Spinning some Hand dyed

I finished spinning the hand dyed merino wool i got from Vanessa last week. It was was really fun to spin. It's my first time spinning such a fluffy merino. The other roving I have is comparatively slippery and does not have as much loft as this wool. It looked like cotton candy on the distaff.

I Andean plyed the 4 oz roving. I got about 206 yards.

Handspun for Tatting

My continued exploration of plying has begged the question of shuttle tatting with hand spun.  Tatting thread needs to be strong and resistant to fraying, since there is a lot of friction and tension on the tread as you work the rings. I figured you could us regular 2 or 3 ply yarn with needle tatting since it creates a looser ring, but I don't needle tat.

So I un-plyied some 20 cordonnet thread, which I assumed was more like braid, but its 6 ply spun as three 2ply strands are plyed into one thread. I tried it out, plying three lengths of yarn and then plying them together.




I tatted a ring with it and its strong and isn't too fuzzy.  It worked great. I over spun the 2 plys to make sure it held together during the last ply.

Now, I have to consider spinning very fine singles to bring the finished size of the yarn down, though I do want it to be thicker that 20 cordonnet.  I have some design ideas that will use thicker thread.

Green Hand Spun Cowl

JOY!  I finished my cowl, made from the 150 yarns of hand spun andean ply.  I'm amazed that it knit like real yarn and that it started out as roving.

Hand spinning adventures

Learning is good.
I've spun my two 4 oz Spirit Trail Fiberworks  , hand painted roving; one mostly orange, the other mostly green.


The orange, I spun singles for weaving.  It super soft and colors are amazing.  I learned if you add too much weight to your yarn while its drying, it looses its springyness, and is best for weaving.  My Gunmetal Grey and Patina roving that I navajo plyed has no stretch left in it at all (though I will still knit with it).  The orange singles, I let dry with much less weight, and its soft and strong.  Lesson learned.
 



The green roving, I decided I wanted to knit with and try 2 ply.
 
I rigged a 7"x7" to make a lazy kate.  My last try at plying was not successful because the center pull ball i made bounced all over the place and even anchored down, I had some troubles.  The Lazy Lazy Kate worked really well, but then Youtube showed the way to Andean ply.  Genius method and my lazy lazy kate could already be obsolete.  I set the yarn and let it dry un-weighted.  WOW, its just like the yarn I covet at the fiber fests: Fluffy, soft, bouncy, dreamy skein and the colors!

Alpaca handspun

Alpaca handspun
Originally uploaded by Digital Leaf

Long time no blog.... Lots of news on the way. In the mean time, I demonstrated drop spinning at the Bethel Woods Alpaca festival in Bethel NY and here is what I spun. It was my first time spinning alpaca as well as my first time spinning un-preped fiber. I also got to try a drum carder and it was a good lesson, feeling the difference between carded and uncarded fiber. Until now I've only spun dyed merino roving.

I now have alpaca fleece which I'm excited to take through the whole process: Cleaning, carding, spinning... Its a golden brown color.

making equipment

I made a PVC pipe niddy noddy that makes 1 yard skeins.  I do have a 2 yard Kromski niddy noddy but found that sometimes I wanted a smaller length skein.  The supplies came to $4.81, which is enough to make 2 niddy noddys.  It does the job, but its not as nice as my wooden Kromski. 



The idea of making a spindle has come up few times in fiber conversations.  My friend Vanessa mentioned polymer clay and after seeing the spindle varieties at the Spin City meetup, I decided to make a mini one out of polymer clay.  It Works!  I spun a little bit and Andean 2 plied it.  Already thinking about some fun patterns/designs I can make with the clay.

spin city meetup

I attended the Spin City Meetup on Monday, July 26 which I haven't been to in quite a while. It was at the Highline. I learned so much and made some new fiber friends. Saw a variety of drop spindles, including the amazingly cute Jenkins Kuchulu, and one made from a toy truck tire. 

A reporter and photographer from the NYtimes happened to be at the highline reporting on a group called Hipnic and Spin City got in the paper... You gotta love NY.  Where else can you have people spinning next to hula hoppers and an impromtu gazoo band?

Lots of Spinning

I've been doing a lot of drop spinning.  I finished my 8oz of Abi's Web Patina roving and got 246 yards of 3 ply.   I'm getting comfy with Navajo plying and discovered that its better to use shorter sections, which gives a more even ply.

I started on a gunmetal grey merino and pulled out the rest of the roving I purchased at Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool 3 years ago.  I'm still in love with the colors.  I am, however,  a bit concerned about the color fastness, as there was a little color in the water after setting the yarn.  I was planning on knitting the grey and patina together, but getting scared that the colors will bleed.

Spinning

I'm now a member of the Woodland Weavers and Spinners Guild of Damascus Pa. On the 19th I went my second meeting. The topic of discussion: Finishes. Everyone had tips and tricks for working with and finishing knitting, spinning and woven items, as well as neat tools and make-shift gadgets that will come in handy in pinch. Like making a center pull ball with a toilet paper roll.


One member demonstrated Navajo plying on the fly. A very skilled drop spinner, she made it look effortless and magical. I had to try!

On the ever useful internet and found "Tammy Rizzo's Ply-on-the-fly technique" which also has a link to her blog were she updates the technique, making it even easier.

Here is my hand spun, Navajo plied-on-the-fly yarn. First I did a Navajo ply with already spun singles, which was awkward because the center pull ball i made was very light and it was difficult to get a smooth chain going, without the ball jumping around. The second and third yarns were done on the fly. I spun a bunch of singles and then wrapped them on my fingers and plied them, then repeat.



I also tried plying with a spinning wheel, which i borrowed from my neighbor. It was great using the wheel. Spinning goes much faster but I did have a hard time plying. I found the wheel really didn't want to go in the opposite direction. But I did get a sense of the kinds of things I would want in a spinning wheel when I'm ready to get one. After that short adventure, I returned the spinning wheel to my neighbor in favor of my drop spindle.


Having finished the green roving, I knit a hat with the plied yarn. There was only about 53 yards of yarn so no ear flaps.


The rest of the green un-plied yarn, will probably be used in a weaving a project. For now anyway, its just a part of my stash.