Spinning Yarns

I recently learned to spin wool on a spindle. (thank you, teacher!) Soon after, I got myself a versatile spinning wheel (does about anything). I have found that the discipline of spinning yarn is soothing to my spirit. No matter how stressed I feel, 5 or 10 minutes at the wheel is enough to clear my head and relax my body.
I'm planning to grow a bit of flax and cotton in my yard this summer. I want to learn to process these fibers the hard way. (Maybe one day I will have some fiber critters.)
I'm learning (slowly) tapestry art. Learning to dye. Very satisfying.
I have been a fine art painter for a long time. Tapestry is just a different way to paint.
So much to learn!
I know there are several spinners here. I'm curious about your learning path, experiences, projects, etc.

The last few years I have had this drive to learn to do things in the most basic way, collect a paper library on different subjects, etc. What ever is coming, (be it war, contagion, impact event or whatever) some of us need to have this kind of knowledge to share it with the next generation/survivors.

Hi Yupo

I never spine wool but I think it can do the soul always good when we learn a new practical skill and enjoy it

Especially in a time where we are overloaded by useless/’entropic’ entertainment most people waste their time with.

Especially in a time where we are overloaded by useless/’entropic’ entertainment most people waste their time with.

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This alone might be what is so soothing about the act. There is some creative gratification and more importantly some time away from the electro-world.

[quote author= Yupo]There is some creative gratification and more importantly some time away from the electro-world.[/quote]

Learning skills that are social community based can offer real happiness OSIT. Soothing wool is just that :)

Yupo said:

I recently learned to spin wool on a spindle. (thank you, teacher!) Soon after, I got myself a versatile spinning wheel (does about anything). I have found that the discipline of spinning yarn is soothing to my spirit. No matter how stressed I feel, 5 or 10 minutes at the wheel is enough to clear my head and relax my body.
I'm planning to grow a bit of flax and cotton in my yard this summer. I want to learn to process these fibers the hard way. (Maybe one day I will have some fiber critters.)
I'm learning (slowly) tapestry art. Learning to dye. Very satisfying.
I have been a fine art painter for a long time. Tapestry is just a different way to paint.
So much to learn!
I know there are several spinners here. I'm curious about your learning path, experiences, projects, etc.

The last few years I have had this drive to learn to do things in the most basic way, collect a paper library on different subjects, etc. What ever is coming, (be it war, contagion, impact event or whatever) some of us need to have this kind of knowledge to share it with the next generation/survivors.

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Hi Yupo - how pleasant and wonderful you've begun to learn how to spin! I'm hoping to learn to do the same thing very soon. Recently, I met a women who keeps Icelandic sheep and she has offered to teach me how to spin her "green wool" - they spin the wool right from the sheared wool piles, then once it is spun they wash it in a natural spring on their farm. I'm looking forward to this so much. Her presentation of their family farm lifestyle and the way they produce their yarn, and ultimately sweaters, is quite romantic. Your post here is a nice reminder about that. Right now we're waiting for the snow to melt and the ground to firm up a bit before I go out to their farm.

I will be sure to share with you all here as I learn more. It truly is an important knowledge, and the symbolism of it all is so beautiful.

I went to a local museum few years back which was open to the public to have a go at spinning some wool. A lot of the people there were expert spinners and I was quite impressed with the way in which they spun their wool in such an effortless manner. I had a go thanks to some kind individuals who were patient enough to show me how it was done. I only went for a day and realised that it would be an awesome skill to develop especially since it involves being creative and productive. Needless to say I was not really good at it, but like anything it requires practice, practice, practice and a huge dollop of patience.

It would be nice to see your work Yupo!

I will be sure to share with you all here as I learn more. It truly is an important knowledge, and the symbolism of it all is so beautiful.

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Oh, please do! How nice for you to have a source of material and education nearby, not to mention a connection to the lives of the fiber critters. Send pictures!

And update on my wooly adventures.

I have been meeting and communicating with a woman I met this past winter who has this Icelandic Sheep heard on their family farm. We have definitely developed a master / apprentice relationship over the last few months, and I can tells she is giving me little tests in order to gauge not only my discipline, but also my dedication. She is older and has been explicit about not wasting time.

_http://www.sundborninc.com/ here is her new website. She was quite adverse to having one, but as she hopes to have her Sundborn Sweaters become known to a market that can afford them, she has been convinced of the importance of having a virtual landing place.

Anyway, a cliffnotes version of my time with Barbara David.

• We met in a VERY synchronistic way and many of our encounters tend to follow this trend.
• I visited their property and met the sheep. The sheep were so attentive to my every move, some were curious but mostly nervous of a new presence. Barbara told me to always give a toothy smile upon greeting the sheep as it soothes them. :D She has much advice and wisdom to give.
• After the visit to the property and meeting all the animals - she gave me the task of seeking out raw roving for spinning practice.
• I found the roving after much searching around out region. We discovered many yarn shops have gone defunct
• We met this week at her children's home not far form where I live (her property is 2hrs from me). I brought the roving I found, and she brought a small spinning wheel. She gave me a 101 on how to spin and sent me home with the wheel to practice and fill the bobbin. She said, "This is alchemy, we're changing one thing, into something else... and this is gold."

So the next step is once I fill this bobbin with the roving I have, we will meet again and learn how to ply the yarn.

The technique of spinning yarn is SO cool! There's much finesse that is needed in order to stay consistent and to keep the integrity of the thread. Over spinning and snapping the yarn is easy to do. The whole process is very gentle, and slight, not too much wool, slowly feeding, and being in tune with the fibers as they grab and twist from the raw wool. I LOVE IT!
_https://www.instagram.com/jonathansoper/ (a video of the wheeling in action)

We met in a VERY synchronistic way and many of our encounters tend to follow this trend.
I visited their property and met the sheep. The sheep were so attentive to my every move, some were curious but mostly nervous of a new presence. Barbara told me to always give a toothy smile upon greeting the sheep as it soothes them. :D She has much advice and wisdom to give.
After the visit to the property and meeting all the animals - she gave me the task of seeking out raw roving for spinning practice.
I found the roving after much searching around out region. We discovered many yarn shops have gone defunct
We met this week at her children's home not far form where I live (her property is 2hrs from me). I brought the roving I found, and she brought a small spinning wheel. She gave me a 101 on how to spin and sent me home with the wheel to practice and fill the bobbin. She said, "This is alchemy, we're changing one thing, into something else... and this is gold."

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That is so cool!

I am using some Polish merino at the moment. Very easy to spin! I went to a fiber show in Raleigh recently, bought a little bit of a lot of types of fibers to experiment with.
Ramie, bombyx silk, tussah silk, cotton, hemp, flax, alpaca, rayon, bamboo, tencel, ramie and such.
Flax is my favorite. It smells like a pasture.

I'm experimenting with food coloring type dyes. Idea in using food coloring method is to satisfy my desire to learn and create without buying more stuff. Eventually I want to paint with the yarn, by making tapestry. I'm a painter, anyway. I see tapestry as just a different way of painting.

Yupo said:

I am using some Polish merino at the moment. Very easy to spin! I went to a fiber show in Raleigh recently, bought a little bit of a lot of types of fibers to experiment with.
Ramie, bombyx silk, tussah silk, cotton, hemp, flax, alpaca, rayon, bamboo, tencel, ramie and such.
Flax is my favorite. It smells like a pasture.

I'm experimenting with food coloring type dyes. Idea in using food coloring method is to satisfy my desire to learn and create without buying more stuff. Eventually I want to paint with the yarn, by making tapestry. I'm a painter, anyway. I see tapestry as just a different way of painting.

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I agree - it's not paint but it is a method of using color to create an image. Barbara is a huge fan of flax as well. She was telling me that the spinning wheel really started by using flax and then began to evolve for other fibers.

Any advice on feeding the yarn through the orifice? Sometimes I get it to follow in really easily, and other times I get the yarn all spun and squiggly before I can even get it to pull on to the bobbin.

Any advice on feeding the yarn through the orifice? Sometimes I get it to follow in really easily, and other times I get the yarn all spun and squiggly before I can even get it to pull on to the bobbin.

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1. Check your drive tensions with your leader yarn before beginning to spin. Make sure the pull/feed degree is what you want for your project.

2. If the tension seems about right, look for some kind of hang up on the hooks or orifice. Things can get snagged.

3. Try changing the position of your feed. You can go higher, lower, laterally (left or right) or directly into the orifice.

4. Check your drive band to see if it is slipping.

FYI/disclaimer: I am a beginner. The above tips are some I picked up from U of U Tube. WoolWench, Lexi Boeger, expressionfiberarts, expertly dyed and Ashley Martineau's channels are the ones I watched, mostly.

My wheel has a wire hook instead of an orifice, but things can still get snagged there. Happens mostly with overtwisting and plying.

Good video on troubleshooting:


https://youtu.be/lZr9QURmW20

Yupo said:

Any advice on feeding the yarn through the orifice? Sometimes I get it to follow in really easily, and other times I get the yarn all spun and squiggly before I can even get it to pull on to the bobbin.

Click to expand...

1. Check your drive tensions with your leader yarn before beginning to spin. Make sure the pull/feed degree is what you want for your project.

2. If the tension seems about right, look for some kind of hang up on the hooks or orifice. Things can get snagged.

3. Try changing the position of your feed. You can go higher, lower, laterally (left or right) or directly into the orifice.

4. Check your drive band to see if it is slipping.

Click to expand...

Very helpful, Thank you Yupo!

Here is an image of some color sample cards I made from white wool. Except for 2 cards, which were made some Rit dye I had on hand, this is all done with Durkee and Wilton food coloring I had on hand. Fun!
FYI, these were done by depleting the dye bath. If doing again I would do my color samples more properly by using graduated concentrations of each color instead of serial baths in the same in the batch. Hope that makes sense.
I am most interested in dyeing before spinning, so to blend the colored fibers with cards (dog brushes for now), to get the colors I really want.

The dying of yarn is really interesting to me, and can definitively become quite an intricate science when it comes to spinning the colors into yarn, too. A bit over my head.

I've been spinning but have taken a bit of a break after being quite sick and working a very busy schedule at the restaurant & inn I work at. Back in a more normal routine and feeling better so will be spinning again. Still haven't plyed yet. Soon to come.