, from chunks stripped down into thirds, and found it so enjoyable that I spun a whole 4 oz of it. The lace sample was… CRISP. Like netting. Had lots of structure, but without being heavy like linen or alpaca. I’d love to either weave with it, or knit something like the shakerag top with it, using my poofy cotton for the other yarn.

How I Spin: Exploring Blends – Part I transcript here

Upcoming How I Spin content to finish off the year in November & December exploring how the recent explorations of blends resulted for me, thoughts for the future & kicking off luxury fibres for the new year. For more information, please head to the Co-Executive Producer or higher on Patreon.

Thank you so much for joining me today!

Until then, Happy Spinning!