April 30, 2008
· Filed under Spinning · Tagged handspinning, hitchhiker, spin, Spinning, spinning wheel, wheel
Teach yourself to spin on a wheel in 8 easy steps!
Step 1. Figure out how to use a leader. If you already know how, goody for you. Go on to step 2.
Step 2. Thread the leader. Hint: it goes through the hole.
Step 3. Get your fiber ready and start treadling. When nothing happens, try treadling faster.
Step 4. Notice that thing that resembles fishing line on a stick. It looks like it’s supposed to go somewhere, so take a guess and put it there.
Step 5. Start treadling again. Spin happily for about 10 seconds, then watch the flyer fall off and hit the floor. Curse.
Step 6. Screw the flyer back in. Start treadling again, only this time go the opposite way. Watch your yarn unspin itself. Fantasize about chucking the thing off the balcony as you untangle the yarn.
Step 7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until most of your free time is shot.
Step 8. You couldn’t possibly make any more mistakes. Spin some uneven yarn until you feel better about yourself.
Now, wasn’t that easy? Who needs fancy-pants spinning lessons?
April 28, 2008
· Filed under Spinning · Tagged hitchhiker, merlin tree, Spinning, spinning wheel
I won an auction on eBay. Looky!
What could it be?
Still not sure?
It’s a Hitchhiker! Yep, I caved and got a spinning wheel. I do love my spindles but I couldn’t resist this little guy. He’s portable, he’s cheap, and come on…the treadle is shaped like a foot for pete’s sake. And he has his own tote bag for traveling. That is, if I ever get the courage to spin in front of other people (you know, people that can tell I kind of suck).
Note how the bobbin came with some yarn on it…thanks?
Now if only I could hole myself up in the house and play with my new toy. But I guess I should do those errands I’ve been meaning to do. Olive might want to eat sometime soon, right?
April 6, 2008
· Filed under Clubs, Spinning, Yarn · Tagged handspindle, handspinning, handspun, merino, spindle, Spinning, wool, Yarn
I’m still spinning and still loving it! I’ve spun up a bunch of mini-skeins since I started but never got around to posting them here. They’re solid, natural colored and just…meh. But here’s my first “real” skein I started yesterday and finished up just now.
It’s merino from the Spunky Eclectic fiber club. Yes, I joined another club. This one is awesome…you pay by the month, not all at once, and just cancel when you want the fiber to stop coming. And Amy is so great to work with. There was a problem with my shipment and she got right on it and I had my fiber in no time.
The yarn is bulky/superbulky, about 75 yards. I thought merino was supposed to be a non-beginner-friendly fiber but I didn’t have any more trouble with it than usual, and it didn’t come out any more uneven than usual! I enjoyed the spongy-ness. Now…what to do with it…
March 13, 2008
· Filed under Clubs, Spinning, Yarn · Tagged roving, sock, sock club, Spinning, wool, Yarn
Yippee!
First, I got the second installment of the Neighborhood Fiber Co. sock club. This month’s yarn was inspired by the photography of Mika Ninagawa, featuring flowers in rich, saturated colors. Karida named this colorway “Hypercolor!” which made me picture something neon. I was very pleasantly surprised to find this:
Whew! I love it. She also included a lace sock pattern and some chocolates, which are not pictured. Because they were promptly eaten. Oink.
Next, I got some soft and fluffy white BFL from Spunky Eclectic. This stuff is heaven compared to the fiber I’ve worked with so far. You may never see Corriedale on this blog again! Remember that metric crap-ton of Corrie roving that came with my learn to spin kit? Behold: TWO metric crap-tons.
I fully expect to be a spinning expert by the time I get through all this.
March 5, 2008
· Filed under Olive, Spinning · Tagged handspinning, handspun, spin, spindle, Spinning, wool, Yarn
…is another hobby.
The second to last thing I need is more yarn. But what the heck, I’m adding both of these things to my life with a single purchase:
This is the Louet drop spin beginner’s kit from WEBS. One spindle, one metric crap-ton of corriedale roving, and an instruction book, all for the low low price of $25. I am shocked at the size of the spindle. It’s huge!!! They look so teeny on the internet.
In case you didn’t know from painful experience, spinning is HARD! Here’s the result of my first attempt:
Awesome. Let’s try that again.
Much better, right? It does seem to get easier pretty quickly. And it’s fun! My first little skein is hanging up to dry right now. We’ll have show and tell later but for now I’ll just say it looks quite…rustic. No offense, first yarn, but there’s some serious felting in your future.
Ok, I’m off to finish the work I was supposed to be doing today. Heh.
P.S. Olive says “hi”
