teaching an old dog...

a few years ago i became enamored with supported spinning.    i've been spinning on drop spindles and spinning wheels for what seems like most of my life, lol...but supported spindles were an alien concept until i bought my 'learn to spin cotton' kit earlier this year.     the little brass tahkli spindle that came with it made spinning cotton (something with which i had struggled in the past) nearly effortless.   who knew that having the spindle resting on a surface (or in a small bowl) was the missing ingredient?   this new found love spurred me to look more deeply into other supported spindles.   as i said,  i have been enamored with them for a while...   i had watched videos of russian women spinning very fine cashmere for equally fine shawls using russian style supported spindles.    this spoke to me on a cellular level.   but i didn't know anyone in real life who did supported spindling, so my pursuits never went past the watching and drooling stage.

the tahkli spurred me on, however.   i joined several supported spindle groups on ravelry,  and began to stalk the shops of some of the favored spindle makers.    i haven't had any expendable income, so all i've been able to do is look,   but there are several supported spindles on my bucket list, lol.  

recently, my friend, amanda, decided that she wanted to learn wood turning.   she aspires to learn the skills necessary for restoring antique spinning wheels.    i suggested that 'we' could also make spindles.  :-)   
she has been learning the basics,  and a few nights ago i showed her pictures of phang spindles (a himalayan style supported spindle) which are very simple in design,  and seemed like making some would be good turning practice and a great way to suck her in to making supported spindles.   hahahahaha.    she saw right through me, of course.   but friday afternoon she dropped by with her first ever spindle,  a phang made from cedarwood.   it smells divine.  and is deceptively light in weight.    she handed it to me with instructions to test drive it.   :-D   woo hoo!!!

ok.  so spinning on a phang is a whole new learning curve for me. i can almost smell the new neuron pathways being burned into my brain.   my first thought was that i wanted more heft...that a heavier/more dense wood would be better.   i searched through some forum posts and found that many people PREFER a lighter phang.  hmmm.   so maybe i just need to keep experimenting until i find the right body mechanics/flicking style/drafting style for this type of spindle.....    

i have been practicing (and struggling) and today i seem to be finally getting the hang of it.    i'm using a 'park and draft' technique,  which is sort of like supported spindling with training wheels,  but it's making good yarn, so i'm not going to beat myself up about it.  :-P

i will keep practicing and, hopefully, will collect some more supported spindles in a variety of styles.
and thank you, amanda, for humoring me.  :-) 

finished spinning and socks started....

i had thought there would be several posts between this and the last one,  but life got a little intense in between.....        but the yarn is now spun and plied,   and yesterday i started socks.   for me, this time.  i do so much knitting of items to sell,  and things for others.   it's not very often that i knit for myself.     all of my handspun socks are getting hole-y.    while  i'm perfectly capable of darning them,  i decided it's time for a few new pairs.    my intent is to spin and knit a few, for myself,  before next winter.      although, if the weather doesn't decide to get warm, and stay warm,  i may need them much sooner, lol.

ok,  so here is the yarn...

it's approximately sport weight, although it looks heavier in the photo....
i am knitting it on size 3 needles.      i started by casting on 56 stitches.   seemes like it will be big enough.  i won't be certain until after i turn the heel and try them on....   

the color changes are long, since i didn't ply the variegated singles against themselves.   i've a feeling these socks will be decidedly fraternal, which is fine with me.




i am linking this post to ginny's  yarn along on her 'small things' blog.   each wednesday she posts about what she's knitting and what she's reading, and invites others to do they same.       i am re-reading robert jordan's 'wheel of time' series.     i've read (or listened to) most of the series several times.   a friend gave me the first three books somewhere around 12 years ago, and i found more on audible in audio book form.   i've read these five or six times.     i have not read the last three volumes.   there was to be one remaining book in the series when the author died.   his wife hired another respected fantasy author to finish it, from her husband's copious notes.   it was decided that there was too much information that was necessary to the story to fit into one book,  so the last became three...    i no longer have a membership at audible.  it just doesn't fit into the budget.   but i recently signed up for a free membership at the free library of philadelphia (anyone in pennsylvania can get a free membership and anyone else in the US can get a membership for $50) and as soon as my card arrives,  i can borrow these last three on audiobook.   :-)     (my local library doesn't have them).   anyway...   i am currently on book six,  Lord of Chaos.

click on the yarn along icon to see ginny's post.  :-)

currently spinning....

i don't often buy roving dyed by other people, since i'm perfectly capable of dying my own, but this one caught my eye a while back when i was wandering around at darn yarn.   it's different from my own typical colorways, and maybe that was the attraction.

it's an unidentified wool, labelled 'US wool top' and isn't particularly soft,  but i thought it would be great for a sturdy pair of socks.    but the spun singles are looking a bit more pastel than i anticipated. 

which would be fine for easter, i suppose...but not really my style.    so i decided to dye some corriedale roving, picking up on the turquoise in the colorway, in the hopes that it'll brighten it up a bit.  my plan is to ply a single of the turquoise with a single of the colorway.

i'll post pictures once it's all spun and plied.

Cotton....

I've been spinning yarn since the late 1970's. i've used bottom whorl drop spindles, top whorl drop spindles, and a variety of spinning wheels. i can spin just about any type of fiber..... but cotton has always been my fiber nemesis. it has a short staple (each individual fiber is short) and requires a lot of twist to hold the yarn together. i had tried drop spindles and spinning wheels, but just couldn't get the hang of it---couldn't produce a yarn with which i was happy.

A year or so ago i saw a cotton fiber sampler which included a tahkli down at darn yarn needles and thread. a tahkli is a small supported spindle, often made from metal, that is traditionally used for cotton spinning in india. i read that it was invented by ghandi in the 1930's but haven't verified that bit of info. i kept wondering whether this specific little spindle would make the difference for me.

I had been thinking about this sampler ever since, so thursday afternoon i bought one. i was amazed that i was immediately able to spin a fine, fairly consistent yarn. i had never had any interest in supported spindles before, but now i find myself searching youtube and drooling over russian supported spindles on etsy lol. this has the potential to turn into my next fiber obsession.....

So far i have spun less than an ounce of the cotton but i already have visions of weaving dish towels from naturally colored cotton.... i'm partial to the green. but the shades of brown are also nice. I also have a few seeds for green cotton that were shared by a nice person on ravelry. i'll plant those in the next month or so and see whether, by planting in containers indoors, i can create a long enough season for the bolls to mature. i wonder how long it will take me to spin enough yarn for a couple of dish towels using my little tahkli..... Maybe i should save up for a box charka...

posted from Bloggeroid

so...   it takes me a couple of hours to spin the roving that it took ALL DAY yesterday to comb.

sigh.

lots more combing to do.      this frigidly cold weather is the perfect motivation to stay in the house and comb wool.    how's that for finding a silver lining, lol.    :-)

yarn along

i thought i'd participate in Ginny's 'yarn along' on her Small Things blog.   each wednesday she invites others to write a blog post about what they are knitting or crocheting,  and reading,  and link to hers.

i am, as usual, in serious fiber adhd mode.   and, as usual,  have way more ideas than time or energy.  i've been dragging pretty badly as the weather keeps changing (which seems to affect my lyme stuff more in the fall than any other time of year).     but i am chugging along on several projects.

This time of year most of my spinning and knitting is stuff that will be for sale, either at Bottlebrush Gallery for the Arts or the Harmony Museum Weaver's Cabin.    This pair of mittens is being knit from yarn i spun from one of Lisel's sheep.   I'm not sure which one,  but it's a medium gray Black Finnsheep/Lincoln cross. 

i'm also washing, dying, combing, carding and spinning like a madwoman.     weaving ideas abound!  now,  if i just had the energy/time/loom availability to bring all of them into the light of day....  

currently reading Spin to Weave: the Weaver's Guide to Making Yarn



click on the yarn along icon to see ginny's post.  :-)

spinning at the farmer's market

this has been my second summer vending at our local farmer's market.  it's a young market, in it's third year (first year at this location) and is very small.   we average 8-10 venders.   most are food related and there is a wonderful variety of everything from seasonal produce to plants to amazing imorted olive oils and balsamic vinegars.    apart from the olive oils and vinegars, everything is local.
my booth is a combination of handmade soap/herbal goodies and fibery stuff.   i usually bring a spinning wheel and spin in my booth.  sometimes my friend amanda comes along and brings a spinning wheel or whatever knitting or crochet project she happens to be working on that day.   the spinning wheel gives me something to  do with my hands,   and also draws people into the booth.  i enjoy showing people how it works and how yarn is made.

it's hard to believe how quickly the season is passing.   the market goes through the second thursday of october, tentatively (weather permitting and assuming vendors still have things to sell).  only a month and a half (or less) left.    :-(            i love the comradery with the other vendors,  and the availability of amazing fresh, local foods.     today i came home with peaches,  with the intent to make peach salsa.    but i forgot to get hot peppers to go with them.    sigh....     maybe i will peel, chop and freeze them,  and get the peppers next thursday.