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Hand Spinning News Going for gold The email version of this newsletter may look much better online: hand-spinning-news.com Lots of the picks this month are Ravelympics handspun projects. The 'ravelympians' have been working on personal challenges for the duration of that other large sporting event. To confuse things a little you'll see the knitting event referred to as both Ravelympics and Ravellenics. After using the former name in previous years, the US Olympics Committee sent a cease and desist letter. Although they later apologised to outraged knitters, Ravelry obligingly changed the name of the knitting event to The Ravellenics Games. Rising above all this fuss, it's awe-inspiring that hundreds of people were spinning and thousands of people were knitting all at the same time and the result is so many wonderful finished items. On a personal note, thanks to the Ravelympics I've finished in record time what's without doubt my favourite spin / knit finished project ever (pictured above right). My blog posts about spinning and knitting the shawl will follow next month, but in preparation for this project I did try fulling a sample of singles for the first time and I'm including my blog post about that. Thank you to everyone has joined the HSN group / forum and commented on last month's stories. Please do continue to get involved - use it to let me know about things I may not have seen or to comment on the stories I've highlighted. So on with this month's Olympic selection (come and get me, Olympic Committee) of twisty treats, tips and techniques...
Top Stories Cardigan born and celebrated Pantoffels takes us on a journey from fibre to finished cardigan, and through the national exhibition for which it was selected. Read more
Fibre offer Featured fibre dyer this month is Katie of Hilltop Cloud. Interview and special offer. Read more
Contents News and articles from around the web Navajo traditions live on, Loom made from lego Ravelympics / Ravellenics Games Ravelympic picks From the blogosphere Spanish Peacock shawl, Akimbo, Olympic curse, Sampling for lace shawl, Lamb shearing record attempt, Fibre East, Challenging cotton, A Cardigan is born and celebrated, Napkins, Aranami shawl, spin S or Z? Wanna see some magic? Putting handspun cotton to good use, Kool Aid popsicle dyeing, Mystery shawl, Ply twist, An excuse to work with hand-spun yarn Gallery Showing off some of the best images I've found this month Featured fibre artist and fluffy giveaway An interview with an independent dyer and an offer Free patterns A selection of free patterns which will work well with handspun yarn Events Some dates for your diary Courses and tuition Where to go for a day, weekend or a week to learn or improve your skills
News and articles from around the web Navajo traditions live on This is Nettie Tsinajinnie, a traditional Navajo elder spinning with her 'hip spindle'. The Adopt-a-Native-Elder Program aims to support a families of native americans living the simple life of generations of their ancestors. There's a danger of such a project appearing patronising but to set up a website and hold exhibitions to sell the work of these people seems to be most worthwhile and I don't doubt it is helping to keep the skills and the patterns alive. We all know how much work goes into one of these rugs and the prices seem very reasonable. (All proceeds apparently go to the weavers.) Unfortunately there are very few images of the ladies spinning and weaving, but there are many pictures of their rugs and some are stunning. Use this link to view all "rug of the week" posts from this blog http://anelder.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=rug+of+the+week
Loom made from Lego You may have seen this already, it's done the rounds recently. If you haven't, it's a working loom made from Lego. It produces real cloth by itself and even counts its rows! http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2012/08/mechanical_loom_made_from_lego.html discuss any of this
Ravellenics Games Spanish Peacock shawl finished in record time My main Ravelympics event was the Shawl Sailing and if you're on Ravelry, the finish line is well worth a visit, currently showing almost 1500 shawls finished during the fortnight. There are so many with the wow factor but friends will know why the name of this shawl appeals to me. I've no idea how Kelly found the time, she says in an earlier post that each round was taking an hour. She spun the 2800 yds of beautiful yarn during the Tour de Fleece. http://shirstycatdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/fini.html
Hat Dash - Capucine Voxless made an early appearance at the Hat Dash finish line with her Capucine hat using handspun from BohoKnitterChic and modelled enthusiastically by her 4 1/2 year old. The pattern is free; Capucine by Adela Illichmanova http://recklessknitting.com/?p=871
Akimbo SandandSkyCreations also knitted very quickly to finish her Akimbo shawl made from her handspun. I'm not sure whether it's intentional, but the earthy colours of the main body and the etherial colours in the border all makes me think of land and sky. http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2012/08/05/akimbo/
Olympic curse I've been spotting this sheep motif all over the place and I love it. I've queued the Sheep Carousel tea cosy When I saw this picture alongside the words "winner of gold in the all-round loser category in the Ravellenics" I couldn't really see why. The story is that being a Ravellenics project, Araignee has been knitting several colours of her handspun in front of the TV, and knitting colourwork while trying to watch sports has led to mixing up the colours and miscounting the pattern. Hence ripping back several times. The good news is that she has finished the hat. But the end of this story is not an entirely happy one. Click through to her more recent posts to see the hat soaked and blocked. http://araigneestangledweb.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/olympic-curse.html
Rare Breed Rams and Yowes The rams and yowes pattern by Kate Davies has a similar sheep motif. selkieB of Ravellenics Team 'Knit Your Handspun' doesn't seem to have made it to the the Afghan Marathon finish line, but it's a lovely project because she's knitting the sheep using a variety of handspun British wool including some Lincoln longwool raised herself. The link is a Ravelry link as she doesn't seem to have written about this one on her own blog yet. If you're not already on Ravelry, it's a free sign-up.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/selkieB/rams-and-yowes
Ravellenic Games thrill of victory The Handspun Heptathlon finish line is a great place to stand and cheer and it's so difficult to pick someone to feature here. I've chosen Marie (needleloca) because in keeping with the event name she has chosen seven braids to spin. I feel a little humbled having taken the podium after spinning just one such braid (shown in progress on this issue's cover). Marie spun for the Tour de Fleece before this marathon session so it's no surprise that she says that it now " feels strange not to be spinning". The thumbnail shows Marie's braids, the link goes to the blog post where she shows off her finished skeins of yarn. http://needleloca.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/a-ravellenic-games-thrill-of-victory.html
From the blogosphere Lamb shearing record attempt Way beyond the call of duty, Shearer Girl Lydia got up at 2.30 am and headed for Woodchurch, Kent on 4 August to watch Joel Barton from attempting to set a new UK 9 hour lamb shearing record. He needed to shear more than 521 lambs in 9 hours. As far as I know, not (yet) an Olympic sport. As well as tweeting Joe's progress throughout the day (@Romneyteg) and taking hundreds of pictures, Lydia took her wheel. But she gave up trying to spin because of the excitement. Follow the link below for her write-up of the day and to find out whether Joel managed to break the record. Lydia has also linked to her Flickr account where you can see her photographs from the day. http://talesfromthesheepshed.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/joel-barton-sets-new-uk-9-hour-lamb.html
Fibre East 2012 I think my favourite moment at Fibre East was when these athletes from the Maldives arrived at the Woolsack stand to collect their cushions. A welcome and a gift from crafters using British wool. The second Fibre East was held on 14 & 15 July 2012. There were many more exhibitors this year as well as a 'have a go' tent offering rugmaking and felting as well as spinning and knitting. The weather wasn't as good as hoped but a bit of mud didn't seem to put anyone off. http://stitchywitches.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/fibre-east-2012.html
Challenging cotton A Tour de Fleece post which didn't make July's HSN, Goldilox takes us through the process of dealing with and spinning cotton bolls. being a very short fibre, the secret is to use a fast ratio for lots of twist. If you'd like to find out more about spinning cotton, Interweaves free e-book, All About Spinning Cotton is still available. http://goldyspinner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/challenging-cotton.html
A cardigan is born and celebrated This is Elseline (Pantoffels) who has knitted this beautiful cardigan from undyed natural light corriedale. The image and the link at the bottom of this item link to her blog post in which she takes us on the fibre's journey from sampling, spinning and knitting through to the finished item. She says that she was taken aback when a fellow guild member suggested that she submit it for the National Exhibition of the Association of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. She was "honoured and delighted" to have the garment accepted for the exhibition. Her more recent posts about the exhibition are fascinating and inspiring. She gives us four posts containing many, many photographs of exhibited works including knitting, weaving, tapestry and 'The Rings' which itself is a treat. Congratulations and a big thank you to Elseline for taking, sorting and posting so many photographs. 1. Mostly knitting and handspun 2. Mostly weaving 3. Mostly tapestry 4. The Rings
http://momentmusing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cardigan-is-born-and-celebrated.html
Napkins! David at Southern Cross Fibre has finished these beautiful napkins, woven from commercial cottolin (warp) and his first handspun cotton (weft). He spun the cotton during this year's TdF, using a Charkha. Random numbers determined the stripe colour and width. http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidknits68/7729230774/
Aranami shawl Beata says that she likes garter stitch and this yarn. Given how beautiful the end result, it's a surprise to read that she "hated knitting the shawl". Click through for her comments and more lovely images. http://www.fly-along.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/aranami-shawl.html
When do you spin S or Z? I had a question recently about spinning the wrong way around. A teacher had mentioned to a spinner that she was spinning continental style and that the yarn would untwist and come apart when she knitted. The thinking here is that knitting and crochet tend to add twist in one direction or the other and that depending on the direction of your spinning, this may undo the twist in the yarn. Knitting can add S or Z twist depending on your style, and crochet adds Z. So you may want to consider this and spin in the appropriate direction. Ask the Bellweather gives us the low down. http://askthebellwether.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/when-do-you-spin-s-or-z.html
Wanna see some magic? Yes, there is something magical about knitting lace, and even more so when it's your own handspun. Weekendknitter says that she really loves knitting lace and these images are absolutely beautiful. http://weekendknitter.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/wanna-see-some-magic/
Sampling for lace shawl Knitting with singles works well if the twist is well set. 'Fulling' the yarn (slightly felting it) does the trick very well. I'd decided to try making my Ravelympics project from such fulled singles, greatly inspired by a similar project by josiekitten. Before the event I thought it a good idea to make two sample skeins, practice fulling with one and set the other in the usual way. The difference is quite striking, and the 'thwacking' is quite therapeutic! I went on to use the technique for my project. http://stitchywitches.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/sampling-for-lace-shawl.html
Putting handspun cotton to good use Fibre could say it wanted to be thick but you could just be in a different mood. Over two interesting blog posts, Cotton Clouds gives us lots of tips for making best use of your handspun cotton and consistent spinning and plying. This link leads to part two. There's a link at the bottom of part two to take you to part one. http://cottoncloudblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/putting-your-handspun-to-good-use-part-two-spinninga-consistent-yarn/
Kool Aid Popsicle Dyeing In an earlier issue I seem to remember a story about using melting snow to carry dye into yarn. On a day that's hotter than most here in the UK, MaiyaMayhem has frozen her dye and used solar power to gradually apply the dye by melting the dye cubes and also 'cook' the dye into the yarn for a beautiful result. With thanks to Amber Gray-Fenner for sharing. http://maiyamayhem.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/kool-aid-popsicle-dyeing.html
Mystery shawl This is a lovely shawl in a beautiful subtley-striped blue. Do click through to the blog post to see the dyed fibre and the skein of yarn. It's a lovely story too. Pat won the braid of fibre in a competition, and spun 91g of it into 677 yards of lace weight 2 ply yarn. She then took part in a knit-a-long which she says is "such a fun way to knit a shawl". The pattern was given in parts so that Pat couldn't see the future instalments and didn't feel overwhelmed. http://www.patsknittingandquilting.com/2012/july/ttlmysteryshawl.html
Ply twist Ply twist can make a big difference to your finished knitted fabric, both to the look and drape. I was taught to check for balance as I ply and to aim for balance. Now I'm tending to slightly overply but only because I prefer the look. I've not considered how it affects the finished fabric. But here, Jillian from Knitty knits up three swatches from the same yarn - slightly underplied, balanced and overplied - and compares. The result may not be surprising, but well worth bearing in mind and using to your advantage. http://knittyblog.com/2012/07/spinning-tuesdays-knitting-with-handspun-ply-twist/
All wound up Eskimimi is an accomplished knitter and has been using a spindle for a while. She also has a talent for taking excellent pictures for her blog. This is her first handspun made on her wheel. She says that she's "very proud, even if it isn't perfect" If it isn't perfect it looks very close. Well done to her and I look forward to seeing what she makes with it. http://www.eskimimimakes.com/2012/07/all-wound-up.html
An excuse to work with hand-spun yarn Do we need an excuse? Here Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer knits her own 'Loganberry' design using handspun merino / silk plied with hand-dyed silk hankies. From a distance, the ply of bright colour gives the shawl a jewel-like quality and I prefer these colours to the original colour which gave the pattern its name. http://jackie-es.com/spinning/an-excuse-to-work-with-hand-spun-yarn.php discuss any of this
Gallery Sometimes I find pictures of lovely handspun or finished handspun projects with little or no additional information (with apologies to the owners of these pictures if you have blogged about them elsewhere or if you'd like to tell me more, please let me know and I'll pass on the extra information in the next HSN)
Sothia shawl This Ravellenics finished project by Chriss is made from two colours of handspun which work beautifully together. http://www.flickr.com/photos/96818350@N00/7766481420/in/photostream
Piano cover This pattern appeals to me not only because it's a great idea beautifully made but also because I could use one myself. Handwoven from handspun yarn, woolforbrains says "doubleweave keys with plainweave handspun black yardage used doubled" http://www.flickr.com/photos/16444176@N02/7644298566
Terhimon's Boneyard Shawl terhimon says that she's "still having a love affair with spinning" - and Krista's gorgeous colours. Beautiful pictures that show off the shawl very well. http://www.flickr.com/photos/83952633@N00/7557034146/in/photostream/
Whiz Socks There's no information with these colourful socks. I only know that they're tagged 'Handspun'. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zoxozo/7659535956/in/photostream/
More handspun socks These are beautiful with a simple but effective pattern. "Crosby hill farm, cvm romeldale fiber" http://www.flickr.com/photos/35777705@N03/7622436500/ discuss any of this
Fibre giveaway Last month we met Helen of My Heart Exposed, who offered a custom-dyed braid. Thank you very much to all who entered the draw. The random number generator picked entry number 22, I'm waiting to hear back from her before I name names. This month I have spoken to Katie of Hilltop Cloud. You can see from her shop at www.hilltopcloud.etsy.com that Katie likes complimentary colours and is passionate about British wool. Briefly describe yourself and what you do I live in rural mid-Wales, and sell fibre for spinners. I set up my business, HilltopCloud, after I left teaching in 2011. I started out selling handblended fibre, but have since started selling dyed fibre. My speciality is unusual fibre combinations, and blends. I like work with intense colour, and tonal shades. How long have you been spinning / dyeing? I've been spinning since 2009, I like to think I've packed a lot in to those 3 years though, there aren't many days when I don't do any spinning. What got you started? I learned to knit in 2008, joined Ravelry, saw all the beautiful yarns that spinners were producing and decided I wanted to try it. I was very lucky to be given my first spinning wheel, and remain forever grateful to that person. What inspires you? Colour. I love pulling out different shades of fibre, and putting them together, seeing how they work, and trying out combinations. Where / how do you sell your work? I mostly sell on Etsy, www.hilltopcloud.etsy.com, but also have my own website where you can buy subscriptions to my fibre clubs www.hilltopcloud.co.uk I also go to many of the big fibre festivals, you can see all the show and events I'll be attending on my website. What aspect of your work do you enjoy most? All of it, I really am incredibly lucky to have found something that I genuinely love, and to get to share that passion with others is incredible. What makes your work or your service special? I think it's mostly again all about colour. I like putting combinations together that are tonal, rather than contrasting. The fibre I dye is mostly semi solid, or colours that are next to one another on the colour wheel. I think it makes the finished yarn really easy to use, and to wear. I also dye unusual breeds, at the moment I've got Southdown, Texel, Whitefaced Woodland, and Masham in the shop,as well as the more traditional fibres, but I keep widening the selection and enjoy introducing my customers to something a little bit different. For the next month, Katie would like to offer all HSN readers a 15% discount on any purchase from www.hilltopcloud.etsy.com. Enter the code HANDSPINNING at checkout to receive the discount. discuss any of this
Free patterns A selection of free patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
Unleaving scarf I featured Unleaving as a free pattern in the last issue, but I'm mentioning it again here because gingerstar has used the pattern for her Ravellenics project. Click through her photostream to see pictures of the work in progress, finished and modelled. http://www.flickr.com/photos/15304662@N07/7756654002/in/photostream/
Drop Stitch Scarf The picture (right) is Josiekitten's scarf, made with some beautiful handspun singles, which I think works so much better than the yarn used in the pattern. The drop stitch design really shows off the texture of handspun yarn and using singles shows off those colour changes. http://www.crazygirlyarnshop.com/images/free/Easy_Drop_Stitch_Scarf_Pattern_2009.pdf
Lace Ribbon Scarf Thank you to Minniemoll who says that the pattern is "easy to remember and perfect for subtly striped handspun yarn." The picture is Minniemoll's scarf made from hand-dyed merino roving, which she's quite rightly "really pleased with". http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring08/PATTlaceribbon.html
'Three crafts' bag I'm including this in the patterns section, even though Helen says that the blog post is not a tutorial. I think she gives enough information to make a similar bag - if you spin, weave and sew. http://minniemoll.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/three-crafts-in-one-bag/ discuss any of this
Events 2012 BOB, the Underground Craft Festival 22 & 23 September 2012, Agricultural Business Centre, Bakewell, Derbyshire BOB, the Underground Craft Festival aims to celebrate the best of the small, independent craftspeople from the UK. This year BOB's feature craft will be knitting. Tickets: £6/£5 (advance and group bookings available) on sale now. http://undergroundcraft.wordpress.com/about/
Masham Sheep Fair Masham, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, 29 and 30 September A fabulous fair with plenty of sheepy things, lots of fleeces and fibres for sale and a spinning competition to enter. An action packed programme on both Saturday and Sunday, with a Sheep Show, Sheep Racing, Craft Market, Bishop Blaize Procession, Fleece Stalls, Wool Competition, Sheepdog Demonstrations, Hand Bell Ringers, Morris Dancers, Art Exhibition and Tours of Theakstons & Black Sheep Breweries, as well as the Old Time Children's Fair. http://www.mashamsheepfair.com
Wool Week 15 - 21 October 2012, multiple activities throughout Britain Run by the Campaign for Wool with patron HRH The Prince of Wales. Wool Week 2012 will begin in the United Kingdom on October 15th, with lots of events around the UK. www.campaignforwool.org
Courses and tuition Please let me know if you are or you know a tutor with a calendar of events. Cornwall: Audrey Durrant is heavily involved with the Cornwall Guild and works with the Rare Breed Survival Trust. She teaches spinning, basic weaving, is a hand dyer and gives talks and demonstrations. Find out more at www.hawthornfibres.co.uk Derbyshire: See listing above of spinning, dyeing and weaving holidays with Alison Daykin (external link to Skylark Holidays' programme and prices). Five-day or weekend breaks. Alison also has a less formal 'Monday night group': spinningandweaving.weebly.com Dumfries and Galloway: Sue Macniven offers Residential Courses or one to one workshops in Twynholm or at your own venue http://www.handspun-exotics.co.uk/workavail.html Hampshire: Spinning and wool workshops at The Old Dairy, Westover Farm, Nr Andover. Wool - qualities, uses and preparation and Hand spinning for beginners, both to be run again in September. For more details go to www.urbancottage.co.uk/courses or call Nichola 07905167922 Lancashire: Spinning workshops at Knit-Wise. All materials included for £40, contact Cathy (lazykate) on 01695 580590 www.knit-wise.co.uk for dates. Manchester:Spinning courses with Dee Sayce. also sewing, felt making, weaving, dyeing, batik and silk painting (external link to beetlefelt) http://www.beetlefelt.co.uk/workshop_spinning.html Nottinghamshire: Spinning courses with Juliet Hill www.handspinning.org.uk/index.html (external link to Juliet Hill Handspinning) Norfolk: Single-day spinning courses www.norfolkyarn.co.uk/Homepage/News/tabid/77/Default.aspx(external link to Norfolk Yarn website) Sheffield: Tuition and Demonstrations by Diane Fisher, the Murmuring Wheel http://www.murmuringwheel.co.uk/events.html (external link to Diane Fisher's calendar) South Lincs: Single-day one-to-one spinning courses with all equipment supplied. http://www.alpacathingz.co.uk/(external link to AlpacaThingz website)
Spinning and weaving holidays If the listing below does not display properly, please view it on the web at http://handspinner.co.uk/links.html with Skylark holidays and Alison Daykin. Introduction to Spinning Derbyshire Learn to Spin, have a dabble at spinning
Make the Most of Rigid Heddle Derbyshire Weaving – making the most of your loom
Start Weaving Derbyshire Peak District Learn to Weave
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discuss any of this Happy spinning and don't be a stranger! Shiela http://handspinner.co.uk shiela@handspinner.co.uk If you're reading this newsletter on the web and would like it delivered to your email inbox every month, just fill in your email address in the box somewhere up there on the right. If you've reading this in your inbox and would prefer not to receive any more, just use the Mailchimp 'unsubscribe' link at the foot of the email.