spinny spin spin!

I have been testing out my new-to-me louet spinning wheel. This is causing me a great amount of excitement. Like that my life is perfect!  Whoa, doesn't take much, does it. Heh. I have only spun wool on drop spindles up until this point, so having a wheel certainly is opening up some new doors in my imagination.

I decided I would see what I would have to figure out and study in order to create various types of yarns. These tests are just that, imperfect amounts of yarn for me to learn from. 

I started first making a single yarn. No plying in this first one. 

This is a small amount of alpaca wool single, slightly fulled and knit. 

I am in the parking lot of the ballet studio waiting for my kids, thus the photo quality is meh. 

The next one I tried was a 2 ply. I created a two tone yarn, as you can see in it's knit form. 

Here is a close up:

This is very similar to what I would make using a drop spindle. The next 3 examples are made so much easier with a wheel!  The 3 ply turned out better than when I ply using a drop spindle. I have both my hands available to ensure things aren't getting twisted up. 

A close up of this one:

This next 3 ply is made with one single where the above example uses 3 singles. The Navajo 3 ply is super easy to do with the wheel. When I made this type on the drop spindle I did it "on the fly". This is way better. 

Sorry for the terrible photo. I can't help it. 

The final example is a Navajo 4ply!  I have never done this before, but with the wheel was really easy. This is what I am most excited about and I am sure I will do a whole post on the topic!

One more close up:

There you have it!  Now to make a bunch of stuff until my fingers hurt. Yay me!

UFOs coming out of the cows

I really enjoy creating. I dream of colour, I imagine shapes and patterns, I anticipate the softness of a special blend of fibre.

I blend wool and fibres with hand carders.

I use a drop spindle to create singles and ply yarns.

I recently obtained a spinning wheel from the side of the road in the garbage. I have made a few skeins of yarn as I test this new twist.

I knit from patterns already made, but also create my own inventions

I crochet, both Tunisian and one-hooked.

Hmmm, but...

I do not weave in my ends. Almost all my "finished" projects sit in a 95% complete state. I decided to wipe them off the almost-done list and put them on the finished pile! So, I got these done in one night (not sure why I hadn't done this sooner...) and on the way home last night, I made my daughter stand on the side of the road so I could take pictures of the finished work. Here are some photos.

This is a Tunisian crochet cowl that I designed.

wound twice around, this is a cozy wardrobe addition

This is a capelet that I made, using a pattern from a magazine, Delicata by Brooke Nico

on an adult this will look different, but my 11 year old is all I had for a model today.

One of my favorite pieces to make.  It was fast, and the yarn is soooo amazing.  Mirasol Qina

The pattern is 

Peaches and Cream Shawl by Therese Chynoweth

This is a prototype bonnet hat that I designed.  There are lots of patterns for these around, but none matched what was in my head.  (maybe nothing really does, hehe)

She wants this hat.

This is one of the most fun hat patterns I have made.  It can be extremely slouchy if you want.. The pattern name is Aspen Ice Hat by Liat Gat

This is a less slouchy version of the same hat.

This is another one of my Tunisian Cowls - I have not named the pattern, nor have I written it down.

Another version of the same Tunisian cowl, using Alpaca...

SO SOFT!!!! AHHHHH!

She wanted to pose some shots with the cows.

 

This is Aranami Shawl by Olga Buraya-Kefelian

I used a thicker yarn than what was called for, and I like it's gushiness

This is her showing off for the cows, I suspect.

This is another invention that needs some testing. 

She wanted to keep this one too.

This is a linen/cotton scarf-ette, a pattern called 

Ironwork Shawl by Tara Miller

This is from the book, Cowl-girls...it took a very short amount of time to create, as the yarn was extremely bulky.  

#09 Seed Stitch Cowl by Cathy Carron

Another of my inventions.  These mittens are the BEST!  made of possum fur and have a super-nice fit.

Another of the same pattern cowl as the others.  This one was made all from handsun yarn ( the second skein of yarn I ever made)

This is a top for an adult, so it looks kind of baggy on her, but I really like how this turned out, and can't wait to wear it next year (winter is a-coming!)

A ham, through and through

 

So, three cheers for me, right?  I suppose I should work on finishing projects.  This was an incredible amount of fun.