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Spinning

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

New Spin-Off – Summer 2017 issue

 

Another season, another new Spin-Off magazine!

The [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] issue is here, and I had such a good time flipping through it I thought I should give all you lovely readers a peek at what’s inside.

 

Technical how-to’s, interesting fiber facts, and talk of spinning competitions are just a few of the topics covered in this issue, beginning with a very interesting article about ANIROONZ Farm in Colorado; this ranch is home to sheep whose fleece is specifically produced for handspinners. In this article, shepherd Nancy Irlbeck discusses her intimate relationship with her sheep, from spending time with them to taking care of them.

Ever wonder why you’ll often see sheep wearing coats? You’re not alone. This issue features a short piece explaining the handful of reasons why you’d want to dress your sheep. Here’s one fun fact: As the sheep and their wool grow throughout the year, you have to up their coat sizes accordingly. Makes sense, but I’ve never thought about that before!

Also included in this issue is a piece about Columbia sheep. These are some of the largest sheep out there, and the breed is part of one of the oldest sheep-breed development projects in the US. This all American breed produces a versatile fleece, some attributes of which are detailed in this article. For example, check out the beautiful stitch definition demonstrated in the laceweight and chunky weight Columbia yarns shown below:

And of course we can’t overlook the Double-Cable socks pattern – with notes on fiber prep, spinning and a pattern, you’ve got everything you need to know to make these cute, comfy socks:

Lastly, this issue includes an interesting article about crowd-funding (such as Kickstarter). After reading some intel from a few business owners who have made crowd-funding work for them, you might be tempted to consider starting that fiber-related business you’ve been dreaming about for so long. This article happens to feature Romney Ridge farm’s owner, the lovely Kelly Corbett.  This is very cool, because Romney Ridge farm actually started quite close by to us here in Bath, Maine and we know from experience what a hard working and wonderful fiber artist Kelly is! We carry [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] featuring some of her flock of sheep, and a bunch of her needle felting kits, like these adorable creatures: [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] .  To see all the kits we carry from Romney Ridge, click here.

 

Greeting from a Romney Ridge sheep!

These are just a few of the cool things you can find in the [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] issue.  To read it in full, make sure to get a copy before they’re gone!

 

 

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

Spinning with Black Diamond Fiber, A.K.A. Bamboo Carbon Fiber (on sale for a limited time)

 

The mysterious Black Diamond…

Guess what I recently learned? [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] doesn’t actually come from diamonds. It’s still pretty special though! This almost magical fiber is in fact derived from bamboo; another name for it is Bamboo Carbon Fiber, and it has a lot of the same wonderful characteristics as bamboo. Black diamond fiber absorbs moisture (like sweat) and is antimicrobial so it  helps eliminate odor, making it great for socks, active wear, and anything that you’d like to wear close to your skin. This materials is even used in fancy cosmetics and beauty treatments because it has so many unique properties! Like silk, this fiber will keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, and it’s also incredibly soft. The fiber resists pilling, is very durable, and it resists static electricity. Due to having the properties of far-infrared rays (which are used in quite a few different therapeutic treatments), black diamond fiber is also known to promote blood circulation, among other cool things.

 

I’ve spent enough time ogling this fiber here at the store, so I decided to finally just grab some and get to spinning. The first thing about the black diamond fiber that pulls you in is the steely, almost gunmetal gray color. Then you touch it, and the dry softness of it is fascinating. Almost squeaky when you rub it between your fingers, someone here quite accurately compared it to corn starch. It’s pin straight, very uniform, and is super easy to spin, too. I typically spin my singles at about a fingering weight, but this fiber lends itself really well to lace and thread weight yarns too. I was able to spin a relatively even, very skinny singles with no effort – even on an unfamiliar wheel! Kromski - Symphony Spinning Wheel Walnut

 

But why stop at just one type of fiber? Typically, when spinning with something unique like this I like to blend it with something a little more familiar. Since the black diamond fiber is washable, I decided to see what would happen if I mixed this dark beauty with some pure white Superwash Merino Wool Top Fiber. Turns out, good things! First, I sat down with the [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] to spin a matching singles with the merino.

 

Next I plied the two together, making a game attempt at keeping the yarn balanced. It isn’t easy, even though lots of spinners make it look so. But the subtle thick and thin parts of each ply creates an almost funhouse effect when you see them spiraling together, and I love it.

  

After that, I took out the Ashford Blending Board and made myself a nice fat black and white rolag. I decided to make this yarn intentionally thick and thin, and to keep it as a single ply to really show off how the fibers blended together. (You can see the resulting lovely swirled grey yarn in the first photo above.) I chose to spin this on a Louët High-Whorl Drop Spindle (conventional) for variety’s sake; when you spend an entire day spinning it’s nice to be able to change it up!

 

  

As you can see, there’s no limit to what you can do with the black diamond (or bamboo carbon) fiber. It seems mighty strong, so I think it’d make wonderful socks. When I was chain-plying the first single, I couldn’t help but imagine it becoming a slinky summer top. Those are just a few ideas, though. When you spin your own yarn, you can create absolutely anything you want.

At long last, the Black Diamond mystery has been solved. But I’m no less intrigued; the possibilities with this versatile fiber are endless.

Remember – all our loose fibers are sold by the ounce or the pound, so you can try just a little, or save when you buy a lot!

Related items of interest: • Spinning Equipment • Our fibers

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

Spinning Bamboo Fiber & Top (on sale for a limited time)

 

…Psst!  Did you know that we carry two different types of un-dyed bamboo fiber?

(plus they’re on sale for the rest of April!)

I recently set out to learn the difference between Bamboo Fiber and Bamboo Top Fiber, because it’s hard to tell just by looking at their photos! When you see them in person, it’s clear that Bamboo Top Fiber is the more processed of the two; its shine and silky smoothness are quite the contrast to the more matte, slubby Bamboo Fiber. What does that mean for blending and spinning these two?  I did some experimenting with an Ashford Blending Board and my [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] to find out!

 

Above, from left to right: [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] .

 

After choosing two colors of Merino Top Wool Fiber, I grabbed a handful of each of the bamboos. I opted to use the slubby Bamboo Fiber with the martini olive colored Merino, and the Bamboo Top with the cinnamon colored Merino. I didn’t want the bright white color to dilute the lovely green, so I added it sparingly to the blending board. I did go a little heavier with the Bamboo Top in the other blend, though, because it blends much more easily than its more rustic counterpart.

 

 

I love the part where you get to roll the fiber off the blending board- it’s so satisfying!

Fiber on a stick, anyone? Ok, so when all was said and done I ended up with two giant rolags:

Already, you can see the difference in how these fibers blended. The rolag on the left (with [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] and [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] ) is much less integrated, with tufts and clumps of bamboo popping up here and there. Of course, some of that has to do with my blending process, more carding ahead of time, or more extensive blending, perhaps on a drum carder, would have teased apart the clumps more thoroughly. Look at the rolag on the right – the [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] mixed in so smoothly with the Merino. It just depends what effect you prefer!

 

After spinning these rolags into singles, here’s what I ended up with:

 

I must admit, I’m not a fan of the green singles prior to plying. I like how the bamboo fiber kind of winds around the surface of the Merino, and sits in little slubs randomly throughout the yarn. However, the effect might be more graceful if the colors of the two fibers weren’t so starkly contrasted. Not a problem if you’re a dyer! That same stark contrast worked beautifully for the cinnamon blend, though. It reminds me the tiniest bit of Moonshine by Juniper Moon Farm Yarn.

 

Of course, both yarns are super soft, and even the less refined Bamboo Top is wonderfully touchable. My verdict? If you’re looking for a thick and thin, slubby, tweedy texture, you should definitely go with the Bamboo Fiber. For a soft, smooth blend that could almost be mistaken for silk, the Bamboo Top Fiber is the fiber for you. These fibers will also behave very similarly to [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , and are more slippery and strong than their close cousin White Soysilk Fiber. I suggest doing your own experiments too, as the yarns above are only a small example of what can be done with these fascinating fibers!

 

Try the loose bamboo fiber in your felting projects as well. It won’t felt to itself the way wool does, but as a small accent it can be worked into wool to provide a contrasting texture and extra shine in needle felt, wet felt or nuno felted pieces.

If you do happen to be a dyer, keep in mind that bamboo is a cellulose based fiber so if you are dyeing it on it’s own, or with another cellulose plant fiber, like cotton, you’ll want to use Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes. These are lower temperature dyes that also work well on silk, but are not intended for protein based (animal) fibers like wool or alpaca. (For protein fibers we recommend the Country Classic, or Wash Fast Acid Dyes.)

Almost any dye will still effect the other fiber in the blend, but not uniformly or with the same degree of saturation. So if you’re dyeing a protein/cellulose fiber blend like the ones shown here you can use the differences in dye take-up to your advantage and create amazing color and tonal differences between the blended fibers. It’s always a bit of an experiment – but well worth it as you see one-of-a-kind colorways emerge!

Try Bamboo Fiber and Bamboo Top Fiber as well as the unusual [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , which we wrote more about here. They’re on sale  until May 1st – save now!

 

 

Remember – all our loose fibers are sold by the ounce or the pound, so you can try just a little, or save when you buy a lot!

 

Related items of interest: • Our fibers • Spinning Equipment • Our yarns • Medium weight yarns • Alpaca yarns

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

Getting started with a drop spindle

 

Looking to learn how to use a drop spindle?  Like driving a stick shift, it’s all about practicing until you get a feel for the rhythm.  But how does one get started?  We’ve set up a short photo tutorial to show you just that.  From one beginner to another: don’t let it intimidate you!

Here are some helpful tips while you’re getting started:

• You don’t have to draft while spinning!  Lots of drop spindle users will tuck the spindle between their knees or under their arm so they can draft comfortably without being rushed.  Give it a twist and allow that length to spin; once it’s spun you can “park and draft” again!

• Once you understand the process, I encourage you to play with different hand positions and grips until you find a comfortable combination.  I often change up my hand positions, and some work better for different fiber types.

• Don’t feel bad if you end up with thick and thin yarn.  Textured, slubby yarns are awesome!

• Try to keep the yarn you’re spinning from becoming too thin.  This will cause it to break, and your spindle will hit the floor with a crash.  It’s inevitable at first, so don’t worry when it happens. Your spindle will be OK even if your pride is slightly damaged.

• Most importantly: There is no such thing as “wrong” yarn;  I encourage you to get a feel for the motion, and don’t worry about creating a perfectly balanced, even yarn at first.  Just have fun with it!

Portrait of Emily Werner
by: Emily Werner

Handspinning for yarn lovers

 

Can’t find the yarn you’re looking for? Make it yourself!

How many times have you gone into a yarn shop knowing the exact yarn you want, only to find that it doesn’t exist? Maybe the color is wrong, or the weight, or even the fiber. Have you ever considered that you can spin the exact yarn you want?

I always knew I would one day learn to spin, it was just a matter of when I would be able to get my hands on a spinning wheel. Finally, the stars aligned and I was able to take Linda Clutterbuck’s Begin to Spin class right here at Halcyon! In the weeks leading up to the class I read all about different types of wheels we have in the classroom and tried to figure out which one was best for me. I’ve got to admit, it was pretty overwhelming. Irish tension? Scotch tension? Double drive? Wheel ratios? Did I want a beautiful traditional wheel so I could imagine I was spinning in a fairy tale or a modern wheel geared towards function and portability? Most importantly, what kind of yarn did I want to spin?

(If you want some help learning the terms and comparing features, check out our spinning wheel guide post here.)

With all these new terms spinning around in my head, I selected the [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] for my class. Apart from wanting to learn the basics, I knew I wanted to experiment with art yarns. From my research, I knew I would need a wheel with both an orifice and bobbins large enough to accommodate chunkier yarns. The S-10 was also easily portable between home and class. I let the other terminology go for the time being, deciding it would all make more sense once I actually started spinning.

 

After a brief introduction to spinning, Linda let us loose, only gently correcting our posture or tweaking something on the wheel. There weren’t too many things to adjust on the wheel, so my main focus could be on what my hands and feet were doing. Spinning really is a whole body experience. It’s kind of like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. But once you get the rhythm down, spinning can be incredibly relaxing and meditative.

I’ve enjoyed spinning just for the sake of spinning. I have no purpose in mind other than to see what kind of yarn I can create. So far, my favorite creations have been a lock-spun and a coil-spun yarn. I’m not sure if these yarns are technically well spun, but I was too impatient to try out the technique that I couldn’t wait to do proper research. Don’t think, just spin!

For the lock-spun yarn I used dyed curly locks from a local farm! I just opened the individual locks and spun the ends together, not worrying about it looking perfect or smooth, I was looking for lots of texture. I love the way the two colors subtly blend together and how the yarn looks very raw and woolly. Like it was just shorn off a bright orange sheep! You could also try this technique with our Kid Mohair Locks and Loose Fiber for a super soft version of this yarn.

 

The coil-spun yarn was a two step process. First I spun a thick and thin singles yarn from a hand painted merino braid (similar to Nube by Malabrigo Fiber) that I got a few years ago at a fiber fair (I told you I’ve wanted to spin for a while!). Thick and thin yarn is great for beginners as the inconsistent size is now a design element! I then plied the painted merino with store bought thin wool yarn, holding the two singles at a right angle to each other, letting the merino wrap around the wool yarn. I love the fluff and softness of the finished product. I just want to put it on a shelf and stare at it all day.

 

You may think I’d get tired of yarn, working in a yarn store, or that I have access to almost every kind of yarn. And I do see (and buy…) wonderful yarns throughout the shop on a daily basis! But there are so many fun yarns you can make by hand that large scale production just can’t match. Handspun yarns just have that extra special look and feel to them. So follow my lead, don’t think, just spin!

Related items of interest: • Our fibers

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

Handspun Recycled Sari Silk Inspiration

 

From messy to magical, spinning with Sari Silk… on sale for a limited time!

Inspiration struck! A while back, we wrote a post about our Pulled Sari Silk Fiber, 1/4 lb bag. The samples in the photographs spent a few days floating around here, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I was very excited to snag my own bag to play with at home.

 

What I find the most fascinating about working with this silk is the total transformation that occurs once you start to pull it apart and start working with it. I won’t lie – it kind of looks like a pile of mud in the bag. As soon as you start blending or even just pulling it apart by hand, though, it comes to life. The fiber is just a hodgepodge of recycled bits of silk in all colors, including little clumps of brightly colored bits that hide amongst each other. When you start working with it, though…

Allow me to illustrate: The very day I came home with my little bag of sari silk in tow, I got out my drum carder and went to work. I had been hoarding a braid of Maine grown alpaca, so I decided to make my own silk/alpaca blend.  Fancy!  I put a layer of alpaca down, and then pulled out some silk to add.

In the interest of experimentation, I tried a few different ways of adding the silk to the alpaca. First, I did it the way you usually would use a drum carder – I laid out the proper amount and fed it in. The silk wanted to stay on the licker-in, though, so I gave that method up pretty quickly. Instead I ended up using the drum as a kind of spinning blending board, taking a small amount of silk and holding it lightly against the surface. I used my other hand to spin the crank, and as the drum spun I allowed the teeth to pull the silk out of my hand, while holding on to it just tightly enough to keep the teeth from taking the entire clump. The result was nothing short of fireworks, I tell you.

So excited about what I was seeing, I hollered for my husband to come see the small miracle happening in front of me. He was equally impressed, or at the very least he did a good job pretending. As the clumps of silk were pulled apart and spread out among the other fibers, new colors were peeking out. Almost as if someone had taken a bunch of little paintbrushes, each with a different neon color, and flicked them. Suddenly a tiny patch of turquoise, pink, orange, yellow and green would appear on the surface of my batt. I couldn’t wait to spin the stuff.

I got so much enjoyment out of just preparing this silk to work with; any way you’d choose to use it would surely be as rewarding. I ended up spinning it into a 2-ply sport weight yarn, which I’m using as contrast with another color for a shawl. The natural alpaca softens the colors and the highlights from the silk really pop with the brighter accent yarns.

I encourage you to try your own experiments with this amazing, magical recycled sari silk and see where it takes you. Scoop up a bag or two this week and try it out – Sari Silk is on sale until next Sunday, April 23rd!

 

Related items of interest: • Our fibers

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

Make your own beautiful handspun yarn with a drop spindle

 

An ancient method for modern results…  

The art of spinning fiber into yarn has been around for over 10,000 years, and the spinning wheel only came onto the scene during the late Middle Ages. How did they do it before then? Drop spindles. There are a bunch of different variations on this ancient tool, but the physics of how they all work remain the same.

The spindle, which acts as a sort of spinning top, is held in the air and given a good twist. This will spin the fibers together, turning them into a length of yarn. There are a few different techniques and methods that people use for this, but the results are the same: handspun yarn. Once that length has been spun, you wind it around the shaft of your spindle and repeat the process. Yes it’s a little time consuming at first, but what hand craft isn’t?

Many folks learn to spin on drop spindles before trying a wheel, which makes a lot of sense to me. The necessary motions might be very different from using a spinning wheel, but the actual process of drafting and feeling the fiber twist into yarn is much the same.

There are a lot of good reasons to consider a drop spindle if you’re interested in the art of spinning. First, it’s a project you can take anywhere. Sure, there are travel wheels that are lightweight and fold up for convenient carrying (like the Schacht Sidekick Spinning Wheel - Complete), but you can’t exactly take that wheel out on the subway, or in the waiting room at the dentist, or taking up precious space in your car on a road trip. A drop spindle, however, can be used even when you’re walking around! In fact, I like to keep my hands busy with my spindle while I’m waiting for things to cook in the kitchen, chatting with my lovely co-workers, and even on meandering summertime walks. I keep a little bag of fiber on me whenever I go away, and I always make sure to bring what I have dubbed my very own “travel wheel”- my beautiful [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] .

 

(These are made right up the street from us here in Bath! There’s also the [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] , and the smaller [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] )

 

All the same fiber rules apply. My most recent project was spinning up a hand carded batt of soft, luxurious stuff. Here’s what was in it:  50% Fine White Merino Wool Top Fiber, 30% Kid Mohair Locks and Loose Fiber, and 20% Pulled Sari Silk Fiber, 1/4 lb bag. Super soft! First I spun it all into a roughly fingering weight singles, which looked like this:

 

I wound that single into a ball directly off my spindle, which rolled around everywhere in the process, much to my dog’s glee. I then weighed my little ball of yarn and divided it in half. Armed with two singles now, I tied their ends to the starter yarn on my spindle and proceeded to spin them together (in the opposite direction from that in which they were originally spun) creating a kind of loose two-ply yarn. This was the first time I’ve ever used the spindle to ply, and it went by much faster than I’d expected.

Here are some glamour shots of the finished product:

All wound up on the swift (because I still need to get my own niddy noddy, like [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] ). A large batt of blended fiber produced about 64 yards of shiny, soft yarn.  I’ll make another few batts with the remainder of my merino, and try to match the blend as much as I can so I get a more usable amount of yarn.

 

As a novice spinner, I can honestly tell you that it is not uncommon for my husband to get a good chuckle when he hears my spindle hit the floor with a jarring thud. We all have the yarn break or something get snagged from time to time, and that’s ok!

If you’re interested in learning how to use this versatile, inexpensive, mobile spinning tool, here are a few items that can help you along your way:

Schacht Hi-Low 4" (3 oz) Drop Spindle [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]

 

And some fibers that are easy to spin (not to mention, fun):

[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] Romney Wool Top Fiber Merino Silk Top Fiber

 

Lastly, you might want to check out this photo tutorial, which shows you how to get started.  Think of all the fancy handspun yarn you can make, any time and anywhere!

 

Related items of interest: • Spinning Equipment • Our fibers

Portrait of Sierra Roberts
by: Sierra Roberts

Blending For Beautiful Handspun Gradients

 

Gradients…

The look is in people’s hair, on our clothes, and in lots of different types of yarn. Gorgeous gradient colors can now happen on your spindle as well! With the help of an Ashford Blending Board, I was able to take three somewhat different colors and blend them into a fun single ply handspun yarn that goes from dark to light, just like the factories make! Here’s how:

 

First, I chose three different colors of Ashford NZ Wool Fiber to Spin and Felt. I split the darkest one in half – one half will be spun alone, the other half will be blended with a portion of the next shade. As you can see above, I split the middle color into thirds. The lightest color was split in half as well. Now that you have your portions, the next step is to get these colors blended!

 

Ashford NZ Wool Fiber to Spin and Felt Ashford NZ Wool Fiber to Spin and Felt
[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]
 Disc. or unavail.
[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]
 Disc. or unavail.
[Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock]
 Disc. or unavail.

I used a blending board for this, but if you’re looking for a more thorough blend of colors you might want to use some hand carders. The [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] would be perfect for the job. You can see above that now we have Dark, Dark/Medium, Medium, Medium/Light, and Light fiber ready to be spun. Time for me to get out my [Sorry, item discontinued or temporarily out of stock] !

 

Beginning with the darkest color, I then moved on to the next lighter shade – and then the next, one after the other. I learned a few things from the experiment, such as the difference between a blending board and carding to blend; also I could have used a little more of the middle color than the other two, because it gets split up more. Ultimately though, this is a fun way to play with colors and explore the possibilities of making your own handspun yarn. It also let’s you play with how different colors interact – sometimes in surprising ways!

This project was inspired by an awesome teacher named Lesley Fowler, who will be teaching at Halcyon Yarn this summer. Keep an eye out for her July classes, more details coming soon!

Whether it’s gradients, or any color blending or fiber mixing, blending boards are an indispensable tool. Try either the  Ashford Blending Board or the  Louët Blending board 12"x12"(30cmx30cm) 72 tpi.

 

 

Related items of interest: • Spinning Equipment • Our fibers

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