WnS Ep. 195: Community Sampling & Permission to Play!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Live Stream: Saturday, April 17th @ 8:30am PDT

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.

Enjoy the show!

Live Chat Assistance here.

There is a lot going on in our community! It’s a lot to cover and remind you of each week. Have a look here for more info!!

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).

On & Off the Bobbins

Bowmont & Huaycana on Lendrum Saxony; long-draw

Spunky Eclectic Gotland in “Thread Box” – Turkish spindle; 35gm; short forward with smoothing; low twist

On & Off the Needles

In Progress – Knitting

Fanel by Orlane Suuche – Disdero Ranch 100% Romney; woollen spun; Ashford eSpinner3

Florence Tank by Sari Norland – Drops Lace Unicolor (70% Alpaca/30% Mulberry Silk)

Community Participation

For April, tell us about your favourite mitten pattern! Share in the episode thread on Ravelry or comment on YouTube!

Breed & Colour Studies – Shetland

Sue shares via Ravelry: I started with a 500g fade pack of Shetland wool combed top from Hilltop Cloud. I spun it to five skeins, but plied braids one and two together. I spun it on my Majacraft Rose, which was new at the time and my first treadle wheel. So quite a steep learning curve. I chose to play with the colours as I knit, and used helical stripes for much of the body. I’m delighted with the result. I love spinning with and knitting Shetland, and the resulting fabric is cosy with surprisingly good drape.

Luxury Fibres ALONG

Priscilla shares via Slack: Does it get better than when you stop to check the weight of singles on two bobbins to see how close you are, they are EXACTLY the same. Happy Dance anyone? Moving along on my spin for the shawl. Finished knitting the main shawl section from former spin.  This one will be for the lace portion.

Sherri shares via Ravelry: Comparison of cashmere and qiviut fibers for the luxury spinning has been so much fun! I have Rachel and Rebecca to thank for my opportunity to try the qiviut fiber (thank you both, I feel so blessed)! Here are the results.

Natural Shades ALONG

Marce shares via Slack: The Manx Loaghtan hand-carded fiber came out a very grippy haloed yarn with good structure. Really good for colorwork (filled in the stitches with this commercial wool), and makes for useful samples.  Pattern is the Aspis Hat by Marina Skua…(my crown shaping is modified for my melon head)

Debbie shares via Ravelry: Ready to block!

Zero to Hero // #sweaterspin #useyourhandspun #spinallthethings

Laura shares via Slack: Convinced my model to let me get an “action” shot.  I overheard a “oh, these feel good!” this morning from the other room when he put them on.

Sample Spinning // PLAY

Mary shares via Ravelry: I’ve been playing with blending fiber to match a picture sort of like how Katrina dyes the fiber clubs to match a picture. Not all of the blend I made match the picture but a few hit their target and there is a lot of solid colors and neutrals in these rolags.

Hanna shares via Ravelry: My favourite mitten pattern for handspun is the Doris mittens; I made a pair last autumn, they are so cheerful and I think they showcase the changes of colour in the handspun in a lovely way.

Amy shares via Slack: snack spin completed! i bought some indie dyed falkland/bfl that someone was destashing on the Rav UK Spinners forum and couldn’t wait to spin it when it arrived. it’s a really bouncy 2ply, DK weight and I’ve got ~250m. It poofed up extraordinarily after washing, losing about 15% of the length. I never wear these colors, and have no idea what to do with it, but a joyful spin nonetheless

Marce shares via Slack: Comparing samples of chain ply (left) and 2-ply in this Shetland/Ramie/Silk blend. Both samples came out well balanced, and this time I kept the same whorl for spinning and plying – 9:1. I will knit it up to be sure, but this feels like “sweater yarn”!

Ruth shares via Slack: Not really a full sweater spin but sometimes you need a snack. This snack spin of 5oz Polwarth/Silk from Julie Spins, and an idea that’s been bubbling up for a while, became my first cardigan since I started knitting again two years ago. The resulting yarn is a 3 ply sport weight from 3 full lengths of the braid short forward, no smoothing. Very airy. I plied from the first spun end. When knitting and duplicate stitching I focused on the lighter bits for the body and darker for the cuffs. It knit at a worsted weight even though the grist worked out as a sport weight. The main yarn is Blue Sky Fibers from my LYS and the buttons are from kabooci on etsy. I winged the pattern and kept good notes. Lots of things to do different next time. However, I’m happy with this.

Denise shares via Slack: Here are some progress shots of my current sweater spin – Spark Cardigan. The MC is from a fleece that I purchased at my very first Maryland Sheep and Wool in 2009. I had no clue what I was doing and this one wasn’t my first choice – because my first choice was scooped up by none other than Clara Parkes while I shopped around – LOL! I sent it out for processing and then when it came back I was afraid to spin with it – and it sat in a bin for 12 years!
This year, after coming back to my wheel, and finding this group, I pulled it out, ran it through my hand combs to put a little life back into it, and it’s been a pleasure to spin. It is a crazy cross – 1/2 Rambouillet 1/4 Romney 1/8 Corriedale and 1/8 Border Leicester. The CC is from three sibling  OOAK Corriedale braids from On The Round. Two sleeves done and I’m casting on the body today!

Thank you so much for joining me today!

Until then, Happy Spinning!