Doing a little spinning.

Doing a little spinning.

I’ve been doing a little spinning. Spinning on a drop spindle is a wonderful thing to do. It fits in a basket or bag or even your purse and you can do it anywhere and anytime you have a few min.

I got 3 lovely little batts of mixed colours from Bernadette. I don’t think they were any particular breed of sheep, just sheep. I thought they were pretty. I thought I had pictures of all 3 but I don’t. I do still have one left, I took a picture of it for you.

I am quite please with how it turned out. There are about 42 yards(38.4 meters) in the skein. I guess it’s not too bad because someone wanted to buy it. I didn’t really want to sell it so I put I high price on it. Someone recommended once that when you are not sure you want to sell something, price it so that you won’t wish you hadn’t sold it.

Not long ago when I was at a new little fibre sale I bought some Blue Faced Leicester top. I wanted to try something different, I spin mostly Merino or Corriedale. I am always using BFL locks so I thought it would be fun to spin some too. I found this lovely lustrous BFL/silk mix.

Here I am pre-drafting it a bit. I had compacted a bit in my basket. it wasn’t felted and would probably have been fine but I loosened it up anyway. Thanks to Jan for this picture and the last one.

I spun up so easily. I use a sort of long draw, most of the time. Isn’t it pretty?

 

 

I made a center-pull ball. I use my deligan spindle as a nostepinne to make the ball, a dual purpose tool.

 

Now, onto the plying, always so much faster. It only took 15 min I would think.

   

 

and finally in a skein. It is very shiny. I am sure the silk is helping there but is well blended so you can’t pick it out. I am guessing there are about 40 yards(36.5 metres)  as it is about the same site as the other skein. I have 2 more slivers of it about the same size. I am not sure what I will do with them.

 

 

It was a nice change from little pictures. But I will probably do another one next week. I am enjoying them.

 

 

 

17 thoughts on “Doing a little spinning.

  1. Gorgeous colours Anne, I am especially drawn to the sunset colours in your second batch – would love to see them knitted / crocheted. I recently bought a wheel and have been spinning singles and plan to dye them before plying – looking at your post has made me feel brave enough to add some orange to the violet / blue scheme I had in mind…..

    1. A friend was selling her Ashford Traditional with jumbo flyer which looked like new and is lovely to spin on but long term I am thinking about a jumbo e-spinner but not sure I can justify spending that much….

    2. I replied to this but I don’t know were it went. I will try again. I don’t knit or crochet, I know its odd wen I spin. I will use it for embellishing. Dying is so much fun. Make sure you keep it under tension or you will end up with a curly mess.

  2. Love the label ‘raised by wools’ 🙂 and the colours bring to mind a very stormy sky. It has spun up beautifully.
    Good sale on the skein from Bernadette’s wool – kerching!

  3. Lovely little skeins. That makes me want to spin! I haven’t done much of it lately.

    If you like knitting and have lots of little bits and bobs close to fingering/4-ply weight, I have a pattern for a scraps blanket I can recommend, let me know 🙂

    1. Thanks Leonor. I don’t knit or crochet. Its odd when I do like love spinning. I will use it for some embellishment. I might try that rug punch thing that is similar to rug hooking but with yarn. One more thing for the list of things to try.

  4. Like Lyn, the name ‘Raised by Wools’ made me chuckle – clever!

    I love the two colour combinations – curious as to what the design is on top of your drop spindle. It caught my eye in one of the photos.

  5. Nice job Ann! Both yarns are beautiful but the last one is definitely my favorite. I should get my drop spindle back out and try spinning again. I have only used it a few times but the yarn turned out good enough for using in felting. If only I had time to do everything I wanted to do. 😉

    1. Thanks Ruth,give it a try is nice and portable. You can practice anywhere. NO one knows you don’t know what your doing. LOL Time is always a problem.

  6. I always find your yarns so enticing, Ann. These look lovely. Definitely makes me want to have a go but as with others, I have to try to stop taking on new things (I call it craft creep…like mission creep but more fun). I did, however, pick up a drop spindle by Wingham Wool in a charity shop recently for about £2 so maybe I’m only one step away from having a try.

    1. Thanks Lindsay. Craft creep and lead to some great mixed media. Look up park and draft to start. it lets you get your hands coordinated. Even your first thick thin lumpy yarns can be used to embellish your art. You should keep the first yarn though, so you can see how much you improve.

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