Drool

One of these days, Imma win the lottery and buy everything off the Golding website...

Crazy bat spindles...

Ring spindles...

Awesome Celtic spindles...

I'll definitely need a new Lazy Kate...

And some lucets to play with...

Since I am such a Fiber Artiste, a sheep wheel will also be necessary...

And this wheel too, because...um...because...I WANT IT.  ;)

Selecting A Wheel

If you're contemplating a wheel purchase in the near future, The Woolery has one of the most helpful guides to selecting a wheel that I have come across.

I bought my first wheel secondhand, a Kromski Mazurka.  I actually lucked out, because way back before I even thought about starting to learn to spin I saw this picture online and decided it was my Dream Wheel:

So when I got the opportunity to buy one, I jumped at the chance!  I loved my Mazurka, though I would NOT recommend this wheel for an absolute beginner, just because the tension is very finicky to adjust.  It took me forever to work it out, and I ended up taking off the double drive band and just using it as a single drive, because I could not get the hang of it.

As much as I loved this wheel, it did have a couple of drawbacks: no jumbo flyer, and portability became an issue, since I like to prance about and spin at the coffee shop, friend's houses, or wherever.  So I ended up buying a Kromski Sonata:

Of course I got the jumbo flyer and bobbins, so I could ply up to eight ounces onto a single bobbin, and it folds right up into its own carrier bag to cart around wherever I go!  If I had unlimited cash and space, I would totally have kept my Mazurka as a second wheel, but the versatility of the Sonata made it a much better option for me right now.

Though I still think I am entitled to an Ashford Elizabeth wheel, because ELIZABETH!  It's made for ME!  ;)

Before I decided on the Sonata, I was lucky enough to be able to try out multiple wheels from multiple companies, which I would highly recommend.  I was at SAFF that year, and just went from booth to booth, trying out Kromskis and Ashfords and Schachts to see the best for me on price, portability, style, and how they all actually spun.

I actually learned to spin on a wheel.  I had tried with a drop spindle a couple of times, but trying to keep the spindle going, and draft, and spin, and not drop everything on the ground every two minutes was too much for my teeny brain.  One of the best things I did once I finally got the hang of spinning was to buy a giant bag of Shetland at one of the local fiber festivals--I think it was about a pound and a half, not the best roving in the whole world, but I just sat down and spun and spun and spun and spun until I really had a good handle on how the whole process worked.  It really consolidated things my teacher had showed me, and got the muscle memory good and solid so that I had all the movements and everything down pat.

If I had all the money in the world, I would love to get one of Majacraft's Little Gems:

Or Golding's wheel with the little sheepies on it!!

Or a Jensen, just because it's a freakin' Jensen!  :D

Once you learn to spin, it's totally an addiction, and you need ALL THE ROVING! and ALL THE WHEELS!

I don't have a problem, I can stop any time I want.  ;)

Roving Pr0n

THIS.  :D

Raxor's Etsy shop is just full of gorgeous space-dyed merino, tussah silk, and mulberry silk, and a whole bunch of silk yarn for the knitters too!

Decisions...

So it's coming up on the end of the semester, work is piling up and tempers are getting shorter and shorter...I have a couple of days off this week, so I could catch up on reading, get a head start on some projects due next week, or...

:D

Spin, Span, Spun

I love Polwarth.  Not as much as I love My BFL (TM), but it's a really nice spin.  This is some Blue Moon handpainted that I bought at Rhinebeck a couple of years ago, 9.5 ounces...The colorway is...erm...the colorway is handwritten on the label, and a little bit illegible.  I think it says "Sock Gabe DHD"...At least that's what it looks like?  :/

But it's SO FREAKIN' PRETTY.  I admit it, I squeed a little bit when I saw it.

The colors aren't photographing very well; it's a little bit more muted than this picture seems to show, but you get the idea...

And here it is plied into a nice sock weight...Since it was almost 10 ounces, I should get a whole lotta yardage out of this!

Roving Pr0n

OK, so I was all ready to start gushing over this bit of BFL, since it's my favorite fiber, and it's all green and teal and mint and evergreen and YUMMY...

But then I clicked on the main part of Edgewood Garden Studio's Etsy shop, and Oh Em Eff Gee.  Go look at her huge selection of handspun.  Exquisite handspun.  Glorious handspun.  Incredible handspun!  If I could spin like this lady, I would die a happy woman!  OK, go look at it, I will wait here.

AMIRITE?

I also love the very complete descriptions for each of her items, with extra info about the fiber animal, as well as specific information about the handspun itself.  Impressive!  This shop is definitely going to become one of my Etsy favorites.  :D

I Need One Of These...Hell, I Need FOUR Of These!

Hand turned wooden top whorl drop spindles...Inlaid cherry, walnut, maple, cedar...BEAUTIFUL!!

My current favorites:

Apparently Mr. Kundert is no longer filling wholesale orders, but luckily we can still buy individual spindles from his website.  Go there now, and buy ALL THE THINGS before I do!  :D

Roving Pr0n

OK, purple is my favorite color, so how could I resist this?

I mean, LOOK AT IT.  :D

Fiber Artemis' Etsy shop is just chock full of beautiful, muted colors: silk hankies, Polwarth, merino, Corriedale, mulberry silk, roving with all sorts of different blends...ZOMGS!  There's even some of her own handspun, if you're not a spinner, and extra bits and pieces for your own yarn if you're one of those lucky souls with a drum carder.

Oh man...I just saw that she's got a Batt Club too...It might be time to put
 my credit card in the freezer in case I completely lose control...  ;)

My New Boyfriend

I'd been lusting after The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning for a long, looooong time, and finally decided to treat myself for Giftmas...I wish I'd done it sooner, because this book is AWESOME.

Now, I am only about a quarter of the way through this large volume right now, but I can safely say I have already learnt a bunch of stuff I never knew even existed regarding spinning...One of my handspun entries in a fiber fair competition last summer was critiqued in relation to 'grist', which just made me think 'Huh?'  But good ol' Alden explains these things so clearly and concisely.

Some sections get a little too mathematical/scientific, which just makes my eyes glaze over, but having this on hand as a reference will be invaluable...There are lots of diagrams and illustrations to clarify various techniques, easy-to-understand explanations, and it all makes me think that maybe I really COULD buy a raw fleece and do my own little sheep-to-shawl all by myself!  (Please, somebody talk me out of this before the fiber festivals start this spring!!)  :D

Distaff Day

It seems that today is traditionally the first day back to work after the Christmas season, and women would begin to prepare fiber for the daily grind of spinning, while the men played pranks, and would apparently try to set the flax on fire?!?!  Whut.


Robert Herrick, “St. Distaff’s Day; or, the Morrow After Twelfth Day” (17th Century):

Partly worke and partly play
Ye must on St. Distaffs Day:
From the Plough soon free your team;
Then come home and fother them:
If the Maides a-spinning goe,
Burne the flax, and fire the tow:
Scorch their plackets, but beware
That ye singe no maidenhair.
Bring in pailes of water then,
Let the Maides bewash the men.
Give St. Distaffe all the right,
Then bid Christmas sport good-night,
And next morrow every one
To his own vocation.


All I know, dude shows up with a lighter and goes for my stash, I'm breaking some heads with my good old distaff.  ;)

Experiments in Spinning: Wensleydale

So I decided a while back that I would try and expand my spinning repertoire, since I can't just sit around and spin BFL all the time.  I do not plan on discussing the debacle that ensued with the 2 oz. of camel I bought and promptly mangled into oblivion.  ;)

I got this Louet Wensleydale several months ago from Nomad Yarns, since it has a long staple, and I usually prefer that to a shorter length...I was a little surprised at the amount of VM in the roving, since it seemed to be generally well-processed.  There wasn't a LOT, but what was present were GIANT chunks.  There were also quite a number of big black guardhairs, which seemed rather odd.

The singles were a bit overtwisted (entirely my fault):

But I figured it would be fine during plying, and any additional twist issues would come out during washing and setting the twist.

The roving itself was really fuzzy...I like to predraft quite a bit, and split my roving up in preparation for spinning, but it got messy...Very messy.

Note To Self: Don't spin new roving while wearing a black shirt.  ;)

Plying ended up being a total PITA--the singles were way more overtwisted than I thought, and what I fondly believed would become a worsted-weight yarn is definitely chunky-to-bulky weight:

I'd like to try Wensleydale again, I think, with a non-overtwisted singles this time, or maybe something with a Wensleydale blend.  But not for a while...  :/