Hand Spinning News for December 2012

Shop

How to

About

Blog

Christmas wishes The email version of this newsletter may look much better online: hand-spinning-news.com It's been a big year. In February this newsletter became Hand Spinning News and gained its own web domain.

Since then we've met 10 independent dyers and spinners and read more articles and blog posts than I can be bothered to count.

The Tour de Fleece and the Ravelympics accompanied other (less major) sporting events. I hope, like me, you've made some projects that you're extremely proud of.

There have been lots of woolly shows and events. (Let's hope for some better weather in 2013, hey?)

So what next? More of the same, be assured. I get some lovely feedback about HSN and I love making it.

If you're thinking that you like what goes on here and wish there was something similar with a focus on knitting then I have some great news... I've decided to give HSN a little sister, linked to p2tog.com. It'll be free but you will have to sign up separately - details in the next HSN. Back to this issue - I'm being the Ghost of Spinning Past bringing my pick of the best stories from 2012, the Ghost of Spinning Present bringing the usual round-up of news and blog posts, and the Ghost of Spinning Yet to Come bringing inspiration for some 2013 projects or new skills. God bless, one and all.

Top Stories Boxing Hares, hand felted painting This is a little detail from a large and beautiful piece of work by Fiona of MarmaladeRose.

Read more

How Do You Spin? Parts 1-4 we all develop our own style(s) of spinning but the styles fall into four categories; woolen, worsted, semi-woolen and (guess...) semi-worsted Read more

Contents News, resources and articles from around the web How Do You Spin? Parts 1-4, Free e-book - wool carding and combing From the blogosphere Boxing Hares, hand felted painting, I am a shepherd, Spinning delight! Cap Shawl, Spinning on two wheels at once, Modelling job, Wool combing, Breco spinning wheel, Gradient dyeing, Museum piece?

DIY corner On Board Bobbin Winder Gallery Sometimes just a picture is enough Featured fibre artist and offer In this new feature I'm speaking to spinners who are selling their own handspun 2012 retrospective In true 'end of year' style, here's a look back at some of my favourite stories from 2012 Free patterns A selection of free patterns which will work well with handspun yarn Courses and tuition Where to go for a day, weekend or a week to learn or improve your skills Here we come a-wassailing

News and articles from around the web How Do You Spin? Parts 1-4 I've been following SandAndSkyCreations' series and have been impatiently waiting for all four parts before posting.

As she says, we all develop our own style(s) of spinning, but the styles fall into four broad categories; woolen spinning, worsted spinning, semi-woolen and (guess...) semi-worsted.

Here are links to all four parts of this series, each has a definition, tips and tricks and a video. http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2012/10/25/tips-and-tricks-thursday-how-do-you-spin/ http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2012/11/01/tips-and-tricks-thursday-how-do-you-spin-part-2/ http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2012/11/29/tips-and-tricks-thursday-how-do-you-spin-part-3/ http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2012/12/06/tips-and-tricks-thursday-how-do-you-spin-part-4/

Free e-book - wool carding and combing Interweave have published a number of these free books through the year, each consisting of a number of useful and instructional articles from Spin-off magazine.

The latest is called "Wool Combing and Carding: How to Use Hand Carders, Wool Combs, and Drum Carders" Carding seems to be more popular than combing, but the two prepare the fibre in different ways and produce different types of yarn. This book covers combing, carding, drum carding and a new technique to me - the 'pseudorolag'.

The book is presented by Amy Clarke Moore, who thinks that "the more spinners there are in the world, the more peaceful and harmonious the world will be... even if they have sharp, pointy tools in their hands!" http://www.spinningdaily.com/carding-combing/ discuss any of this

From the blogosphere Boxing Hares, hand felted painting This is a little detail from a large and beautiful piece of work by Fiona of MarmaladeRose.

Click through to her blog post for more photos and details. If you explore her blog you'll see the progression of this piece as well as more of her beautiful work.

Shared by Lucy 'In the Sky' who said 'Wow' when she saw it. http://marmaladerose.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/boxing-hares-hand-felted-painting.html

I am a shepherd What do you call yourself? I like to regularly make up a new job title for myself on Facebook. But I never know what to say when people ask because whatever you say has preconceptions.

Susan of Juniper Moon Farm has written this entertaining piece about the struggle she also has with what to call herself. http://www.fiberfarm.com/2012/11/i-am-a-shepherd

Spinning delight!

Sue has dyed this merino and thinks these colours are stunning, but the best bit is that the fibre hasn't felted.

In previous posts we've shared her pain with a batch that didn't go this well, and was impossible to spin.

Here she gives us her tips for achieving colour without felting. http://suemwebb.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/spinning-delight.html

Finished project - Cap Shawl Prolific spinner and knitter, Sam aka Puddytatpurr caught my eye with this stunning circular shawl.

During the Tour de Fleece she spun 300g of merino/silk and shetland which she 3plied. It took her 28 days to make this huge shawl (it's a king-size bed in the photo). click through for pictures of Sam modelling her beautiful work. http://puddytatpurr.colourfuldesigns.co.uk/some-finished-stuff/

Spinning on two wheels at once In this video, riverrim is using two spinning wheels at the same time for her Tour de Fleece challenge 2011.

Thanks to Guzzi Sue for sharing. Sue likes to use two wheels but in a slightly different sense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zRcOsoru7BQ#!

Modelling job!

Here's an interesting job for a spinner and her wheel.

Goldilox has written about her experience modelling with her wheel for a life-drawing class. Before you avert your eyes, yes, she was fully-clothed.

She took along some carded batts and spent the morning spinning while the students sketched her. http://goldyspinner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/modelling-job.html

Wool Combing If you've read about combing and carding in the 'How do you spin' item and would like to know more about using combs, then this lovely set of photos from ewespecial caught my eye.

At her recent spinning group, a lady called Connie demonstrated combing and making roving using a diz and here we have step-by-step photos. http://ewespecial.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/wool-combing.html

Breco spinning wheel This interesting folding wheel is Breco Reichspatent and was made before World War II in the 20s or 30s.

It's very light and runs smoothly on ball bearings.

Beyenburgerin's husband has done some resoration work on it and it is destined to have some special finishing work in the spring.

I look forward to seeing the fully-restored wheel. http://beyenburgerin.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/spinnrad-breco-spinning-wheel/

Gradient dyeing results This lovely photo shows some braids that The Sassy Spinner has gradient-dyed.

In a previous post she explains the problem that she's been wrestling with - how to get a good gradient with seamless changes and without blotches or bleeding.

She solved the problem with a set of glasses. Although she could only dye 50g at a time, the results look great and I look forward to seeing the yarn. http://thesassyspinner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/just-quick-update.html

Museum piece?

A while ago I mentioned 'Adopt a Native Elder' and the Rug of the Week feature on their blog.

Ewespecial has been posting photos from a visit to the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, NM, many reminding me of the geometric designs of the native elders.

In this blog post she shows us a very old loom. Despite the passing of 200 years, it's all recognisable from the looms we use today and it looks as if it's still working now.

"Loved looms never die! They just keep on weaving and weaving!" says Ewespecial. http://ewespecial.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-journey-continues.html

Bulky scarves for winter Melissa Ludden Hankens of Schacht Spindles' 'Yearning to....' feature started thinking about where her yarn came from and liked the idea of making something out of fibre grown by an animal she'd met and looked in the eye.

This was the inspiration for these two beautiful woven scarves. In this article, Melissa gives us details and some tips that she learned on the way. http://www.schachtspindle.com/yearning-to/2011/issue_23.php

DIY corner On Board Bobbin Winder Here's a clever thing. Debra's handy husband has made her a boat shuttle bobbin winder, which is turned from a piece of dowel and fits her spinning wheel.

Genius! http://knittyblog.com/2012/11/spinning-tuesdays-on-board-bobbin-winder... discuss any of this

Gallery Sometimes just a picture is enough....

Abalone felted wrap This intriguing and beautiful wrap is felted merino / silk.

It was made by Christine Hart and shared by Ashford. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=521667...

Handspun Abalone Cardigan By coincidence, I've bookmarked another Abalone-inspired project this month, gigglejelly has achieved the irridescent effect using silk / merno mix. The top down pattern is her own and the yarn is laceweight two-ply. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gigglejelly/8251071957/in/photostream/

Handspun Wrap Click through for a lovely photo. Unfortunately I know nothing more than the title. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cinnamonsticks/8234512399/in/photostream

Bat Shawl This very gothic-looking was not quite in time for Halloween.

The pattern is here and it looks as if pnkspider has added the blood-red contrast which works beautifully. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33188495@N02/8230930502/in/photostream/

Boreas Jumbo Handspun Art Yarn Elysa of 222 Handspun watched the fleece being shorn before washing, carding and spinning it, along with mohair, jute, artificial leaves and glitter.

It looks beautiful and she suggests that it could make a decoration, garland or gift wrap, http://222handspun.com/jumbo-handspun-art-yarn-boreas/

Handspun haruni shawl I've recently featured another of rjrahardjo's projects but she makes such beautiful things, all using very fine spindle-spun handspun.

This one is camel, and has beads added.

The link will take you to a beautiful montage but explore for many more pictures of this shawl's progress. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rahardjo-knits/8086908498/in/set-72157628781696375/

Featured fibre artist In this new feature I'm speaking to spinners who are selling their own handspun.

Last month we met Secret Spinner Jo Gough. She offered a discount in her shop and also a prize draw. I'm happy to announce that the winner of the yarn was Kat Trevethan Wittmann so thank you very much to everyone who took part and congratulations to Kat. This month we meet Alison of karmicdelight. I like her style and earlier in the year I enjoyed making a scarf from a skein of Alison's handspun.

Briefly describe yourself and what you do I am a 46 year old self-employed watercolor and fiber artist. I paint watercolor animals as my main occupation but am also an avid fiber prepper, spinner of fine yarns and weaver. In previous lives I have been a Primary School teacher, a Reflexologist and a PA in tourism and heritage.

How long have you been spinning / dyeing and what got you started?

I have been spinning for 3 years now and I once worked at the Museum of Welsh Life years ago I saw a great wheel that was by the fireplace in one of the old farmhouses at the museum. I remember looking at it wanting to be able to make that thing work and produce yarn. I also saw lots of spinners plying their craft at weekend shows at the Museum and was so envious of their skill and ability to produce beautiful yarn.

That was over 13 years ago but I started spinning recently because I went to a local indie yarn seller's house to buy yarn and saw a tiny Wee Peggy wheel in her lounge. Again I wanted to be able to use it but after that visit I was down for surgery as I had a large and life-threatening inner ear tumor.

It took me about 7 months before I was sort of well enough to ask that same lady if she taught. She didn't but a friend did. I had my first lesson from my now best friend Anne Holvey (of www.cariadfiberart.etsy.com)and the rest is history. Anne loaned me her wheel and I was off!

What or who inspires you?

Many spinners, dyers and weavers that I see on Etsy and Ravelry as well as old works done by traditional peoples such as the Navajo.

Seeing bundles of various types of fiber in a multitude of colours puts me into orbit and gets me reaching for my hand held carders! I love stripes and love simple weavings such as Navajo tapestries.

What aspect of your work do you enjoy most?

I love playing with colour permutations - selecting and blending to get an unusual look in the form of beautiful rolags and mini batts. I love hand carding - like brushing out a mares tail....and then the satisfaction of washing and setting a freshly spun skein. Nothing like it ! I often sit and handle my yarn for a long time!!!

Where can we view your work?

Here on www.karmicdelight.etsy.com Is there anything else you'd like to tell folk?

I can't think of anything else right now... oh - except that YouTube is a great place to watch videos on how to do all sorts of fiber activities. I have self-taught myself a lot of weaving tasks from there.

And finally - I now have a range of cushion covers with images of my carded fiber on them - here they are... http://society6.com/eastwitching

Many thanks to Alison. She also keeps a blog at http://karmicdelight.wordpress.com/ She would like to offer HSN readers free postage on anything from her shop.

Just use the code SHIPMEFREE at www.karmicdelight.etsy.com discuss any of this

2012 retrospective In true 'end of year' style, here's a look back at some of my favourite stories from 2012

Cape woven from the silk of a million spiders I apologise if this one makes you start scratching, but this is one of the most fascinating stories.

Watching the master weaver (at about 4:40 in this video) 'picking up' the warp to make the pattern would be fascinating enough without the fact that he's weaving with so many counted threads of golden orb spider silk.

80 people worked for five years to collect the silk from about a million spiders to make this silk fabric and five expert weavers and a further group of finishers made the woven panels.

Each warp is made from 96 individual strands - 24 fibres come out of the silking machine and are spun together and then doubled and doubled again for each warp thread. The golden colour is natural.

Each spider was returned to the wild after having its silk harvested.

The fabric has been made into a two-metre shawl and a richly embroidered cape.

The silk panel has been on display around the world including the V&A museum.

There is more about these spider silk garments on the web and Youtube but this video is my pick. We learn lots about the history of spider silk use, technical comparisons with silkworm fibres and see the cloth being woven. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LFF68_bME9E

The CycloCarder - an update Earlier in the year I featured the cyclo-carder, designed and built by Katharine Jolda.

As you cycle, your distance is measured in mpg - miles per garment!

Thank you to Sue for letting me know that it's available in a kit (I'm not sure about availability in the UK) has now been featured in the news and even on TV. http://feltthesun.com/cyclocarder

Hand Spinning News Spring competition 2012 I love seeing the many and various yarns that spinners manage to create based on the same picture.

In the Spring I chose a photograph of some crocuses and here are the results.

They're all beautiful and so different.

Alison was very brave to offer to choose a winner. http://www.flickr.com/groups/1891089@N20/pool/with/6829785550/#photo_6829785550

25 ways to wear a scarf It's always surprising and impossible for me to tell which stories will get the most feedback. So many enjoyed this video, it's beautifully made and useful too!

If you find yourself stuck for the best way to wear a scarf, or if you've seen a photo that made you wonder "how did she put that on?" then this video may help.

Wendy demonstrates 25 ways to wear scarves and shawls and she has made the video in a very clever way.

After you've watched the video, do have a look at this slightly less serious take on the same subject shared by We Love Wool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LYAEz777AU

Woolsack Project and Olympic athletes at Fibre East One of the most moving moments this year for me personally was seeing a team of Olympic athletes choose their Woolsacks at Fibre East.

Crafters all over the country had worked so hard to make cushions from British wool to give to the athletes as gifts. You may remember some disappointing news in the national news that permission had been withdrawn to give out the cushions from a stand at the event. Despite the setback, all cushions were given out. http://stitchywitches.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/fibre-east-2012.html

Oh Woad Is Me! 'Natural dyeing' can bring to mind dull colours, but this post will help to explode that misconception.

This is part of goldilox's harvest of home-grown woad and in this series of pictures she shows a most successful dyeing session.

Click through to see the surprising and beautiful result. http://goldyspinner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/oh-woad-is-me.html

Bear with me Winning the year's 'most unusual fibre' award is Fleegle.

A laugh-out-loud post making for some good puns.

Believe it or not, this is grizzly bear fibre on the carders, of which Fleegle has a bucketful.

She says that it's "surprisingly pleasant to spin - springy and not the least bit slippery, thanks to the natural oils". As with her Vostock shawl also featured in the same issue, she's spinning fine 2-ply and thinks it'll be ideal for an outer garment.

Do cick through for a very entertaining read. http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/bear-with-me.html

Spinning through the Hurricane One of the most memorable events of 2012 will be Hurricane Sandy and in this captivating post, Sara describes how she got through it with the help of her wheel.

She had to spend the weekend at her workplace on call, and to help with the nerves, took her wheel with her.

Pictures of her temporary accommodation and details of her "comfort spinning"!

Thanks Sara and I hope all's well. http://ayearatthewheel.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/spinning-through-hurricane.html discuss any of this

Free patterns Back in the present and here is the usual monthly selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.

Smitten - Advent calendar It's too late for the rest of us to make these as a 2012 advent calendar now but these little mittens would still make lovely tree ornaments.

I've been following earthchic's progress with this pattern on her blog and she did just finish her 24 mitts in time for advent.

Although she changed her original plan to knit them in handspun, they would be perfect for using handspun, especially as they use small amounts of yarn. http://www.knitpicks.com/cfpatterns/pattern_display.cfm?ID=55474220

Chunky crochet mittens One for the crocheters, these chunky mitts look very warm and would work really well in handspun, especially with graduating colours as in this example.

The pattern is free from Lion Brand. It has an easy skill level and sizes ranging from 2yrs through to large adult. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/cwec-mittens.html

Windhelm hat Thank you to Monika of Smoking Hot Needles for this picture of her Windhelm hat.

Or rather, this is one of them, she's made two of these plus a pair of mittens with left-over yarn from an earlier project. As we know, left-over handspun is precious!

Monika says that it was "so much fun to knit this pattern" The link takes you to the free pattern on Ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/windhelm

Felted woven evening bag A perfect talking-point for that posh do.

Last month I linked to a fascinating technique for weaving a photograph by cutting it into strips.

In this pattern, Ashford suggest doing something similar with some wet-felted merino / silk. http://www.ashford.co.nz/newsite/images/stories/PDF_files/bagdesign.pdf discuss any of this

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: Alison Daykin offers week and weekend courses and 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 14 October. Hand spinning for beginners 21 October. For more details go to www.urbancottage.co.uk/courses or call Nichola 07905167922 Hampshire: Spinning workshops at fibre craft studio Beaker Button, the Fairground Craft and Design centre, Weyhill. Free spinning taster sessions. For more details contact 07738 534164 or http://www.beakerbutton.co.uk Lancashire: Spinning workshops at Knit-Wise. All materials included for ÂŁ40, contact Cathy (lazykate) on 01695 580590 www.knit-wise.co.uk for dates.

Lancashire: Carol and Pete Leonard run a regular monthly workshop for hand and wheel spinners where students can either follow the 'topic of the month' or work on their own project guided by Carol and Pete.

They also run a residential weekend each year. These are held at Alston Hall, a conference and adult education centre based in the Ribble Valley close to the M6 motorway. For further information please ring 01772 784661 or visit their website www.alstonhall.com London: Weaving, spinning, dyeing, tapestry weaving, and other yarn and fibre crafts workshops at The Handweavers Studio & Gallery. See the website for dates and details. www.handweavers.co.uk/shop/Workshops_Classes.html South Lincs: Single-day one-to-one spinning courses with all equipment supplied. http://www.alpacathingz.co.uk/(external link to AlpacaThingz website) 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 Northamptonshire: Long Draw Spinning Tuition with Pam Austins, Spinning School. Pam is on a mission to teach longdraw. Most classes are held in Stoke Albany. http://www.spinningschool.blogspot.co.uk/p/calendar.html (external link to Spinning School's calendar) 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) Scotland - Perthshire (and Italy): workshops on spinning (beginners or more advanced), fibre preparation and blending, felting, dyeing and knitting. See the Workshops tab on http://www.perfectweatherforspinningandknitting.blogspot.com/ for updated details of forthcoming workshops by Deborah Gray e-mail deborah.gray7@btinternet.com Sheffield: Tuition and Demonstrations by Diane Fisher, the Murmuring Wheel http://www.murmuringwheel.co.uk/events.html (external link to Diane Fisher's calendar) Sussex: Weald and Downland Museum in Singleton sometimes has courses on spinning http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Traditional-Rural-Trades-and-Crafts/Textiles/ (external link to Weald and Downland Museum's calendar) Mid-Wales: Workshops with HilltopCloud's Katie Weston mostly focus on colour blending, full details at http://www.hilltopcloud.co.uk/HilltopCloud/Workshops.html Yorkshire: Spinning courses with Ruth Gough, various workshops for individuals or groups, at Wentworth or your venue http://www.winghamwoolwork.co.uk/content/15-courses (external link to Wingham Wool Work) discuss any of this

Here we come a-wassailing Finally this month (and finally for this year) a song.

Rather than the very predictable Twelve Days of Christmas I've gone for one of my favourite Christmas tunes, you can find the tune here.

Instead of the original lyrics which beg for generosity, I've imagined the textile workers of the time singing to spread cheer.

So clear your throat and let's sing together...

Here we come a-wassailing As mules and jennies lay.

Here we come a-wand'ring With song and cheer and play.

Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail, too, And God bless you, and send you A Happy New Year, And God send you a Happy New Year.

Good master and good mistress, As you sit beside the fire, Pray think of those whose toil has made The garments that you wear.

Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail, too, And God bless you, and send you A Happy New Year, And God send you a Happy New Year.

Bring us out a table We will spread a woven cloth; Wrap your baby in a blanket And for you a knitted scarf.

Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail, too, And God bless you, and send you A Happy New Year, And God send you a Happy New Year.

As always, Happy spinning, have a fantastic festive fibrey holiday and I'll see you on the other side of it!

Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator shiela@hand-spinning-news.com 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.