Snowstorms to snowdrops Newsletter from handspinner.co.uk for February 2011 Since the last newsletter we've gone from heavy snow to snowdrops - the coldest part of winter through to the earliest signs of growth. Isn't it so good to see that the new patterns doing the rounds are getting lighter and more spring-like? (The pattern to the right is Mata Hari from the current Twist Collective) I'm sure you spotted the fact that it's been two months since the last missive. The busiest time of the year and our advent calendar took their toll in December and January has been a time for catching up with the spinning news and blogs. So without further ado, here is the latest distillation of spinning news, reviews, blogs and siliness.
Contents News from around the web Relaunch of British spinning firm, Spiral to Boucle', Cabling, Colour theory for spinners From the blogosphere Conquering cottonphobia, Snow for dye delivery, Spinning from the fold, Plying is boring(!), Spinning for lace, Cashmere goats in the snow, Home made winders News from handspinner.co.uk This month's prize draw, new products and latest magazines Events Some 2011 dates for your diary!
News from around the web Relaunch of British spinning firm Thanks to both devonfinefibres and willingtonweaver for highlighting this great news story about Laxtons Specialist Spinners who have relaunched and are spinning British wool here in Britain and supplying consumers in the UK and around the world. Once a mainstay of our economy, the textile trade has long been in decline, but now there are signs of a revival, no doubt given a boost by the recent Wool Week. Story with video from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12149481
Spiral to Boucle' If you're not already acquainted with the ways of the spiral and boucle, this fascinating piece is waiting in the latest Knittyspin to enlighten you. Both are techniques to make attractive, balanced thick-and-thin art yarn. Lynne Vogel's article is informative and packed with delicious pictures that will make you want to pop on that jumbo flyer. Read Spiral to Boucle'
Cabling That last item touches on cabling and by coincidence, another article I'd bookmarked also talks about cabling as a more durable alternative to 4plying and is from the previous ('deep fall') Knittyspin. Read Basic Cabling from the Spinner's Glossary
Colour theory for spinners You can see that colours look dramatic or harmonious together or simply clash, but do you know why and can you select colours for the effect you want? These three episodes of Yarnspinners Tales really are an absorbing and enlightening conversation. It covers so much ground that they have split it into three. Follow the link and look for episodes 54, 55 and 56 Yarnspinners Tales Podcast Information about podcasts - what on earth they are and how to access them - and a list of other spinning podcasts is still available in this blog post
From the blogosphere Blogpick:Spinning with bits of Bactrian Camel! This is a fascinating post in which Sara blends some camel, silk and dyed polworth and along the way discusses spinning and weaving with camel fibre and how to deal with clingy fibre! Read the blog post
Blogpick:Can I conquer cottonphobia? I'm not sure whether Linda Ligon is entirely serious about her vision of making a gossamer handspun cotton handkerchief but she has made a resolution to delve into her stash of cotton. She discusses Khadi, Indian handspun cloth and has linked to some amazing footage of Ghandi himself spinning cotton using a charkha. Read the blog post If you fancy trying this using the more traditional ancient method of spinning, you can buy a 'quill spindle' to fit to your Ashford wheel: http://handspinner.co.uk/flyer_kits.html#quill
Blogpick:Snow for dye delivery We've had plenty of snow this winter and I'm hoping that we've had the last, but just in case there is more, keep this in mind. While the snow was holding up our postal deliveries, this Craftster contributor used a bucket of snow to deliver dye into her fabric. Read the blog post
Did you make any new year resolutions? A little late now, but Sarah Read of crochetme.com shared her five spinningand crochet-related resolutions. Did you make any? Read the post
Video: Spinning from the fold This video was suggested by friends in response to comments and questions about spinning from the fold. It's especially useful for spinning shorter fibres but it's a nice way to spin long or short fibres and you can use long or short draw. Watch the video Another very useful instructional video that's been suggested recently is from Spindlicity. She discusses spinning down fibre - short and fluffy fibres - using longdraw. Watch the video
Blogpick: Plying is boring A title I suspect written to grab attention (and it worked, hey?) but if you know Amy through her blog or her book you'll know that she likes to go off the beaten path and she is an advocate for singles. But she has overcome the potential boredom here and spent the time plying some yarn in her trademark strong colours. (Click the 'spoiler' sheep image for the best photo in this set.) Read the post
Blogpick: Spinning for lace Have you tried spinning fine laceweight yarn? I mean really fine? This series of blog posts is very informative and will have you reaching for a light spindle (or supported spindle or charkha if you have one). I think that the series reads well in reverse order, so that's the way I've listed these links. http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/spinning-for-lace-part-3-fiber.html http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/spinning-for-lace-part-two-russian.html http://fleeglesblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/spinning-for-lace-part-one-tibetan.html
Blogpick: Cashmere in snow The snow was inconvenient for many but it looked beautiful. The cashmere goats in this blog post loved it and these photographs are stunning. See more
Home made winders I've reported on home-made skeiners before but there seem to have been a flurry of DIYers making motorised winders and skeiners ranging from clever to mad-as-a-brush to surreal. Here's a selection.
Video: Food mixer cone winder This one makes me laugh - it's quite clever and works well - listen out for the author saying 'whee' as she turns the speed onto the ridiculously fast setting! Watch the video
Video: Lego ball winder It's always a pleasure to see adults finding excuses to play with lego! I love this first one, but it does seem to make use of a lot of lego just to wind the handle of a standard ball winder. Watch the video
Video: Lego ball winder This one gets more points because it's made entirely from lego. Watch the video
Video: DIY ball winder And more fun - this one looks a bit Heath Robinson but it's well-designed and made, and it works well. (It's the only hand-cranked one in this selection.) Watch the video
Video: Yarn-eating monster Here we venture into the slightly surreal. If you're going to go to the trouble of motorising your winder and giving it wireless remote control, then the next logical step would be to give it a monster's face and feed it while pretending to be a waiter, hey? Well probably not, but that's the result of toddtreece having too much time on his hands. Watch the video
News and articles from handspinner.co.uk This month's prize draw Like last year, I'm starting the year's giveaways with a survey. Your answers will help me to make handspinner.co.uk better. It should only take a couple of minutes, and to thank you for your trouble I'll put the names of all entries into a hat. At the end of February 2010, to the first name I draw I'll send a competition lazy kate and throw in some fibre as well. http://handspinner.co.uk/feb11survey.html
More exotic luxury fibre - mohair and camel kid mohair is beautifully soft and fluffy luxury fibre. Fine but durable with a nice lustre. More difficult to felt than wool. It takes dye well camel has great thermal properties - it has developed to protect camels from extreme cold as well as keeping them cool in the heat of the desert. it's often blended with wool. It takes dye well, but its own colour will of course affect the end result.
100% pure wool yarn I'm now stocking Tekapo yarn in a range of colours. 100% pure New Zealand wool, spun in a small mill but has the feel of handspun. This semi worsted yarn is a blend of corriedale and perendale especially designed for softness and strength. It is lofty and bulky and ideal for knitting, weaving and knit/felt garments, accessories and projects. Read more and see the range of colours.
Wool Cone Winder As well as the standard Royal wool ball winder, I'm now stocking the cone winder and the jumbo ball winder. Read more.
New size for Rigid Heddle range Ashford have added a new size to the wide end of their range of rigid heddle looms - an expansive 48" ( 120cm / 1200mm ). Reeds are of course available for the new widest size in 5dpi to 12.5dpi and you can increase the possibilities further by adding the second heddle kit and second reed. Read more.
Natural dyeing books I have added three natural dyeing titles to my stock, including the revised and updated version of Wild Colour by Jenny Dean, much sought-after
while it was out of print. Follow the links for reviews. Wild Colour - Jenny Dean The Craft of Natural Dyeing by jenny Dean The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing by Eva Lambert and Tracy Kendall
Yarnmaker, issue 3 (Jaunary 2011) Issue three (Jaunary 2011) of Yarnmaker is now available, and once again it's packed with articles, reviews, history, contacts and events. I stock Yarnmaker for the cover price of ÂŁ4.90 with free postage. Read more and buy
Selvedge Magazine Selvedge magazine is a special and collectable magazine, covering interior design and contemorary textile art. The Jan/Feb 2011 issue (number 38) is now available and has a real focus on our furry, feathery and scaly friends. Of particular interest to spinners and weavers are the articles about Cashmere's journey from mongolian goats to our garments, a visit to the studio of weaver Eleanor Pritchard, the history of the Gansey, illustrated by a Selvedge competition winner, silk cultivation in Korea and knitting for your dog. Other articles look at the use of feathers in textiles, braided finery for the ships of the desert, taxidermy and animals used in fine art, eiderdown, the art of Peter Clark and Toni Meneguzzo Read more and preview the current issue. I also have Selvedge backnumbers 34, 35, 36 and 37 in stock
Events 2011 (get 'em in your diary now) Unravel 26 February 10:00 - 17:00 and Sunday 27 February 10:00 - 16:00, Farnham Maltings, Surrey A two day festival of knitting... handspun yarns, talks, workshops and more. Hear a range of talks, see demonstrations, take part in workshops, purchase yarn, buttons and other accessories at the marketplace, solve your knitting quandaries at the knitting surgery and even enter your favourite item into 'Best In Show.' New for this year, emerging and established designers present their creations at the unravel fashion show. So get your needles and crochet hooks out and join us for two days of knitted fun. http://www.farnhammaltings.com/events/9013/46/unravel.aspx
Wonderwool Wales 9 & 10 April 2011, Royal Welsh Showground Promoting wool and natural fibre production and its use. Exhibitors and Trade Stands covering all aspects of felting, knitting, weaving, spinning, crochet and textile art with raw materials, equipment, books and finished products for sale. Competitions and a range of workshops tba. Camping facilities are available on site and a list of accommodation in the surrounding area is available on the Wonderwool website. www.wonderwoolwales.co.uk
Woolfest 24 & 25 June 2011, Cockermouth, Cumbria A celebration of natural fibres, especially all aspects of wool, wool products and wool crafts. From fleecy animals and rare breeds, through fleece, tops, craft equipment and materials, to finished clothing, accessories and unique hand-crafted woollen goods. Also workshops and masterclasses. www.woolfest.co.uk
Fibre East 23 & 24 July 2011, Thurleigh, Bedfordshire Fibre East is a new festival, giving those in the Eastern, Midlands and Southern Regions an opportunity to join in an event which aims to encourage and promote natural fibres. A 'Sleeping Beauty'-style Great Wheel, unusual Brinkley looms, African fair trade buttons, a spinning wheel surgery and a host of companies supplying wools and fibres, yarns and equipment for knitters, spinners, and weavers will be among the attractions. Fibre-East has its own Ravelry group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/fibre-east-2011 and Twitter stream: http://twitter.com/FibreEast http://www.fibre-east.co.uk/
British Wool Weekend 3 & 4 September 2011, Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate. More information soon.
Dear Auntie Shiela Here I do my best to help slightly fictional spinners / knitters in distress. This time - a shock for a spinner, but there may be opportunities. Dear Auntie Shiela On the way to the spinning group meeting last week, I realised that I'd forgotten the lovely hand-dyed BFL sparkle fibre that I'd been struggling to find the time to spin and so obviously had to turn around and head back home for it. When I got home I couldn't believe what I found. My husband was wearing one of my dresses. Not only that but he had helped himself to my Max Factor Lasting Performance and pressed powder. A: I can understand how upset you must be - at nearly a tenner a time for the Max Factor I'd be livid. And he really needs some advice - he should be thinking about loose powder for the best finish with that foundation. Whether you can accept it is entirely down to you but there's an upside to this. While he's parading in your heels he's not with someone else, and it needn't be so difficult to think of presents for him now. While most wives are stuck with socks or sweaters for their men, a world of knitwear gifts opens up for you. From accessories such as the Large Cabled Handbag, jewellery such as this beaded choker to tops and skirts. If he's inclined more towards the sexy, then Knitty's Lolita Legs are allegedly gauged to to fit all sizes up to a large man. Kind regards, Shiela
As usual, if you know anything spinning-related, please let me know. Happy spinning! 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 below. If you've reading this in your inbox and would prefer not to receive any more, just email me with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. If you've enjoyed reading this, another way to share it with your friends is to use these sites: Share:
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