WnS Ep. 224: A little bit of spinning …

Dear Spinning Circle,

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!

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On & Off the Bobbins

SweetGeorgia Yarns silk puff (40% merino, 40% SW merino, 20% silk) ‘hearth’ – Ashford eSpinner 3; continuous backwards, lots of twist @ 1430 on speed knob

Chaotic Fibres Whiteface Woodland / Llama / Ramie / Bamboo – plan to weave with finished 2-ply yarn, sampling done on The Wool Circle here

On & Off the Needles

Finished – Knitting

Catbells by Megan Nodecker – Westcoast Colour Local Wool find at Knit City 2021; 5.00mm // US 8

In Progress – Knitting

Ystava by Jonna Hietala – Estelle Yarns Llama Worsted, 5 skeins

Lunenburg Pullover by Amy Christoffers – Dominion Fleece & Fibre North County Cheviot, naturally dyed in Indigo, Marigold, Madder

Community Inspiration // Participation

Spindle Spun Stitches

Eveline shares: This is the short-stapled carded preparation that I was having lots of trouble with on my wheel, but it works a lot better with this tiny Russian spindle! I’m not going for good right now, just for “holds together” because supported spindling feels very different from a drop spindle or a wheel. So most of it is overspun, and there are a bunch of spit-felted joins in there. Whenever the spindle is full I attach the yarn to the ball and wind it off, I have to do that quite often so I guess it’s time for more supported spindles? And I wanted to thank @rainbowange. I was having a lot of trouble getting started with this spindle but your Wool n’ Spinning Radio episode made it click for me. HUGE THANK YOU! I couldn’t make it work with the spindle right in front of me on the table, the spindle kept collapsing, the yarn kept breaking and the position was just uncomfortable, but sitting on the ground, or the couch, and putting the spindle to my right side makes it possible to draft. And suddenly, it’s relaxing! Thank you so much!

Diana shares: Making mitts from my Spindle Spun Summer skein, with a photo of the yarn on the spindles back when.

Natural Shades ALONG

Laura shares: I told before that we went to an alpaca farm with our girls and they picked some alpaca fleece for mittens. This was my first project with raw fleece, and it was so much fun I bought my own drum carder today I finished the knitting. The yarn was just enough for mittens and a headband for each.

Zero to Hero // #sweaterspin #useyourhandspun #spinallthethings #weavewithhandspun

Maria shares: This mostly handspun sweater has been in my dreams for a long time. I had seen a sweaterversion of sheep heid pattern soon after I started to spin. I had the pattern for the hat from very early times for me in Ravelry. I did swatch and count the size, but this needed some trying and ripping, but in the end this turned out like I had hoped. The greenish yarn is inde dyed, but others are natural colors of Finn, Kainuun harmas and Shetland speep fleeces. The yarn is about sport weight.

Julie shares: Here is my #zerotohero #shawlographymkal, from my hand-dyed, hand-spun, 2-ply fingering, Jacob wool, around half from my fleece. Quite an adventure!

Kat shares: My Shawlography is almost finished. I’m one of those who didn’t like the border, so I went for a different striping sequence. And I tried the crossed stitches but found them really hard to move along so swapped for a bit of netting.

Megan shares: Made a red corduroy skirt to go with my new sweater!

Sample Spinning // PLAY

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct. – Carl Jung

Helene & Crystal share: So… we got together and did some dyeing. Crystal taught me so much today!! We talked, dyed, and did some support spinning together on our woodland wood craft spindles!!! Best fiber friends!

Vikki shares: Sparkle-filled hand spun yarn, I really like the colours in this skein! Merino, Corriedale, some sparkly stuff…. I don’t remember what sparkly stuff. I should have kept the labels. 12-13wpi, dk weight, 181yds, 73g, 1118ypp. I originally was going to blend 3 different bundles together. Like the last time I was colour playing, I didn’t like my mini sample skein. So I split the blue wool in half and did two different sets of rolags. This was the first set/ skein.

Weaving

LindaSue shares: My other weaving has been on my inkle loom.  I have completed two small bands and turned them into “Ribbon Candy” earrings, after the similar article and project in current Little Looms magazine. I am quite happy with them.  My third is started. Will try to sell at a craft show, and what doesn’t sell,will be gifts!

Amanda shares: My long term goal is to make myself a handspun handwoven coat.  I took a big first step towards that goal in the last few weeks—as part of my make 9 this year I made my husband, Scott, a peacoat.  It is all commercial fabric as I wanted to concentrate on the construction rather that anything else this time around.  Blue vadmal outer fabric, linen interlinings, green viscose lining, blue-green corozo buttons, silk sewing thread (I aim for it to be 100% compostable at its end of life). There is also a detachable hood to go with it.  I learnt so much about fit and construction and tailoring by doing this project.  The pattern is ‘Goldstream Peacoat’ by Thread Theory Designs and I constructed it using a mish-mash of traditional dressmaking and traditional tailoring techniques.  The pattern was designed with dressmaking techniques in mind and by sewing this I realise how much I want to learn more about ironwork and traditional tailoring.  I love working with the fabric in my hands and shaping the wool to fit the 3D curves of the body.  I have so far to go on my learning journey  when it comes to tailoring but I am very happy with this first step.  Oh, and so is Scott!

Thank you so much for joining me today!

Until then, Happy Spinning!