Tag Archives: spinning

Adding A Wheel

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all! I got the best gift (that I got myself) in the mail today. I have been saving my pennies all winter and then the virtual yarn show I had planned to attend in January got cancelled. Bummer. But I had some funds saved up and I decided to save a little more and splurge on an Ashfor spinning wheel. I ended up choosing Kiwi 3 and I can’t hardly wait!

It came “some assembly required” but the husband told me “challenge accepted” and took it to the work bench in the garage.

I bought the wheel from a local US shop but they were on back order so I got it straight from New Zealand complete with two tiny fluffs of New Zealand wool.

In the end….it’s beautiful and the hubby did a great job. So far I just sit down at night and just treadle making sure to practice going both directions. This is a double treadle wheel and so far MUCH easier to control than the single treadle Hitchhiker wheel my mom got me two christmas’s ago. I think this feels like a much better beginner wheel and when I have better skills I am going to be able to kick but on the Hitchhiker as well.

Now I just need to train PB and Jellybean to NOT TOUCH OR RUN MOMMY’S SPINNING WHEEL. It is a tool and not a toy…

Happy Spinning!

Spinning Outdoors!

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Spring reared her head temporarily and early here in Kansas. So I took advantage and kicked the kids into the back yarn and grabbed my spinning. I have long neglected my Tequila Sunrise Singles on my top whorl drop spindle.

This was a braid of fiber from Blueberry Chick Yarns back from the 2020 Splashpad Party KAL from the Down Cellar Studio podcast. Last year I had spun all the yellows and oranges so only the pink is left. After about an hour of play with the kids I have about half the pinks spun onto my spindle. My work is getting heavy and lopsided so I need to wind off my singles and finish the last half of the pink.

It felt good to pick up a dormant project and make some progress. And I think this will be a really good finished yarn. I want to three ply the yarn to maintain the color progression. But honestly…I have no idea how to three ply and not enough hours in the day right now. It’s audit season and year end close for this accountant. These singles might need to rest for a bit, lol.

Happy Spinning!!

About Half Done

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My spinning mojo has been even lower than my knitting mojo. But I did manage to get the second set of colors spun of my Tequila Sunrise corriedale project.

The first bobbin on the left is all pure yellow and the bobbin on the right is the where the pink and yellows mixed and it is more orange. I figure I have spun roughly half the braid. A large portion of this braid is all pink.

I think my plan is to spin the pile in the top right first as it is the lighter pink and then spin the ball of darkest pink last. I would hope to teach myself how to andean ply so I can make a gradient of all this yarn. But that might necessitate more brain power and mojo than I can seem to muster right now. Time will tell!

Tequila Sunrise Singles Progress

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I have done a major pivot on my Tequila Sunrise spinning project. I initially split the braid in half by weight and then started big thick singles. But I kinda hated it. So I redesigned my spin.

I took both of my halves and pulled out all the yellow sections and put them in a ball. Then I pulled out all the yellow-orange and orange fiber and made that a ball. And finally I grouped all the pink. I’m spinning each color section on to it’s own bobbin.

Then I have big dreams of learning how to andean 3-ply on my spinning wheel. I have kid free weekend coming up and this feels like the right space to learn that. But first I need to spin up all this fiber!!

Happy Spinning

FO Friday: 70s Kitchen Handspun

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I did it!! I produced a usable skein of yarn! My 70s Kitchen hand spun is washed, whacked and skein-ed up ready for a project.

I started with four ounces of 100% alpaca and ended up with 88 grams and 56 yards of a bulky yarn. It might be super bulky in some spots. It is a little ropey and still has some twist to the finished skein but I’m super proud.

I am pretty sure I want to knit with this right away. I did some Ravelry searching and found the Alpakka Har by Cait St. George that the toddler size would be just perfect for my yardage. As long as I hit gauge that is. But it’s a basic beanie so I think I can fudge it as needed.

Happy Knitting!!

Diving In

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I was flying on the high of successfully plying on my spinning wheel that I decided to attempt to now spin on it. I pulled out some 100% BFL from Jakira Farms from my recently updated stash and pre-drafted the roving.

I fared much better this time than my first few attempts. I did actually succeed at getting the yarn spun on to the wheel. I’m still struggling to figure out the treadling and drafting motion of my hands all as once coherent movement. This first little bit spun VERY thick and mostly over spun. I think I needed to perhaps pre-draft the roving a little more aggressively? I weighed the braid and split it in the middle. Then I took each half and drafted out the fibers to loosen them up.

Both my frustration and the ambient temperature quickly heated up so I put it aside for the time being. I know learning is an uphill curve for awhile when doing a new skill. I’m just ready to be “good” so I can find the zen of it and make usable and pretty yarn. I honestly just need more patience and more practice, both of which are in short supply here lately. Time to give myself a literal and metaphorical break!

Happy Spinning

Sunshine and Plying

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The day came this weekend for me to have been couped up in my house with littles just a teeny bit too long and it made me brave enough to attempt plying on my spinning wheel. I pulled out my well rested 70s kitchen themed singles and made a spinning oasis on my back patio sans kids.

I made a couple of lazy kates out of some amazon boxes and two wooden straigh knitting needles. I made sure to load my biggest bobbin and practiced treadling in the correct direction. Mind you I spun these counter clockwise on my drop spindle so I was plying the clockwise on my spinning wheel.

I also took a minute to enjoy the kid free silence and salute my heat wilted garden with a cup of hot coffee. I’m Scandinavian and we like our coffee hot and strong all year round. It’s genetic I think…we can down hot coffee on a 98 degree day and not miss a beat!

After a few false starts/stops and some occasional over plying….I made a successful two-ply yarn!! It’s thick and thing and all over the place with how I plied it. But dang it….it’s yarn and it holds together. I might even be able to knit something from this yarn!

My bobbin has been set aside to rest for 24 hours and which I will wash and whack the skein. I’m really interested to see how many yards I got out of 4 ounces of alpaca!

Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Tequila Sunrise

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As predicted I couldn’t help myself and my newest fiber jumped right on to my spindle. I mean how could I not? After all, I used an entire child nap time/free time to carefully pre-draft the whole 4 ounces of fiber!

This 100% Corriedale is a new to me fiber. It drafts like a dream and really feels very soft after drafting. But it’s spinning up much thicker than my last merino project. Maybe its the fiber, maybe I’m rusty? Either way I’m letting the fiber tell me what it wants to be and I’m just enjoying the process.

Happy Spinning!

Perfecting Pre-Drafting

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The brand new braid of Corriedale was staring at me from my home office desk. And I just couldn’t help myself. During PB’s nap time, I used my mom free time to prep this fiber for spinning. With a podcast playing in my ears, it was a pretty zen way to spend an hour or so.

I split the braid in half lengthwise and then just gently pre-drafted each half. I took a photo after I finished the first half so you can see how much it fluffed up! It really lets the air in and softens how the fibers feel. I’m guessing it won’t be long before this jumps on the spindle! I think my plan will be spin each half as singles and start from the second one from the opposite end of the color progression.

Happy Spinning!

Happy Mail Day

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My unabashed self caring buying continues. This week I had a couple of packages show up on the same day from two indie small businesses. It made for a happy mail day indeed! Today is also my 13th wedding anniversary so I’m going to count these as presents from the hubby, hehehehehe.

First up is an adorable bunny stitch marker from Hannah of The Corner of Craft in the UK. I think this will go right on to my Radiate as a progress marker!

Next up is some fiber and yarn from BlueBerry Chick yarn in South Carolina. I got her some Corriedale in her limited edition Tequila Sunrise color. And then I picked up some gradiate sock yarn minis in her Pansy fade.

I’m thinking the fiber is going to skip stash and go right on to my drop spindle. It is soooo summery that I just think it’s destiny.

Happy Knitting!!