WnS Ep. 177: Wool Sampling & Castonitis
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
Wool n’ Spinning Radio featured a bonus episose this month with Rebecca (@rebbiejaye) in our community. Have a listen here.
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 – Knitting
Albini by Orlane Sucche
- Disdero Ranch Romney/Mohair 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
Make NINE Progress
Norweigan wool from Amber
- Combed vs carded samples, knit & woven
- 2-ply from centre pull ball, continuous backwards with gentle smoothing
Updates – Knitting
Black Forest Cardigan by Verena Cohrs
- Ripped out previous pullover; washed yarn
- Gauge on 5.00mm needles
Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan
- Cascade 220 Heathers, straw colourway
- Gauge on 5.00mm needles; knit body seamlessly
- Increases for skirt started; gently increasing
Last Unicorn Sweater by Meghan Regan
- Lettlopi; 4.5mm needles
- Re-working sweater for smaller size; gauge matched but too big for Norah
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!
Maggie (@nestingmag): I finished knitting my waffle shawl the other day. This has been a really interesting exercise. I posted previously about the spin itself but basically I spun singles. They weren’t the most even and at times during the knitting I broke the singles to remove really thin spots. It didn’t happen too often but I thought it best. I like the finished shawl but I think it’s going in the gift pile as these are not colors that look good on me at all. One other reason I’ve found this spin so fascinating is that I loved this fiber in the batt so much but don’t much care for it spun up. That’s not at all meant as a criticism of the dyeing but trying to understand what it was that I loved so much in the batt and why that didn’t translate to the final yarn or FO. It’s like those singles skeins of yarn when I love it in the skein but not knitted which can be frustrating but also thinking about how else I might approach those. Perhaps this yarn would have been better used in color work as the contrast color. This was overall a great study and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Marjorie (@WWMarjorie) shares her finished skeins of Breed & Colour Study.
Handspun Knitting
Tin Can Knits Along #tincanknitsalong
Dana (@t28girl) shared her finished Love Note!
Megan (@lykkemeg) shares: I needed some Christmas gift hats for my nephew and brother in law. This is the banff hat. great pattern! The brown is commercial from my stash and the trees are both in bits of handspun shetland I had left over. Great stash busting, I may kn it a couple more of these!
Zero to Hero
Britta (@anbribur) shares: This summer I spun 8 different yarns (merinotops) inspired from the book UNBRAIDED. But I did not want to knit examplas, and when I found the pattern Driftwood I saw the possibilities to test also a new way of shoulder och neckline and knit top-down using the 8 differens small skeins together with yarn I had spun from the fiber Jämtland. What I like with this “testknitting” from the Unbraided skeins is that i have parts in the yoke knitted plain, the body is knitted around with longer rows and the arms have shorter rows.
51 Yarns – Group A – Not Intended & New Natural
Rebecca (@rebbiejaye) shares: Not Intended – I did two yarns for this one as well. This was made from a mess of strings that came off some fabric pieces that I put through the wash. I spiral plied them with some leftover ramie singles. The skein looks really junky still, but the individual strands look really cool. I think they need to be woven eventually. I also spun up some cassette tapes. The result reminds me a little of wicker, but it has a funny smell… Almost like burning plastic, which kinda worried me. New Natural – I had lots of fun this time spinning the outer, guard hair coat of muskoxen. TOTALLY different! The outer guard hairs by themselves made a sort of twine. Though, TBH, it kinda totally weirded me out… I realized later it was because the guard hairs are about the same texture and length as… pubic hairs. Cue the eebie jeebie dance. Anyway, woven up into a wee sample, it seemed like it would make a really amazing rug, like a doormat. I also spun a wee sample of the guard hairs with a little bit of qiviut mixed in. That was quite different, much nicer to spin and feel, but it looked like a mangy animal to me.
How I Spin: Exploring Blends – Part I transcript here; vlog 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!
