Any spinners here?

[GingerOfTheNorth]

I kick it old school. I bake my own bread, I make jam, I can and preserve. And now, I've learned how to spin yarn.

I have a Louet S15 (http://users.pandora.be/wolatelier/louet%20s15%20full.jpg) called Nona (I did not name it). Nona is one of the fates, the spinner of the thread of life. My wheel has a darker finish, and has sheep painted on the front of the wheel.

Does anyone else here spin? The friend who I bought the wheel from threw in 8 ounces of Bluefaced Leicester roving which I've spun into my first yarn barf. Jadis says that's what everyone's first spinning is called.

[Flutterby]

I have a bit of yarn barf, but no wheel. I don't have the space for it and decided this year I had the choice of two of three biggish purchases that I could really afford, and the wheel could wait.

So I use a spindle. I have a Schacht Hi-Lo Spindle (http://www.spunkyeclectic.com/shop.php?crn=304&rn=1107&action=show_detail) (which I love) and the one that came with a Louet drop spindle kit (http://www.louet.com/specialty/drop_spindle_kit.shtml) (which I don't much like).

Haven't done a lot of spinning with it, I should do some more. I find it very soothing, though my yarn is all weird looking (I Navajo plied the first yarn I did, which is supposed to even it out a bit.. it goes from about aran to chunky and back!).

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Drop spindling is evil. I gave up on it and just did some twist on my thigh. It was much quicker and less frustrating.

[madrabbitwoman]

Hey, I get a good kilo of bunny fluff of HRH Bellamy over a year - anyone want to try spinning the next lot?

MRW

[Darryl Lict]

Rats, I guess this isn't about petite girls. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spinner)

[Malacandra]

Yeah, I was trying to ping down a few chinamen in the nets on Wednesday, but I had to stop when I took some skin off my finger. It wasn't really working out anyway.

[Aquila Be]

Yeah, I was trying to ping down a few chinamen in the nets on Wednesday, but I had to stop when I took some skin off my finger. It wasn't really working out anyway.
Just remember, you're only there to give the real bowlers a rest. :cool:

[Idlewild]

I have two drop spindles, a bag of bamboo roving, and a small amount of yarn. I really need to get back to that, I liked the drop spindling, especially once I switched from this gigantic low whorl spindle to a nice light top whorl.

[Tabithina]

I'm not a spinner, but I'd like to be.

I wish I had bought a Pleasant Spindle (http://www.knittinganyway.com/products/PleasantSpindle.htm) when I had the chance. I hope she makes them again sometime. I really don't have a place in the house for a big wheel right now, unless I do some serious re-arranging and get rid of a piece of furniture. :D

That's a great wheel, Ginger.

[FilmGeek]

I'm a spinner, but I'm slow. I drop spindle as I have neither the money nor the room for a wheel, and I only park and draft.

I have enough hobbies, anyway. It's hard to do them all and keep up with school and life.

[Tabithina]

I was going to edit my post and add this, but I type too slowly:

This thread just reminded me that the farmer's market starts this weekend here, and I need to get over there this morning to see if the fiber ladies will be back this year. I hope so. I have a ton of questions! I really started to get interested in spinning over the winter. I live in a semi-rural area, and may be able to get some wool to dye and spin this summer. Sheep are relatively nearby.

Ginger, will you be carding your own wool eventually? That's probably what I would have to do.

I have taken apart old wool sweaters, cleaned the yarn and dyed it with koolaid. That is really fun to do. I'd love to go on from there to making my own roving and dyeing it. I bought a bunch of easter egg dyes on clearance last month for dyeing wool. Hopefully I can get some plain roving, or clean and card my own, and make some cool yarn. :)

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Ginger, will you be carding your own wool eventually? That's probably what I would have to do.
Well, since I've got a bid on ebay for EIGHT POUNDS of raw Shetland, I think so. My friend has hand carders, and another has a drum carder, so yeah.

[Ms Boods]

I've been handspinning and weaving for years; I don't know how to link directly to my posts in this thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=446959) but several other people and I have some neat discussion about our wheels and background in handspinning, too.

My auntie in Blairgowrie gave me about 5 kg of cashmere to spin; she had so much of it she would stuff pillows and use it as packing material in shipping boxes!

I have spun a variety of wools (I have a preference for British rare breeds), but also like cotton, angora, different silks, dog, cat, and other exotic fibres. I used to make a number of novelty yarns involving feathers, seed pearls, metallic threads, etc.

In addition to my Great Wheel, Jensen, and Spin-tech, I have a charka and a wide variety of drop and supported spindles. I live to demonstrate drop (hand) spindles in my ancient history classes; I've prefer top whorl spindles, especially as how you can give them a kick with your feet to increase the length of the spun yarn before you have to wind it up on the cop.

When I had my house, I had a weaver's garden, mostly just for plants to do natural dyes.

I will sometimes hand card, and I have wool combs and a hand-carder from Louet, but I prefer using my Patrick Green triple-carder to make blends and roving.

Oops -- I meant to add, GingeroftheNorth, I'm not sure where you live, but if you are anywhere near Maryland, you might want to check out the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. It's just gone by as it's usually the first weekend in May, but I used to work for one of the exhibitors and also compete there, and you'd probably find it a really great opportunity to find loads of fibres, books, and things related to spinning and weaving.

edited to add the Maryland info

[Ms Boods]

Sorry for the double post -- missed the editing window.

I've never heard it called 'yarn barf' before, but many spinners will tell you to keep the first yarn you ever make, so you can look back and see how much you've improved! And once you get good at smooth, even yarn, you'll have a heck of a time deliberately creating flubby yarn after that. :)

[PerditaX]

I got a bottom-whorl drop-spindle and 8oz of wool in a kit for my birthday last May, spun a little, then got distracted crocheting Christmas presents. I was going to pick it back up after the holidays, but then I broke my arm/wrist and had it immobilized until last month. Now we're closing on a house. :eek:

So, really, I'm a totally newbie spinner. As soon as we get settled, I want to spin again! What little I've managed to spin so far has been pretty uneven (is drafting something that gets better with practice, or is there a "trick" to it? Help!!). I love how relaxing spinning is - almost like meditation - and I think it also might be therapeutic for my hand.

The great thing about the new house is that it has a bedroom for my "craft room." That means I'll have space for a wheel! My husband has promised me an Ashford Kiwi (http://www.ashford.co.nz/spinning/kiwi.htm). I also need a pair of hand-carders - I have a short-haired bun whose fur I'd like to spin, but I'd need to blend it with wool or something to make it work.

Good to know there are fellow spinners here!!







My husband has promised that, closing costs permitting, he's going to buy me a

[PerditaX]

Sorry about that last line....I thought I'd deleted it, but couldn't edit in time. :smack:

[aruvqan]

Back when I had sheep I spun and wove ... but being a medieval recreationist I made my own equipment instead of buying ... a drop spindle is about the easiest thing in the world to make, and a drop weight frame loom and a backstrap nomads loom are also dead simple. The backstrap loom has the added advantage of taking up very little space=)

Please note - you can shear the sheep, then slaughter it. Use wood ash and sheep fat to make soap to scour the wool, and onion peels and cast iron make a nice sort of antique gold color to the yarn. If [like me] you have a nice clay bank, you can even make the vessels used to cook the sheep and onions[and other veggies] in, make the soap in and scour and dye the wool in=)

[Flutterby]

Drop spindling is evil. I gave up on it and just did some twist on my thigh. It was much quicker and less frustrating.

It's not for everyone. The lady who taught the class I took in about explorations in spinning mentioned that and several of the people quite preferred their wheels.

Bess even brought in some raw wool and told us to help ourselves so I have a large ziploc bag full of some Corriedale which I want to prep and spin. It's really nice looking wool.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Oops -- I meant to add, GingeroftheNorth, I'm not sure where you live, but if you are anywhere near Maryland, you might want to check out the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.
Yeah, I was there last weekend. A friend of mine won a red and a blue ribbon for her handspun art yarns.

How many of you are on Ravelry?

[Flutterby]

I am. I'm Arsie there. :)

You can see I have way too many projects on the go and not enough time. It's a terminal case of startitis.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have made YARN. I will post pictures later.

[BoBettie]

I knew someday you would come to the daaaaaaark side. Whee for spinning!

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Yarn! (http://flickr.com/photos/24774589@N04/2481488485/)

[Tortuga]

Yarn! (http://flickr.com/photos/24774589@N04/2481488485/)


Hey did you post in the Louet Lovers forum on Ravelry? That wheel looks familiar. Such cute stencils.

I'm Tortuga on Ravelry as well. Not very creative with the usernames, me.

I've been spinning for maybe five years now, I believe I picked Ms. Boods' brain in a thread at the start and got excellent advice.
I love spinning. I often prefer it to knitting.

I have a few drop spindles and I've had a Kromski Mazurka, a Lendrum DT, and an Ashford Joy, but I sold them and have a Louet Victoria now and an s17.

I'm down in San Diego now visiting my grandmother and this is the first time I've traveled with a wheel. The screener was looking at the screen and asked "what is that?" and I said "a spinning wheel!" and the look on her face and that of the older lady next to me was highly amusing after a tiring and unamusing day. She didn't even ask to look in the bag or see it work (y'know like they used to do for laptops) which I think would have been kind of fun--to do a mini-spinning demo in the security screening area. ;)

[Tortuga]

Ah, here's the brain-picking of Ms. Boods thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=204137) , some good advice there for someone considering a wheel.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Thanks for the link. My wheel was bought from a local friend from my stitch n' bitch, who got it from a woman in Northern Virginia. It was a contact through Ravelry, yeah.

My Ravelry name is Gingy, should anyone want to friend me.

Yesterday, I spun four ounces of C*eye*ber fiber's "Beau", and I have four more ounces. It's so pretty! She's local to me, I've met her at the stitch n' bitch. Oh, and on Sunday I bought EIGHT POUNDS of raw Shetland, because I'm insane.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Whoops, Suffolk, not Shetland.

[schnuckiputzi]

Spinning is an art I have tried and never mastered. I can, however, card with the best of them. I don't think any of you are near me, or I'd give you a hand. And I do have 4 looms ranging from a Baby Wolf to a 48" Schacht, that I REALLY need to get cracking on now that warmer weather is here.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Do you card by hand or do you have a drum carder? My friend has one, another friend has another, so I'm ok for now.