Working out My Wheel
Remember that big ball of natural colored wool and silk that I showed off not too long ago? Well, I've been using it to get a little work out on my wheel. After all, how can I go to Marengo this weekend (home of The Fold) to try out new wheels if I can't really spin comfortably? So I decided that my mother's gift was going to be a gift to her friendly old Ashford Traditional as well. And whenever I got a few seconds, I worked on spinning some up.
This single is definitely a little bit rustic looking. However, I think that that is just the Tao of this yarn, given my current state of spinning experience. In general, I'm spinning something a little less fine than a lace weight single -- I'm not sure what my deal is, but I have a hard time not spinning fine weight singles, no matter what fiber I'm working with. (Clearly this is an area in which I need to improve my technique -- if only so that I can make the yarns I want to make). The bits of silk in the yarn create small areas of resistance and that ends up making the yarn have some thicker and thinner areas. But it doesn't really bother me all that much. It's still a pleasure to spin with.
But once I got one bobbin finished, I realized that to ply the stuff and make a skein, I probably needed to spin up another bobbin. I learned the true power of a wheel when I spun an entire second bobbin's worth of single in a couple of hours this afternoon! But then I realized I had another problem. I don't have a lazy Kate to ply from. So I had a fiber MacGuyver kind of moment and jerry-rigged myself a lazy Kate out of a unsuspecting shoebox and a pair of US size 7 metal knitting needles.
Not surprisingly, plying turns out to be a lot faster on a wheel, too. And I enjoyed watching it happen because unlke when I was spinning the singles, when I was plying, I could really see what was happening with the twist, and that made it a lot easier to get a relatively even amount of twist throughout what I was plying. I loved watching the yarn plump up as I added more twist. The final result?
It is really remarkable, after spinning a lot on a drop spindle, to see how much I could spin in a relatively short period of time on my wheel. I'm not really sure how much yarn I have here (it's all I could fit on one bobbin -- and I still had enough single left for about 2/3rds of a second bobbin) but if feels like a real skein-sized amount that one could actually take on a project with. The cool thing? I haven't really even put much of a dent in the whole pound of fiber that I have to play with. Were I to actually keep spinning relatively consistantly, I could actually have enough of the stuff to make something substantial. I knew, of course, that wheels had this potential, but now I've gone from imagining the potential to seeing the actual. And that's a powerful transition, indeed!
Although the yarn is still a little on ther rustic side, I'm actually quite pleased with the result:
This is the yarn before getting a little bath. It clearly has areas where it is thicker and thinner or has a little more or less plying, but when I skeined it up on my niddy noddy before dumping it into the bath, it seemed to hold together well, be quite soft, and to be pretty well balanced. Not bad for my first major effort, I think!
I did learn something else on this outing as well -- I need a better chair for this. I think I was sitting too high in the chair I was using, because my back started to hurt from leaning over a little bit. Maybe I'll have to talk to my wonderful wood-working father about building the perfect spinning chair...
That is a sweet-looking skein of yarn you got there. It's a lot more expert than you give yourself credit for. You are ready for wheel-shopping. Go for it.
That is a sweet-looking skein of yarn you got there. It's a lot more expert than you give yourself credit for. You are ready for wheel-shopping. Go for it.
Thats fantastic! If you dye it, it will come out beautiful with the wool and silk being slightly different colours.
The yarn is lovely. And it's amazing what you can do with a shoebox!
Your first wheel-spun skein looks extremely good!
Congratulations! It looks great. I look forward to the results of your wheel shopping.
The yarn is terrific. Good job. I love spinning from a lady's rocker. It's small, shorter than a normal chair and I'm able to continually adjust my position.
Your yarn looks wonderful! Love your "Lazy Kate". Something I learned from my spinning teacher - you can use your yarn winder to take the single off the bobbin..and then two ply using the center pull and end of the ball and Taa-Daa no waste!
Looking foward to hearing about your shopping too!
You wool silk is wonderful! I decided that spinning is one area of fiber fun that I'm a dunce at.. not enough patience to learn. So I'll enjoy other's efforts through the blogs.
Lovely.
You did a very nice job with that skein! A pound of that fiber spun at that weight, which looks about dkish should be enough for a sweater for you. I spun a pound of my magenta/green and the full tunic length sweater for me only weighs 10.6 ounces! You'll be surprised at how far your yarn will take you! I'm continually amazed at the speed difference between wheels vs. spindles... You know, wool/silk tends to take dye fabulously... You could have another dyeing adventure!
Believe it or not, an office chair (the kind with an adjustable height) is excellent for spinning. You might try it!
Your yarn looks lovely, and I have to admit I love my Asford Traveler, and yesterday I received the gift of an Ashford Traditional. So I have to admit that I like Ashfords--but I have yet to try spinning on any other wheel! Lol!
I would buy that skein of yarn in a store in a heartbeat. :)
Congratulations! That looks fantastic!
Your yarn looks wonderful!
It really looks beautiful--you should be proud of yourself!
it looks fantastic!
Nice.
New wheels?
;-)
That's a lovely yarn you've made!
Beautiful yarn! I like the little rustic look. I am so impressed with your spinning.
Love the way the silk reflects the light--is there enough for a cabled something?
Rustic??? No way! It's LOVELY. And you'll be amazed how beautifully it knits up. I've been so pleased with how my VERY rustic knits up so well, and the not-so-rustic REALLY knits up great. Yours is GREAT.
Plus, you know what I say: You want perfect yarn, get it spun by a machine. Handspun should NOT be absolutely perfect!
I really like the description of comparing the wheel to spindle for spinning. And the yarn! How long did you spin with the spindle before you embarked on the wheel? I've been spindling for a little while, and eventually want to work up to a wheel. My singles are getting more consistent with the spindle, is it easier to get the same consistency on the wheel? Do you still pre-draft with your wheel? Cheers, Sarah.
OOh, the wool silk came out wonderful. Are you spinning it worsted (slicked down) or woolen? Sometimes silk works better spun worsted, but I've had good luck with both methods.
I spin sitting on the couch as I find most spinning chairs are too high for me or just plain uncomfortable (no padding or back support). I can sit back and relax on the couch too. Several spinning friends use computer chairs though as they can be adjusted to fit the body better. I'll be curious to see whether you do ask your father about designing a spinning chair.
On a side note, where did you find the UMich Lorna's Laces? I teased my husband with the yarn and now he wants some.
Looking good!
Do yourself a favor and knit with this yarn. I know you have enough to make a large project with it but at lease make a little swatch with it. You will be so pleased with it and you won't notice the thin and thin spots as much in the overall fabric. My spinning teacher always says, "The eye loves variety." Excellent job!
Looks wonderful! Don't worry about the thick and thin, I find that it tends to even out with plying and also once it's knitted. I don't consider myself real even when it comes to singles, but it always amazes me how consistent my gauge has been when using the yarn in a final project.
I am waiting to see how your U of Mich. socks come together. The teacher next to me is an alumni.
The skein looks great and I love the sheen. Remember that you don't need to feed the orrifice directly, you can actually hold the yarn you are spinning at a 90 degree angle to the orifice and it will still work fine. spin where you are comfortable, this for most people is at least 12-24" away from the orifice. You may find that the chair you are using works just fine. Although a custom made spinning chair could be really nice.
Personally, I love that yarn, and I can hope that I'll be able to one day turn out stuff that looks as nice.
But, I'm making a rare comment for this:
I'm not sure what my deal is, but I have a hard time not spinning fine weight singles, no matter what fiber I'm working with.
I attended a spinning demonstration at my LYS back in October, and the 'instructor' made an interesting observation: in her experience, it seemed like people tended to spin the yarn weights they most liked to work with. She likes laceweight and working with lace, and she found that most of her spun yarn was also laceweight.
Could that be your case as well?
Beautiful! I'm so envious of all the people who post pictures of hand-woven/hand-dyed skeins. I haven't the knowledge, resources, or the time to work on such projects myself.
You're so lucky!
Very nice - are you going to dye it? Any idea what you will use it for?