Hand spinning news for june 2014

Shop

How to

About

Blog

Hand Spinning News The email version of this newsletter may look much better online: hand-spinning-news.com The weather is Summery as I write, so it seems slightly sad to be receiving autumn issues of some magazines. But if you spin and knit as slowly as me, then now is certainly the time to be thinking about projects to wear when the weather cools off a little bit. So I've picked the free patterns this month with that in mind.

This is among the biggest issues of HSN and it's not because I've been any more or less selective but because there seems to have been more interesting stuff out there, so a BIG thank you to everyone who posts pictures, blogs, articles about spinning. It's appreciated by me and the lovely people who read HSN. Read on for this month's round up of spinning news, reviews, fun and freebies.

Photo right: Be fearless.

Contents News and articles from around the web From Blogland Tips and tutorials Gallery Showing off some of the best images I've found this month Free patterns A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn Events Some dates for your diary

News and Blog Posts Tour de Fleece Prep and Practice Grace is feeling excited about the Tour de Fleece. Spinners everywhere will set themselves spinning challenges alongside a minor sporting event which happens to have a similar name.

It starts in a couple of weeks. She explains how it all works and she links to the Ravelry group if you'd like to join in. http://knittinggoddesswithacat.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/tour-de-fleece-prep-and-practice-plusfinished-yarn/

Gearing up for Tour De Fleece Also on Tour de Fleece, OwlPrintPanda gives a little more detail about the event and shows off the punis that she's bought to spin during her Tour. http://owlprintpanda.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/gearing-up-for-tour-de-fleece.html

The Campaign for Wool's 5th anniversary at Clarence House His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, patron of Campaign for Wool, marked the Campaign's fifth anniversary with a major celebration of wool at Clarence House.

Wool is naturally flame retardant, when it does burn it gives off less dangerous gasses and doesn't melt or stick like its man-made substitutes. These properties make it safer for use in the home, for furnishings and garments. It also biodegrades much more quickly.

To demonstrate all of this, woollen items and synthetic ones were burned and buried at the event.

Pictures and more details are on the Campaign for Wool's blog. http://www.campaignforwool.org/2014/06/12/5th_anniversary_clarence_house/

Back to back challenge 2014 Once again, Freyalyn Close-Hainswoth made a trip to Groenewoud to join spinners from Germany and the Netherlands for an attempt at the International Back to Back Challenge and Guinness World Record.

Teams of eight people shear a sheep, spin, ply and knit a jumper in the shortest possible time.

Team Groenewoud completed the challenge on 31 May in 5hrs, 26 minutes 31 seconds, six minutes faster than their 2013 time. When all results were announced, Freyalyn's team became world champions for another year and set new records.

Congratulations to all. The link below is for pictures from the day, you can follow the team on Twitter @sheeptosweater http://benguin.co.uk/sheep2014/

World wide knit in public day When this newsletter goes out there should still be time for you to find and join an event which is part of World Wide Knit in Public Day. The 'day' is 14 - 22 June. You can search the WWKIP Day website for an event near you, or add one if you like.

If you'd like to spin in public, you'll have a chance (well actually, just go out and do it, you don't have to wait for the day). World Wide Spin in Public Day is a bit later in the year, very close to International Talk Like a Pirate day (yes, really). http://www.wwkipday.com/find-a-kip/

Rug with blue texel There are a few interesting things about this project. Rather frugally, Fran has used the skirtings, parts of a fleece that you'd usually throw. She machine-washed those pickings (I can hear the gasps from here as you read this) and pulled the locks into roving without spinning.

Fran says that the rather beautiful finished rug is very warm underfoot and machine washable (probably). http://wooltribulations.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/making-rug-with-blue-texel-sheepfleece.html

Spindle Stalker "Why would anyone possibly need a collection of spindles?" Alicia used to wonder.

She had an "aha" moment while speaking to a lady using a tiny spindle and came to realise that each spindle's properties affect the way it spins.

Now she's a 'spindle stalker' and shows us her growing collection. http://woolendiversions.com/2014/05/20/spindle-stalker/

Rogue's Gallery Last month I mentioned Goldilox's silkworm hatchlings and we saw that they were little more than black dots.

"I think you'll see a difference in them now" she says. They've munched through leaves from her mulberry tree and shed around three skins. http://goldyspinner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rogues-gallery.html

Yarns in the Cathedral This is a show that I really would like to have seen and was quite disappointed to discover that I'd missed it.

The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers' national exhibition this year was called Yarns in the Cathedral and ran in Norwich from Thursday 15 May Sunday 1 June. Items were submitted and selected, so the work on display really was the best of the best.

As a consolation, the Wildwood blog brings us comments and lots of pictures. http://brentwoodprop.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/yarns-in-the-cathedral/

Handspun Tully Chullo This is one of two custom hats that sandandskycreations has been commissioned to make using dog fur. The dog is blended with wool.

Some of the fibre is knit in its natural colour, some is dyed with a slight variegation for depth. The result looks beautiful. http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2014/06/11/wip-wednesday-handspun-tully-chullo/

how knitting was used as code in WW2 A very strange pairing of headline and illustration, and an article that reads like Wikipedia's History of Knitting page but nonetheless there are some interesting QI-style facts here.

Thanks to FY Geek and Nerd Knits for sharing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/10638792/QI-how-knitting-was-used-ascode-in-WW2.html

Roundtable discussion - how and why (or why not) do you swatch?

Articles on swatching come fairly regularly, usually preaching the merits.

Grace of Sweet Georgia Yarns speaks to four of her colleagues and hears some reasons for and against [thanks for the balance, Liisa with two 'i's] and most contributors speak about handspun. http://www.sweetgeorgiayarns.com/2014/05/sgy-roundtable-swatch/

Obsessed With Spinning Stitched Together has plenty of reasons to be "obsessing with handspun yarn and spinning it at the moment" She shows some of her early yarn alongside some of her most recent, demonstrating that practice really does make perfect.

In this inspiring post she also discusses the beautiful spindle she uses. http://www.stitchedtogether.co.uk/2014/05/obsessed-with-spinning.html

Where the yarn comes from Jane (who's probably knitting) recently went on what sounds like a wonderful artists' retreat and during the week visited two wool mills.

It's great to make yarn by hand but still fascinating to see how it's done on a large scale. This picture is a large bucket of carded merino which feels like "handling a cloud". Jane posts many more pictures of her visits.

I've chosen to link to part 1 here, explore the links on the blog to find part 2. http://janesprobablyknitting.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/where-yarn-comes-from-part-1.html

Spinning to knit Jillian Moreno, editor of Knittyspin and advisor to Ply magazine, has tried three readily-available breeds with different characteristics.

She's spun each worsted and woollen and knits the results for comparison. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff14/KSFEATff14KS.php

Adventures in blending fiber Benjamin of Schacht experimented with some red, white and blue fibre and found the result too light.

More colours and some sparkle were added and the result carded several more times for a very smooth blend.

The finished beaded shawl looks very pretty. Click through for lots of 'in progress' pictures. http://blog.schachtspindle.com/2014/06/adventures-in-blending-fiber-benjamin.html

Getting Ready for Shearing To mark the start of shearing season, the Spinning Shepherd usually writes about the history of shearing.

Here she raises an interesting fact - that sheep were sometimes washed 'on the hoof' before shearing, and this raised the value of the fleece.

There are some lovely old illustrations too. http://spinningshepherd.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/sheep-to-sweater-sunday-n-157-getting.html

discuss any of this

Tips and tutorials Speckled Gradient Cowl Not handspun but a wonderful effect from the dyeing technique.

Knottygnome dyed her yarn after winding it into a cake. This made a lovely gradient effect as the dye soaked the outside but merely made speckles on the inside. http://blog.knottygnome.com/2014/05/speckled-gradient-cowl-memorial-daysale.html

Be fearless An inspirational post from Mom. She says that experimentation is the rule and has found joy in letting go of her preconception that even and skinny is correct. http://www.simplynotable.com/2014/be-fearless/

Yarn structures There have been a number of articles and even the odd book about analysing commercial yarn in order to make a similar handspun yarn.

This one is probably aimed at new spinners. It's about twist and the various methods of plying (or not) to produce different types of yarn. http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/05/handspun-yarn/

First Woven Handspun If you've not woven with your handspun before, you will be very surprised to find that it's a much quicker way to produce a finished garment than knitting or crochet.

It's almost instant gratification as Catherine shows here with step-by-step pictures of the process and the small and straightforward Ashford Sampler loom she used. http://cathylazykate.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/first-woven-handspun/

Dyeing yarn with sharpies There has been some interest in dyeing fabrics using Sharpie pens and here Sara of Webs has tried using the pens to dye yarn.

It looks a very clean way to add colour although there's no word on the fastness.

Click through to see some knitted items. http://blog.yarn.com/dyeing-yarn-with-sharpies/

Bedazzle your spinning You can add beads to handspun as you ply and there are various techniques for adding them as you

knit.

Here's a tutorial in which Mom adds beads to singles as she plies. http://www.simplynotable.com/2014/bedazzle-your-spinning/

Spinning Gradient Yarns Sara of sarastexturecrafts has been running a series of tutorials about spinning a gradient yarn from a number of solid colours.

In part 3 she explains how to card some mini batts, then spin and ply to achieve a faux gradient. http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/tutorial-spinning-gradient-yarns-part-3.html

discuss any of this

Keeping this wheel spinning New: Golden Fleece Carders Sponsored story We are delighted to introduce our company Golden Fleece Carders from the Netherlands.

GFC specialises in carding equipment and carding cloth for all DIY enthusiasts.

Blending boards, hand carders and carding cloth are all available in various TPI. All our products are produced in the Netherlands and in most cases available direct from our stock.

We look forward to seeing you at www.gfcarders.com - Mark Broks www.gfcarders.com

Your news here Are you a teacher, pattern designer, supplier, dyer?

Would you like to reach the growing readership of thousands of hand spinners and at the same time help to support Hand Spinning News ?

Read more

Gallery Sometimes just a picture is enough

Click SandAndSkyCreations is making these mittens for a friend but she is enjoying the longwool fibre and the knitting speed of the pattern so she may make another pair for herself.

The wool is club fibre and spun into what looks like singles. http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2014/05/29/click/

Owl Carole has spun shetland wool and dog hair, and used weaving sticks to make this owl. She plans to give it as a prize at the Kent County Show. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=849114018451048&set=gm.612631318834466&type=1&theater

The long view Sexy spindle shot this month is from knottygnome. Chosen because I love the colours - a gorgeous dark blue with highlights in lighter blue and purple.

She's not finding the spinning easy because the batt has been stored for a long time and has compacted. But she's hoping to make a sock yarn using opposing 3-ply. I'm looking forward to reading about how the resulting yarn feels. http://blog.knottygnome.com/2014/06/wip-it-wednesday-long-view.html

Handspun Liliopsida shawl Congratulations to Elizabeth of Deep Sea Knitting on this finished Liliopsida shawl using her handspun Falkland yarn.

While making it she thought she'd give it away because she doesn't usually wear yellow but now likes it so much she's changed her mind.

Liliopsida is a free pattern by Heidi Alander, Elizabeth links to it in her post. http://deepseaknits.wordpress.com/2014/06/08/show-off-sunday-2/

Speaking through Spinning "I want my husband to take me in his arms and whisper those three little words that all women long to hear: 'You were right'" This and many other sayings from witty to profound feature in Jeannine Gleaves' work 'Vest of Voices'.

"Words that spoke to me about my life or just made me laugh...I started weaving them into inkle bands and those bands became my Vest of Voices" says Jeannine.

From luxury blends of wool, silk and yak, she spun enough to weave 56 yards of inspiration and observation before making those into the finished garment. http://www.spinningdaily.com/blogs/anne/archive/2014/05/28/let-you-spinning-speak-to-you.aspx

Wee Liesl Baby Set These bootees look very cute but click through to Buhnuh's photostream to find them hanging beside the matching jacket. All are made from dyed fibre from SweetGeorgia https://www.flickr.com/photos/buhnuh/14371485716/in/photostream/

Free patterns A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.

Perfect for weddings Lion Brand have made this collection of patterns on a wedding theme. Whether for you to wear or a gift for the bride, using handspun yarn makes a handmade item so much more special.

Not all patterns are available for free. http://blog.lionbrand.com/2014/05/24/8-beautiful-patterns-from-ravelry-perfect-for-weddings/

Seven free crochet wedding patterns If the wedding patterns caught your eye but you crochet rather than knit, then by a very happy coincidence, Crochet Me have released this free eBook containing wedding patterns ranging from shawls to garter. http://www.crochetme.com/blogs/crochet_daily/archive/2014/05/22/get-7-freecrochet-wedding-patterns.aspx

Prima Lace Legwarmers Thinking ahead to the Autumn and cooler weather, these look effective peeping over the top of boots, but if you're quick enough to knit them while the weather's still warm then they look great over legs as here. According to the description (and as the name suggests) they're still popular with dancers too.

Spin 400 yards of fingering weight. The pattern is 'beginner' rated. http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/knitting/accessory/prima-lace-legwarmers/84143

Crochet shawl - Grantangle If you've not crocheted with your handspun, this may be the ideal starting point. Amy O'Neill Houk's pattern is easy with some step-by-step illustrations of the basic stitch pattern.

Looking forward again to the slightly cooler weather, the shawl is versatile and can be worn as a scarf.

The pattern calls for a yarn which is a merino /silk worsted-weight singles, so I think it lends itself perfectly to a similar handspun yarn. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff14/FEATff14PWT.php#PATT

Arlen by Kris Carlson Thanks once again to Knitty, there's lots of useful information in this pattern for hand spinners.

Conveniently it calls for 4 oz (100g) of multi-coloured or solid dyed fibre. With colour changes in mind, there are notes about colour-changes and navajo plying to

concentrate the colours; also about achieving a consistent thickness.

It's two patterns in one - a snood or a cowl, and the pictures show one in changing colour and one in a more solid colour. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEff14/KSPATTarlen.php

Will spin for coffee This cozy is a great gift for someone who enjoys on-the-go coffee. You can use the pocket to tuck in some coffee money, sugar or a teabag.

It's quick to make and uses less than 50 yards of any sport-weight yarn (somewhere between sock / 4-ply and DK). http://www.simplynotable.com/2011/pick-a-pocket-cozies/

Zoom Loom Project - Tablet Pouch I can heartily recommend the zoom loom (or similar pin loom). It's an addictive and quick way to use handspun of around DK thickness.

This tablet pouch makes a feature of the seams and uses felting which you can easily achieve in your washing machine. http://blog.schachtspindle.com/2014/06/tablet-pouch-zoom-loom-project.html

Ridged Hooded Cardigan This pattern calls for a commercial yarn which could happily be substituted by a chunky handspun yarn with colour changes, either natural or dyed.

Sizes range from XS to 3XL and skill level is intermediate. http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L32330.html?service=3644&letterId=56231

Spring Shawl by Emma Fassio Thanks to Susanba for sharing this project with the HSN Ravelry group. It's great to see a project through from plain white roving to finished item. Although the colours aren't as vibrant as she'd have liked, they look pretty, more autumnal than springlike.

Emma Fassio's Spring Shawl pattern is free, it has a high star rating, low difficulty and has been popular. The shape is interesting, it looks as if it fits the shoulders naturally and there are many ways to wear it. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Susanba/spring-shawl-6 discuss any of this

Events 2014 Woolfest Friday 27 June and Saturday 28 June, Cockermouth, Cumbria Woolfest 2014 - the 10th anniversary!

Woolfest was founded to provide a showcase and a celebration of the best of wool and wool crafts.

The event is all about creativity and design with beautiful quality, amazing colours and skilled craftsmanship and this was recognised in 2012 when Woolfest won the Cumbria Tourism Award for Event of the Year. www.woolfest.co.uk

Northants Rare Breeds Survival Trust fleece and poultry sale Sunday 29 June from 10.00am until 1.00pm at Elm Tree Farm, Oxford Road, Evenley, Brackley, Northants, NN13 5RX An annual event to raise funds for the Northants Rare Breeds Survival Trust. As well as rare and not so rare coloured and white fleeces there is also a poultry sale, a cake stall and a plant stall plus the RBST stand with bits for sale and, of course, cakes and refreshments to help you get over the excitement of securing a lovely fleece.

Enquiries contact Carrie on 01327 857195 and if there is a special fleece you're after, please contact Chris beforehand on 01327 830 523

The Wool Experience Saturday 5 July, 10am - 4pm at Blaze Farm, nr Wildboarclough, Cheshire, SK11 0BL Demonstrations of spinning, weaving and feltmaking, shearing display, stalls from local artists and craftspeople, handmade items, fleece, fibre and yarns for sale.

Refreshments and ice cream available.

Admission ÂŁ1 adults and 50p children (admission fee goes to charity). http://theblacksheepspinners.weebly.com/the-wool-experience.html

Fibre East 26 and 27 July 2014, Redbourne Community College, Flitwick Road, Ampthill, Bedford MK45 2NU The fourth Fibre East, those in the Eastern, Midlands and Southern Regions an opportunity to join in an event which aims to encourage and promote British wool and natural fibres.

The second year at the college which is an indoor venue. www.fibre-east.co.uk

Yarndale 27 and 28 September Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire For you if you love yarn and are passionate about all things woolly. It aims to celebrate the beauty and diversity of wool, cotton, linen and silk fibres in all their forms yarndale.co.uk Happy spinning and don't be a stranger!

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 for free 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.

A PeacockMedia publication