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Handspinners' Community's LiveJournal:
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| Thursday, May 10th, 2012 | 10:59 pm
[carbonel]
 |
Looking for advice about combs
I've been doing a lot of carding of fleece. I'm comfortable with cards, and pretty darned good at using them, if I do say so myself. But I have this Finn fleece. It's long and silky and lustrous, and I suspect worsted or semiworsted is going to be a more appropriate technique than woolen. Which means it might be time to learn how to do combing and drawing through a diz. This weekend is Shepherd's Harvest -- the big Minnesota sheep and wool festival. (Anyone else on this group going?) Which is a good time to buy combs if I'm going to do so. But that's a technique I don't know all that much about. I saw a video with someone combing with (IIRC) a comb attached to a block of wood or some such. That looked like a good technique for doing batches, but I don't know if it's standard. So -- any recommendations for brands or styles? Or anything else I should be aware of? | | Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 | 9:22 am
[carbonel]
|
Yellow fleece?
I discovered a bag of fleece in my garage. It must have been one that I got from my friend-of-a-friend who raises Suffolk lambs for eating. I suspect that it's ram's fleece, and it has to have been in the garage for a couple of years. (I've since received several other bags and spun the contents of some of those up; it makes a nice lofty springy yarn when carded and spun woolen.) This particular fleece was rather yellow when I took it out of the bag, and I assumed the yellow was old lanolin and would wash out. But when I washed it, the yellow remained. It's actually a rather nice sunny yellow; the picture below doesn't do it justice. The yellow goes about two-thirds deep in the fleece, with the last third still being white. I assume that when I spin it, I'll get a yellow-and-white heathery effect. It's too evenly distributed to be sheep's urine, unless the sheep were extremely assiduous about spreading it -- also, the fleece isn't that stinky. Any idea what could have caused it? And is it anything I need to worry about for the long term?  | | Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 | 2:51 pm
[carbonel]
|
Some thoughts on cleaning fleece
1. Sheep poop is nowhere near as hot-water-soluble (or even hot-water-and-soap-soluble) as one might have expected. 2. Despite this, it's the ground-in vegetable matter that is the hardest thing to deal with. Which brings me to my question: Is there any reasonable way to remove ground-in VM from locks of fleece? The dirt comes out in washing, and the sheep poop can be dealt with, but I have these locks of lovely Finn fleece that are full of smallish flecks of straw and what-all. I mean, seriously ground in. I tried carding the locks, and a lot of the foreign material fell out, and the rolags didn't look too bad, but when I spun them up, the single has visible bits of stuff in it. It just aggregates, I guess. At this point, I'm going to finish spinning up what I carded, just as a learning experience, but I've got another pound or so of this stuff, and I was wondering if there's anything to be done with the locks with the ground-in VM. (I have no idea what this particular sheep had been doing.) Otherwise, I'll pull out the small percentage of locks that are clean and just card and spin those. (If I could, I'd post pictures, but the camera app in my iPhone seems to have decided to stop working properly.) | | Friday, September 30th, 2011 | 4:26 pm
[carbonel]
|
When it comes to fleece, how short is too short?
Remember the post I made some time ago looking for someone to clean fleece in exchange for a proportion of it? I didn't find anyone, but I did learn how to clean fleece myself in a five-gallon bucket, and the bag of clean wool is slowly getting fuller and the level of the first bag (of two) of skirted wool is slowly going down. This is fleece that came from lambs intended for dinner, rather than raised for fleece; and possibly as a result, the fleece is on the short side. At the longest, it's around 2 inches when stretched out. There are also a fair number of second cuts, which I'm attempting to cull as I go, but I think that will mostly happen when I card the fiber. My real question is, is it worth it? I believe I can card and spin the fleece, even though it's on the short side, but will it turn into inferior wool otherwise? I'm not all that familiar with the various parameters of fleece, but other than the length it seems to be quite nice -- rather fine, with a bit of a crimp to it. Mostly white, with some gray, not that that has any bearing on the question at hand. I realize this question will mostly be answered by my buckling down and doing some actual carding and spinning, but right now I'm still working on the half-a-fleece of Babydoll Southdown that I split with someone at Shepherd's Harvest. And in any case, I'd be interested in your feelings, if any, about fleece length and how it affects the spinning experience. (Also, I'd really like to see more activity on this community, but I'm asking because I want to know, not just to stir up participation.) Current Mood:  hopeful | | Friday, September 16th, 2011 | 4:32 pm
[carbonel]
|
Dyeing on short notice
Okay, it's not actually all that short a notice -- it's me failing to plan ahead. In any case, I haven't ever done any dyeing of yarn or roving, but I have several things (four skeins of handspun sheep's wool, five ounces of silk top, and eight ounces of sheep's wool roving) that I'd like to dye, and the local spinning group is having a dye day on Sunday out at a member's farm. Given that I'm a total newbie at this, I'm planning on going for the training-wheels version -- Kool-aid or Tulip-brand dyes from Michael's -- unless people really think that's a bad idea. (I'd go with Easter egg dyes if I could find them, but it's the wrong time of year.) I've done a bunch of reading online, but I still have a few questions. 1. Any idea how much Kool-aid I should use in a four-ounce squeeze bottle? (And where can I find said bottles locally if I don't buy a Tulip tie-dye kit?) 2. Should I soak the wool and roving in vinegar water before dyeing? Or water plus a bit of detergent? Or not at all? 3. Will saturating the roving and then letting it dry change the texture at all? 4. Any particular recommendations for silk? Does anyone have any other advice? I'd appreciate the benefit of your experience. | | Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 | 9:15 pm
[carbonel]
|
Washing fleece
So I washed my first fleece. I have a dark-brown half-fleece that I got at Shepherd's Harvest that may have been skirted, I'm not sure, but is definitely filthy. But before I tackle that, I wanted to practice. I had two bags (3 ounces, at a guess), one each of black and white dirty fleece, that I bought at Shepherd's Harvest last year as practice items. (That's what the vendor was selling them as -- a way for newbies to experiment with raw fleece on the cheap.) Both of them seem to have come out reasonably well, though I haven't tried doing any carding yet. But both of them, presumably because the fleeces were unskirted, have varying color issues. The white fleece has yellow-brown at the end of the locks, and the black has a lighter brown. Are both of those because of sunlight, or did I just not get the white one clean enough? And should I do anything about them, or just comb it all together? Advice appreciated. (I did my first combing on Sunday, also -- a couple of ounces of haucaya alpaca fleece dyed a lovely aqua color. I'm about to ply it now.) | | Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 | 4:26 pm
[carbonel]
|
Any Twin Cities people interested in sharecropping?
I have three large bags full (yes, really) of white lamb fleece, unwashed. It looks rather nice to me, but I'm quite inexperienced in such things. I don't know the breed, but I can probably find out. The lambs in question were from a local farmer who raises them for meat. I don't have the wherewithal (or, honestly, the time) to clean the fleece, but I'd really like to try spinning it. Would anyone be interested in going halves on it for the cost of cleaning half for me? At a guess, there's 15 to 20 pounds of fleece, though of course there will be less post-dirt. I'll deliver it in the Twin Cities area. Feel free to forward this on; people can reply here, or privately on LJ, or to carbonel@livejournal.com. Current Mood: hopeful | | Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011 | 11:03 pm
[dameruth]
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| | Monday, October 18th, 2010 | 2:04 pm
[corvaxgirl]
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Spinning Wheel?
I want to get a wheel in the near-ish future. I'm looking for a wheel under $400 that can be used while sitting on a couch, if spinning on a wheel on the couch possible? I'm just starting the wheel shopping process and I've never used one or owned one before. | | Friday, September 17th, 2010 | 1:53 pm
[fyrdraeg]
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Spinning with a hand paddle spinner
UPDATE:
Here is an update on this conversation.
Apparently this item is descended from a Mayan Handspinner.
Here are some links for the curious of mind. These things really are very fun to use. As someone with fibromyalgia I can say that it is true that this is easier for me to use than a drop spindle.
http://fiberdrunk.blogs.se/2007/08/26/mayan_handspinners_and_modern_spin_offs~2873681/
http://www.wildfibres.co.uk/html/spinners.html#rakestraw-spinner-more
How to use:
http://kero1au.tripod.com/id29.html
Next to learn more about these:
Russian Lace Spindle, Navajo Spindle, Tahkil, and a Spindolyn (tools mentioned on pages talking about the Mayan Handspinner.
OMG. Eric made me a paddle spinner for my birthday. I started some creamy natural color alpaca on it and OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE this thing. The speed at which I can hand spin is so much FASTER, and the quality of the yarn is very uniform. I love it! ....and on the topic of spinning with this tool.
Is there anyone out there who knows what this item would be called other than paddle spinner? I've been trying to find some historical documentation on the usage of this tool, but can't find a thing under this title.
Here is a link to a video of this tool being used. Any spinners out there know what this tool would be called other than a paddle spinner?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KlbJv5jT cw&layer_token=7d6ea3a89ae7e670 Current Mood: artistic | | Saturday, May 8th, 2010 | 5:51 pm
[islandofwords]
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Spinning!
So, I recently found this community, and I'm pretty thrilled. So hello and whatnot. I come bearing pictures of handspun! Take a trip through the cut with me: ( It's like the wardrobe into Narnia! )For more adventures in spinning (plus knitting and many many other crafts) come visit my my blog or my Ravelry page. : ) | | Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 | 11:19 am
[princess_ismya]
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| | Thursday, March 4th, 2010 | 4:19 pm
[andmydog]
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Cleaning fur
This is a question about a full piece of fur, rather than just the fibers. I hope that's okay! I just got part of my stash out of storage, and I discovered that my bag of fur has been marked by the cat. If it matters, the pieces are rabbit (as far as I can tell) - they're the sleeves off a coat that was bought at a thrift store years ago. The cat stink isn't horribly strong, but it's bad enough that just airing the pieces out won't do anything. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the smell out? Can I wash it by hand, or would I need to take it to the cleaners? Thank you! | | Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | 1:07 pm
[into_focus]
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Baaa
So, I have the opportunity to get a a LOT of sheepwool from dorset breed sheep. I know they aren't typically considered a fleece breed but does it sound reasonable to cut it with alpaca for hand spinning? I can't seem to find much information on it, online. | 11:59 am
[geeksdoitbetter]
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playing with your food (dye)
i'm wondering how the food grade dyes hold up over time/wash/wear compared to commercial dyes? i know there are koolaid and easter egg and frosting dyes (does white vinegar work as an appropriate acid for each?) anyone have experience with these dyes or any others? | | Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 | 6:49 pm
[tictactoepony]
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"Grey Skies" merino and cashmere
A quick project! Not a finished one as I still need to do the other skein (intended purpose is really snuggly mittens). I combined some hand-dyed merino with some grey cashmere and 3-plied it. Pleased with the result :) ( pretties under the cut ) | | Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | 9:06 pm
[into_focus]
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| | Thursday, February 18th, 2010 | 10:23 pm
[lexispice]
 |
I've been a crocheter for a really long time, and I'm about to dive into spinning. After much research and fretting, I've settled on the Golding "Learn to Spin" kit. I really hope that it's as good as it's supposed to be. I'm sure I'll have about a billion questions once it comes, so I hope that's OK! Current Mood: excited | | Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 | 9:58 am
[sskipstress]
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Humor: Spinning in Public
I brought my spindle with me this morning in case I had to wait for a train to get to work. Since the train wasn't too crowded, I continued spinning after I got a seat. As I was spinning, someone behind me asked, "Is that a space-time continuum device?" | | Monday, February 8th, 2010 | 4:06 pm
[ladysaphira]
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Fiber to hat
I recently completed a project where I picked out the yarn and determined what I wanted to make before I even started spinning (I usually spin first, then decide what the yarn wants to become. Here's the hat:  ( see more details under the cut ) I named it asters because the fiber colorway was called "september pastures" and the greens, yellows, and purples reminded me of asters in a late summer field (I can be so easily swayed by a good name) |
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