Tag Archives: handspun

70s Kitchen Themed Yarn?

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Summer is heating up here in Kansas and I’m finding myself outside a lot more with the kiddos. We stick pretty close to home these days and are finding new ways to use the spaces and in and around our house.

I got a few moments this past weekend to sip my favorite beer and do some spinning on the back patio. The kids managed to entertained themselves nicely and for long enough I added a decent amount of alpaca spinning project. I’m still practicing my drafting with the park and draft method.

I’m found myself staring at these colors and thinking “these look like a 1970s kitchen”. There is a lot of gold, orange, yellow with tiny amounts of blue and avocado green.The yarn is getting easier to make consistent. Prepping the roving into thin strips really helped me draft in a continuous and even manner.

This represents about half of the 4 ounces of roving that I started with. I think I’ll wind this off onto a spinning wheel bobbin so that I can start spinning the other half. I’m still working up the nerve to take some YouTube lessons on how to ply yarn on a wheel. For now I’m content with just making pretty singles and letting them rest.

Happy Spinning!!

More Finished Handpun

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I have finished both my skeins of handspun from my spindle experiment! I dare say I might be getting the hang of this to some degree

The first skein I finished was one ounce of an unknown merino. I ended up with a bulky weight single that after washing and whacking was 27 grams and 31 yards of yarn. I definitely have some over and under spun parts but its holding together and not twisting up on itself as badly as my first attempt. For this one I used a smaller and lighter wooden drop spindle.

The second skein I finished was one ounce of an unknown merino batt. Again I ended up with a bulky weight single that after washing and whacking was 28 grams and 34 yards of yarn. Almost exactly the same as the first one. And for this one I used the heavier and larger maple drop spindle.

All in all, I made two successful yarns. Both are not perfect but I learned a lot about my drafting technique/ability and how best to finish my singles. Now…what should I spin next??

FO Friday: My First Ever Handspun

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I finished my first every handspun yarn! This was my first attempt at spinning on a drop spindle with some mystery fiber from my inherited stash. It’s very inconsistent and wildly overspun but it’s mine and I’m proud of it!

Project: Handspun bulky singles

Fiber: Mystery orange wool

Method: Top Whorl drop spindle plied in what I think is S twist?

I managed to get 32 yards of singles yarn that weighed 31 grams. Overall I think it’s a bulky yarn but I don’t have a wraps per inch tool.

I really had to work on the finishing of this yarn because it was wildly overspun. It had so much energy in it that it was twisting up on itself. I wound it off on to my knitty knoddy and let the singles rest. I then gave the yarn a good batch in hot water and a surprisingly satisfying thwack when done.

I did have to weight the yarn when I hung it to dry as it was still wanting to curl up on itself. When it was dry it did seem to have relaxed in it’s twist a bit. I think my next spin I need to work on putting less twist into the yarn. But I did manage to make usable yarn! I’m super proud of myself and I’m already itching to start my next spin!

I’m sure I’m making a thousand mistakes and not following proper technique. But I’m having fund, making yarn and its a wonderful distraction to everyday life! Happy Spinning!!