BLING; Spinning From The End and Knitterguy's Fibers

My current penchant for adding bling to many of my spinning/dyeing/knitting projects did not appear magickally overnight. Evidence of my bling addiction goes back to the very roots of my childhood. Early on I decided that shiny stuff was way cool.

But first, what IS bling? Well, technically we should probably be calling it bling bling. Or you could go by Maureen's descriptive title, "doo-dad shit," which she endearingly says as she views my embellished handspun pieces...knowing I've been hit by the bling bug yet again. In any case, do make a beeline over to what's becoming a rather favorite online dictionary of mine, Urban Dictionary, for some proper bling definitions. I'm just wondering why the Urban Dictionary has not added to their bling definitions by describing how fiber folks add beads and all sorts of dripping stuff (including yarn types) to their pieces? Hmmm...maybe one of us should educate them, eh?

When I was little, I loved all things sparkly. In some ways, the gaudier the better. My Ma once purchased, through a mail order business, a huge (at least to me) packet of lace and ric-rac odds 'n ends, many pieces with silver and gold threads adorning them...all for me to "play with." I'm not sure any of my friends would have thought that gobs of trim were a treasure, but I surely did. At the very least, the wide pieces made stunning Barbie stoles.

In the above pic, approximately circa 1964 (though maybe earlier), I'm shown putzing around with glue and glitter (using a Winnie-The-Pooh game as a surface to work on). I think the glitter kit I was using was called "Dazzle Neet," however it's kind of hard to read the box. I think my Ma was rather lenient to be letting me sprinkle glitter around in the living room.

And then there was the wonderful tin of buttons that Ma let me play with, often for hours on end. Did any of you have as much fun as I did with the family's cast-off buttons? Some buttons would be hard to categorize as bling, but others were prime examples of bling-at-its-best, such as some particularly beautiful diamond-y buttons that came off one of Ma's dresses.

Above you'll see my own, little button basket. Neither of my boys (now 26 and 20) ever saw ANY worth in such a goldmine. Can you find my pea coat button? If you can, maybe you sported a pea coat at some time in your life, too.

Note the 100% wool, hand knitted, pincushion that my great Aunt Ann made for me long ago. It's nothing other than an inch or so wide strip of knitting...knit long enough to go 'round and 'round. Am not totally sure how Aunt Ann sewed it together as I can't see the stitching anywhere and don't want to tug at it too much. Have any of you ever made such a pincushion or do you perhaps have a vintage one, as I do?

My cravings for bling continued into grade school. Around 4th or 5th grade I joined an after-school group that made rosaries, just so I could handle the gorgeous crystal beads. Above you'll see a necklace I made in that class.

Beads, in general, were of a supreme interest to me around that same rosary-making time. Just ask my girlfriend Moira, who I used to call up just to chat endlessly about beads. I seem to remember her not being quite as enthusiastic as me... Above you'll see a ring I made as a kid. And I know I liked working on an Indian bead loom, too, but I have no finished pieces to substantiate that claim. Ma had the ring in her own jewelry box, which I received when she passed away. I guess she thought it was worth keeping, though I had forgotten about the ring until I rediscovered it with her other jewels.

Around 7th grade, my history teacher, Mr. Damman, noted that I had a glitzy (obnoxiously large) ring on nearly every finger. I can remember him saying, as if it were yesterday, "Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes." I also recall my teacher said that I began trends which other kids obviously thought were cool because they followed my lead. Hmmm. Did I mention I had a wicked crush on Mr. Damman? I did.

I'll end this homage to all-things-bling with some very recent blinging. The above handspun merino/cashmere shawl, mentioned in the early stages on the past post, Winterlude, was blinged with naturally and solar dyed 100% nylon icicle, featured in the past post, Spinning Hand Carded Qiviut; Some Bling: Naturally Dyed Icicle.

On to a few spinnerly techniques. Last post I mentioned that I knew another way, other than the technique I originally showed you, to predraft fibers. Below you'll see the pics of this. The only thing is, the pics of this approach look an awful like the pics on the last post. However, there are subtle differences. Read on...

Firstly, Jenny...the Vanna White of the spinning world...shows you the fiber is none other than that pretty Gaywool 85% merino/15% silk top, colorway "Camellia," available from Louet, used for the predrafting demonstration on the last post. I have not done any stripping to piece of commercially prepared fiber above. For more on stripping, please go to Spinning From The Fold; Plus Stripping and Predrafting Commercially Prepared Fiber.

Holding the fiber a little beyond the average staple length, I shall grab the end (with my right hand, in my case) and draw out about 1/4 - 1/2 of an average staple length.

Case in point. Next, my right hand will go towards my left hand, to the middle of what I predrafted, BUT my left hand (which opens and closes as needed) will remain stationary...note that this is different from the directions on the last post.

Continued predrafting until the length I want predrafted is completed.

Chris was away on a gig in Ohio, playing at the Ingenuity Festival, so Alexander, youngest of the spider, took the above action shots. Alexander got decidedly bored as I set up for the next round of pics and kept randomly shooting photos of whatever black cat happened his way. Therefore, I include the best of these shots below.

Al, featured in the past post Aloysius: A Non-Spinnable, Short-haired, Black Cat, can only be safely petted (by anyone other than me) with one's toes. Therefore, in the above pic you are a witness to Al's head scratch, courtesy of Alexander's toe. Note that occasionally Al will grab one's ankle with both front claws when he's had enough, so socks are generally mandatory for protection. No, he's not a vicious cat, as Maureen has emphatically stated on more than one occasion. He just has issues.

Al, satisfied by Alexander's expert toe treatment, settles in for a few hours.

A few readers asked if I would, indeed, show spinning from the end of a commercially prepared fiber. Here goes...

Please note that I did strip the Gaywool merino/silk top prior to spinning from the end. I did so because, quite honestly, I dislike too much fiber in my hand at once. AND, I find if I'm going to spin my singles thin-ish anyways, if I strip it's not necessary to have to do so much work at the wheel to get to the size I want. I also predrafted this fiber, to get those fibers to start to slip past each other nicely.

Joining on with the end of the top. Again, I show joining on to a looped leader, where I predrafted the end fibers a tad more, put them through the loop, and folded them back on themselves. Once I begin to spin, the join will be quite securely attached to the leader.

I've begun treadling and am doing a short backwards draw to begin with. I did end up going to a short forwards draw soon afterwards ('cause I felt in better control with that draw and this fiber)...but really I could segue into any of the drafting techniques in my arsenal of drafts (see the past posts Drafting Techniques For Handspinners, and Opinions On Drafting Techniques For Handspinners) and see which one(s) I like to spin the yarn I had envisioned. No matter what...it's up to YOU to try various draws to see what works for you in your particular situation. I cannot give you the one, magick draw that will work like a charm with ALL fibers when spinning from the end...it doesn't exist...at least in my spiderly opinion.

A taddy bit more spinning.

The above pic shows me resting my fiber hand in front of my stomach, where it's happily perched for the rest of my short forward drafting. The front hand, the left hand in my case, does all the travelling to and from the orifice, pinching on and following the point of contact. The back hand, the right hand in my case, remains stationary, but the fingers do open and close as needed, in order to allow fibers to be spun into yarn. It's really my pinkie and ring finger that is gently, but definitely, holding the fibers, especially given the staple length of this top...the thumb and pointer opens and closes to have something to tug against, if needed.

The pic above shows me trying a bit of a supported, sliding, point of contact, America longdraw. I didn't mind that drafting technique with this fiber either.

This pic above shows after I've let a length of yarn get stored on the bobbin and am ready to begin drafting again.

And finally, I tried a supported, point of contact, American longdraw. This worked well, too, but I'd have to spin awhile to feel I had the control needed for a consistently smooth yarn. That is, if I'm looking to make a consistently smooth yarn.

On to my last spinnerly topic. Ted, Mr. Knitterguy, kindly sent me a box of three different commercially prepared fibers. Ted wondered how I'd deal with them, as I think they weren't a heck of a lot of fun for him to spin. I believe all of the fibers were purchased from Little Barn.

The top three skeins were from Ted's fibers. They are: (from top down) 80% merino/20% kid mohair; 50% merino/50% kid mohair; and 60% fine wool/40% Ecospun. The two, blue-ish, bottom skeins are Camellia, the Gaywool 85% merino/15% silk top. The skein on the bottom was spun from the fold and the skein above it was spun from the end. You can't see it well here, but the blue skein that was stripped, predrafted and spun from the end had it's color much more uniformly distributed (less stripey or blotchy) than the skein that was spun from the fold.

Above, here's the documentation of the merino/silk that was spun from the end. Compare this swatch with the swatch pictured on the previous post to see what I mean about color distribution. Size 7 US needles were used to knit the swatch.

This pic above shows the documentation for the 60% fine wool/40% Ecospun (recycled pop/soda bottles). The average staple length was about 1" at best. I stripped the fiber once down the middle and slightly opened up the fibers horizontally.

I spun the singles using a supported, point of contact, American longdraw on a Schacht Matchless; set in Scotch tension mode; 11:1 whorl. I made a note that it was bloody hard to spin this fiber into a consistently-sized singles. Also, it's important to make sure the somewhat slippery fibers in the spun yarn are stable (ie. not drifting apart), by tugging gently on each end of a length of the spun yarn. I Andean 2-plied this yarn, but will wait 'til next time to show the tool and technique I used. Size 4 US needles were used to knit the swatch.

Not sure what I'd use this fiber for...socks would be interesting. Wonder if they'd wick moisture away nicely or make for sweaty feet? Readers, what do you think such yarn could be used for? Have you spun this blend or something similar? I've gotta admit, this blend isn't something I'd travel to the ends of the earth for... I'm not sure if I'd even go around the block for it!

Above you'll see what is labeled as a 80% merino/20% kid mohair blend, with about a 1 1/2" staple length. I did strip this fiber in half and did a little predrafting. I began with a short forward draw but quickly went to a supported, sliding, point of contact American longdraw. Again, the Schacht Matchless was used, Scotch tension mode, at a 9:1 ratio. And once again, I Andean 2-plied the yarn. Size 7 US needles were used to knit the swatch.

This fiber and yarn did not do well in the prickle test...putting yarn and/or fiber under my chin and against my neck. I'll be frank, I'm skeptical about the labeling of this fiber. I'd expect merino and kid mohair to be nearly butter-soft and this is NOT. At the very least, it's not a particularly high quality blend. Let's just say I wouldn't choose to use the yarn in a scarf anytime soon.

This final documentation pic shows the 50% merino/50% kid mohair. Everything done in the swatch directly above this one is pretty much the same, however the final yarn is even scratchier. Kid mohair shouldn't be this scratchy, in my opinionated opinion. Wonder what's up? It's not horrible or anything, but NOT what I'd expect with such a blend. If I made a sweater out of this yarn, I'd definitely have to wear a turtleneck underneath.

That's all for now folks. The spider heads for NYC on the "Vermonter" train this coming Wednesday. You can bet on some interesting pics from that excursion. Will try to get to Andean plying next time, as well as some "ratio" chat...as asked for by a reader. Cheers to you all!

Spinning From The Fold; Plus Stripping and Predrafting Commercially Prepared Fiber

Woke up to a ruckus this morning. Every dog within the vicinity of our home was barking...that's seven dogs, conservatively. Next thing you know, a typically loud neighbor was yelling at the top of his lungs about all the noisy canines, with much more volume than the collective woofs. Chris and I looked at each other with wide eyes when we then heard a grating chainsaw, the obnoxious revving of an off-road vehicle and finally a single gunshot. Now I don't claim any of these sounds were related to each other, but we guessed the screamer was trying to prove a point to his dog-keeping neighbors. The yelling and barking grew to a fevered pitch, ending with the guy-gone-berserk and one of his family members arguing vehemently within their own home...and we could still here them in our own bedroom. Boy, what was I thinking that life in the country would be quiet? Chaos-wise, Detroit has nothing over rural Vermont.

Before I embark on this post's spinnerly topics, please humor me as I take you on a tour of my present flower gardens. Like other gardeners I know, I enjoy surrounding myself with plants that truly mean something to me...plants which speak to my soul...be it a plant that reminds me of someone dear or of a place I've lived or have otherwise been; or a flower that sparks memories of loved ones who have passed away; or an enticing spicy-smelling variety given to me by a cherished friend; or a plant that's simply old-fashioned (for I'm really an old-timey spider, don'tcha know?)

It seems almost ridiculous to me that I insinuate I am a gardener at all. But that is what I've become; the seeds sown for such a title back when I first became interested in natural dyeing. I figured it was a good idea to at least find out the names of what plants I was using in my dyeing, not to mention whether toxic qualities (or not) were present, leading to more studying...of garden books and the eventual, educational seed catalogs that filled our mailbox. In particular, I've enjoyed plant-chatter with all sorts of friends and acquaintances: Lorry in England; Norma and Marion in Canada; Jenna, Rita, E, Leslie and more in the U.S. I feel so very blessed to have been allowed into the world of stems, leaves and blossoms...a gift bestowed as if by the flower faeries themselves.

Morning Glories used to grow on the fence between my girlfriend, Candy's, home and mine on the east side of Detroit. Of all the varieties available, I can never resist buying a packet of "Heavenly Blue."

Jofran and I met each other at the University of Detroit. Jofran always had the scoop on ever-so-cool things. When she said she grew Lady's Mantle in her yard, I followed suit and haven't been disappointed. For more on Jofran-Chemical Engineer-Knitter-Spinner, see the past posts, EZ's Bog Jacket & A Chinese Worker's Cap and Spindle Plying Using A Nostepinde & Jofran's Knitting.

My oldest brother, Jack, sadly passed away in the 90's from a brain tumor. Besides being a quite accurate amateur weatherman, never failing to give us advance warning of upcoming storms, Jack was an amazing grower and photographer of roses. I planted three Rosa Rugosa's in his honor. As I evolve into a brave gardener, I shall plant other rose varieties...but I'm a bit squeamish about all that pruning involved...

Nasturtiums were just one of Norma's favorite flowers. I didn't even know what a Nasturtium was prior to meeting Norma. Norma too, left us in the 90's after suffering from Leukemia. For more on Norma, Marion and my natural dyeing beginnings, check out the past post, My Early Natural Dyeing Adventures & Brighid's Dyers.

Rita gifted me this delightful, clove-scented Dianthus. I've always loved Carnations, so this plant's serrated blossoms are a perennial favorite.

Here's my Dyer's Chamomile that's doing particularly well this year, thank you.

And finally, are you aware of the really pretty flowers that the potato plant produces? These blossoms happen to be white, but I've seen shades of pink and lavender, too. Like others in the Nightshade family, the flower demonstrates a rather goofy protuberant "nose," which cracks me up.

Out of the garden and on to a book that was gifted to me recently by Jenna. I LOVE this book!!! It's by the same author, Margaret Bloy Graham, who wrote another of my childhood faves, "Harry The Dirty Dog." Note also the neat spider web bowl (also a Jenna-present) and the wonderful Temari ball, gifted by a visitor at my last dayjob where I was the Resident Fiber Artist.

Now for a spinning hiccup: A bit of "spinning from the fold" is in order. It's also called "spinning over the finger," tho' sometimes it's not necessary or even comfortable to fold over an actual finger (as is the case with shortish fibers). How many of you DO spin from the fold, at least occasionally? When I began spinning in the 80's, it didn't seem like too many folks practiced this technique, at least not in public at guilds or gatherings.

I do readily admit that I was once kind of afraid of spinning from the fold. How silly is that? Very silly, given that one often gains more control from the fold than when spinning from the end of a commercially prepared fiber...especially when that fiber is slippery. In fact, I especially recommend spinning from the fold when you first encounter silk top (oh, and by the way, you may want to start with Tussah silk as it has more grip than Bombyx mori), as often a spinner finds success immediately when doing so. Why? Well let's explore the possible reasons...

One can spin from the fold using a lock of fleece or fibers removed from a commercially prepared preparation. One generally (I hate to say never, but maybe it applies here) doesn't spin from the fold using a rolag, as that would defeat the rolag's purpose of spinning from the already-airy spiral of fibers.

When you spin from the fold, you are, in essence, folding the fibers in half. When you do this, right then and there you are adding air into the preparation. I encourage you to stop and try folding any fibers in half and you'll see what I mean! This is as opposed to spinning from the end of commercially prepared top, where all the short fibers have been removed and the remaining long fibers are arranged in a parallel formation, sitting just like little sardines in a can right up next to each other...no air there (unless you add it via stripping and/or predrafting...to the fiber, not the fish.) The fibers that are spun from the fold can often move away (be drafted) from their neighboring fibers more freely...they're given elbow room, so to speak, to maneuver themselves out of the pack easily. Therefore, if you're having trouble drafting fibers from the end of a lock or commercially prepared preparation, do try giving spinning from the fold a shot.

An interesting thing to me is that air is incorporated by the simple act of folding the fibers, minus even having to strip or predraft the fibers first, as I often do when I'm going to spin from the end of top. More on stripping and predrafting at the end of this post. Well, on pondering, I do occasionally strip a particularly thick piece of commercial fiber down for spinning from the fold AND I might even open it up, ever so slightly, horizontally.

Another thing I like about spinning from the fold is that I only have to worry about the fiber folded over my finger...not any excess, such as if I spun from the end of top and it was a rather long length that I was attached to. No worries that two black cats will play with the hanging fibers when spinning from the fold. No tendency to "ruffle" the excess fibers when drafting.

You can really SEE the drafting TRIANGLE (drafting zone) when spinning from the fold. This is rather delightful in and of itself.

On to some pics to demonstrate spinning from the fold...

This is the luscious Gaywool Merino/Silk Top (85% merino/15% silk) I purchased from Louet in the delicate "Camellia" colorway. I've removed some fibers from the end of the top and overlapped them a few times on themselves, in order to determine what the average staple length is. After all, when just looking at top, you can't readily SEE the average staple length, now can you? Knowing the average staple length gives you a starting point on hand placement. If you use a two-handed technique and both hands are clamping on the same staple length, you don't think you're going to be drafting any time soon, do you?

When getting ready to spin from the fold, I removed a length that was a bit beyond the average staple length.

Please note that you may be looking at some very dirty fingernails and stained fingers in the following pics, the above pic included. I apologize but have been doing some weeding of late 'cause I AM a gardener!

The above pic demonstrates the importance of making sure the "tails" are always of equal length. If one tail goes awry, you can be sure that you'll be holding a muddle of fiber before long. If that happens, you may need to disconnect from your spinning and get the tails in order before joining on once again.

If the fiber is long enough to go over my finger, I usually do so over my pointer. Anyone spin from the fold using a different finger? I've never seen it done with anything but the pointer, however one never knows...

If the fiber is shortish, you may not want to fold over your finger at all. In that case, just fold and pinch the fibers between your pointer and thumb, with the fold sitting up above the pinch and your fingers themselves, and spin directly from that fold. Would you like to see a pic and further writing on this in a future post? Would you like to see a demo of spinning from the fold with a lock of fleece, also?

Here's my hand and finger position as I get ready to join fibers on to a leader. I was taught, or read, somewhere to literally point my pointer (and thus the fold of the fiber) to the orifice. This can be done holding the hand to the side, as above, or with the palm faced downwards. I suppose it would work palm up, too, but have never tried that. Have you?

Note how my pinkie, ring and even my thumb will help to keep the tails in order. The thumb can also be used to press down when one needs it for something to draft against.

Think of the fiber you'll spin from the fold as a rather feisty baby bird. You definitely don't want to crush it to death (and fibers do need to play out to be drafted properly) but you need to keep a little firmer hold on the bird's tail(s). For more on the "baby bird analogy" to spinning, see the past post, Please Don't Kill The Baby Bird.

Here's how the fibers will draft from the fold (ie. from the point of your finger.)

My leader is doubled and thus has a loop at the end where the fibers can be brought through in order to secure them to the leader. Please keep an important point in mind: When you spin from the fold, your average staple length has been reduced to a half of a staple length of the original fiber. When you bring this through a leader, as shown above, you are halving that as well (ie. a quarter of the average staple length goes through the leader's loop.)

When you spin half the average staple length, as you do from the fold, please also consider the size of the yarn you are spinning. When twisted, the halved fibers need to make a stable singles; singles that hold together and can actually be called yarn. If you spin a thick singles, you need to be sure the fibers are long enough to go around more than once or twice, for stability's sake. If your halved fibers are short-ish, but you want a bulky-ish sized yarn, you may want to spin as many singles as needed and ply them together (ie. ply the singles up) in order to achieve your goal of a bulky yarn, rather than relying on a one or 2-plied yarn.

Fibers are folded over after going through the leader's loop, awaiting twist to make them securely attached.

Spinning from the fold... Do note that sometimes as you come to spin the very last of the fibers on your finger, you'll find them a wee bit grizzly. I'm guessing that it has something to do with a few short fibers escaping the combing process in top, being left after the long fibers draft out...or hey, maybe my pointer is just sweaty. If I encounter such fibers, I usually do not spin them and simply remove them.

Pic above shows documentation of a 2-ply, with singles spun from the fold. According to my notes, I spun the fiber using a supported, point-of-contact, sliding American long draw on my Schacht "Matchless" wheel; Scotch tension mode; 9:1 ratio. The singles were Andean plied (technique will be shown next post or one soon after). The swatch is stockinette, knit with U.S. # 7 needles.

Lastly, I thought it would be fun to show, especially to beginning spinners, how I (and many other spinners I know) deal with commercially spun fiber prior to spinning from the END. There won't be any actual spinning-from-the-end-instruction today, but would you like to see that in a future post?

In some of the classes I teach, I have recently encountered, from more than one student, that there's a negative sentiment brewing out there in spinning land that suggests it's not a good thing at all to strip or even predraft fiber. Word has it that it's been called cheating. The first time I heard this I was flabbergasted (the second time I heard it, from a completely different source, I knew I had to write about it), as I don't believe there's anything that can be equated with cheating when you're discussing spinning technique...and that includes starting the wheel with your hands, if need be. Why folks are scolded for practicing whatever spinning techniques that please them is beyond me. My humble advice is to pay such nonsense no attention, learn as many different ways as you can to achieve success in a wide-range of situations, and enjoy your spinning.

Stripping (can you imagine how many folks will find me on this blog with just this word...and they won't be spinners, mind you...): Vertically splitting a commercially prepared fiber into smaller segments. You can strip just in half or you can strip the fiber further down (ie. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths or more). I like stripping because I end up holding less fiber in my hands, and that pleases me immensely...especially during hot, sticky summer weather. I also like stripping because air begins to be incorporated around the fibers.

I once, long ago, heard a spinning instructor say that stripping mucked up the fibers...turning beautifully prepared fibers into a mess. I agree that often some fly-away fibers stick out a bit after stripping, but these fibers are usually soon tamed back into place with a bit of predrafting. In any case, it's YOUR CHOICE which techniques are used to help you to achieve spinning bliss.

Heaven knows how long a commercially prepared fiber has sat in a closed bag, condensed so much it's hard to see the fiber's potential. Stripping helps bring such fiber to the light of day.

Beginning to strip. Stripping is a very purposeful act...no petting or ruffling of the fibers, please.

Continued stripping. I usually strip just a yard or so at a time...not the whole bag of fiber.

On to predrafting...Once again, knowing the average staple length of the fiber is helpful. 'course this was the same fiber as was used earlier.

Predrafting further helps the possibly condensed, commercially prepared fibers to begin to slip past each other. This slippage makes for MUCH EASIER drafting, either at your wheel or when spinning with your hand spindle.

Hold the fiber with your two hands a bit beyond the average staple length.

1) Draw out to what would be about a 1/4 - 1/2 of the average staple length. 2) If the rest of the non-predrafted-fiber is on the left (as mine in the pic above is), move the right hand to the middle of what you just predrafted and move the left hand the same distance to the left of where it is now. To continue predrafting, repeat the 2 steps above. Aim for a product that is free of thick and thin places...being instead uniformly predrafted all throughout its length.

There's another method I know of for predrafting that I'll be happy to show next time, if you like. Do you have a favorite predrafting method? If so, please share.

I'll end with a plug to Tamara's blog, Spincerely Yours. She's written a dandy tutorial entitled, Lazy Kate has us Working, which will help YOU to make your own tensioned Lazy Kate. Also look for Tamara's solar dyeing posts...very inspiring.

Spinning With Hooky Sticks & An Akha Spindle; Brighid's Dyers' Gathering '07

What a wild and busy seven days last week was! Obviously no blog post. It's struck me that summer is a crazy and unpredictable time not only for me, but for you, too. Therefore, I'll try to stay with my once-a-week post, but please don't fret or freak or anything (not that you don't have more important things to worry about...) if it's bi-weekly here and there.

So what happened last week? Well, one example that topped the list was that Chris did perhaps the most romantic thing he's ever done in all our 27 1/2 years. He not only agreed that I could see Bob Dylan performing at Look Park, in Northampton, MA (many thanks to Leslie and E for alerting me that this event was to take place)...but, in addition, Chris was my handsome date for the concert. Now it goes without saying that Dylan does not hold the same appeal for Chris as he does for me. Therefore it was only me, of the two of us, who was hooting, laughing, crying and dancing during the tunes. But no matter...we had a blast and the evening was lovely and beyond memorable, thanks to my Babes being with me. People-watching was truly interesting...there were folks who looked like they had never stopped taking acid since the 60's; and venerable, gray-haired hippies and their oh-so-hip offspring and their already-cool babies; and non-stop yakking yuppies who kept checking their palm pilots for heaven-knows-what; and obviously devoted groupies who chatted about being at Bob's last 50+ concerts in detail. One thing that became blazingly clear as I people-watched: Women look horrendous without bras. Big breasted woman who haven't worn bras for the last 40 years especially don't look very good without bras. These women's choice of attire fall into the same category as guys who unbutton their shirts down to their navels, especially when their guts are bigger than their rear ends. Oh and for the record, "Highway 61", "Desolation Row" and "Thunder On The Mountain" were the spectacular hits of the night, amongst a bevy of Dylan's incredible tunes, in my opinionated opinion.

Another interesting thing that occurred last week was that our yard was visited by a whopper of an adult black bear during the late afternoon. I happened to be upstairs in our bedroom when I heard a loud crack. Puzzled, I looked down upon the bird feeders. The bear had crushed the thistle feeder and removed the bottom tray. "Bear" was nonchalantly relaxing on the ground as a family dog would, thistle tray held between its paws, licking (with a frickin huge tongue) up the thistle like it was the last drop of honey in a jar. Alexander, youngest of the spider, asked why I didn't take a pic? I was mesmerized, that's why. And I was afraid that if I stopped watching and scooted downstairs to get the camera, I'd miss the whole show. I did yell down, "Bear, you need to leave now, please." Bear did not listen, but got up in his/her own sweet time and sauntered off into the forest. I moved the main feeder farther away from the house, just in case Bear wanted to bring relatives back.

Let's see...another neat thing that happened last week was that a friend, Candy, who I've known since third grade came, with her husband, Frank, to visit. Some of my spinnerly friends were invited to the pot-luck we held in their honor, as well. It was a rollicking good time as my friends were reinforced with the notion of what it means when I say I'm from Detroit. Candy and I realized that we each took no pics. She said that simply means we will meet again in the future!

As mentioned in the last blog post, Brighid's Dyers gathered together last Saturday. We were a small (5 total) but truly lovely group of dyers. We were lucky in that we had a quiet table in the back room of Bickfords , a family-type restaurant. What follows are a few pics of the event. For more info on Brighid's Dyers, please go to the website, designed and maintained by Elizabeth, Llama Farm Girl. Also, do check out my past posts, My Early Natural Dyeing Adventures & Brighid's Dyers and Solar Dyers Unite & Our Amazing Elizabeth~A Brighid's Dyers' Founding Member Plus.

From left to right: Emily, Tamara, Elizabeth and Leslie.

Leslie, who amazingly, but inadvertently, dressed to match her skeins, is holding a 5-ply Guernsey yarn that was solar dyed using a leftover Peruvian natural dye from a recent River Spinners dye day. Leslie couldn't remember exactly what dyestuff was used for her pretty skein. Anyone who went to that event know?

The above skein is the same as the one that Leslie's holding. The lower skein, also a 5-ply Guernsey yarn, was solar dyed with Brazilwood. The Brazilwood came in big, honking pieces so Leslie's wonderful husband, John, turned it into sawdust so that the optimum amount of dye in the dyestuff could be procured. Both skeins were solar mordanted with alum and cream of tartar. For more on solar mordanting, see the past post, Solar Mordanting.

Elizabeth, also known as E, is show-n-telling about her adorable solar dyed baby sweater, destined for a dear friend's child. The dyes were of the leftover synthetic variety...Gaywool and ProChem weak acid dyes. This was E's very first hand knitted sweater, complete with buttonholes and Kitchener stitching of the hood. Isn't it simply grand? Lucky baby!!!

Here's a pic of E holding some of Knitpicks wool lace yarn. It's been solar dyed with synthetic dyes and is a most beautiful variety of blues and purples.

E's sister is none other than Tamara, of Spincerely Yours. She's holding her hand knitted camera case that was adapted from a free, internet cellphone pattern. The yarn began as solar dyed fleece, using Wilton Cake Icing Dyes. Be sure to note that Tamara, all through the Brighid's Dyers' get-together, had "bright ideas" (see above her head.)

Tamara is shown holding two solar and naturally dyed skeins. The darker skein was dyed with Jewelweed. The lighter skein was dyed with Queen Anne's Lace. Both were mordanted with alum. The yarn is a wool, commercially spun, 8-ply.

While Tamara did not dye this skein, she DID spin it for a friend who does not spin. The 100% Tussah silk fiber came from Sliver Moon Farm. Gorgeous! I'm told that Tamara used my plying directions from the last post for this two-ply.

Tamara and E stopped by the hardware store and picked up two sizes of "Terry's Tubs." See the past post Solar Dyed Silk, for more on these easy-to-use solar dyeing set-ups.

Things got decidedly silly...Terry's Tubs as hat apparel.

E's t-shirt was actually dyed with Hawaiian red dirt, brought home from a recent anniversary trip! How cool is that?! Tamara knitted her lovely, periwinkle-ish top.

Emily, who we happily met for the first time at the Brighid's Dyers' gathering, brought these sweet hand knitted and Kool-Aid dyed baby booties. E had previously and kindly distributed Kool-Aid packets for everyone who attended (what better gift for dyers?!) and we realized that the flavor that Emily used was included in the give-aways ~ Black Cherry (plus a tad Grape.) Such rich and vivid color...not to mention the booties smelled delicious. The yarn was commercially spun and the pattern was by Debbie Bliss.

One friend who couldn't be with us at the Brighid's Dyers' event was Jenna. But that doesn't mean that she hasn't been dyeing up a storm. Here you'll see some of her jars of dyeing fiber/yarn, sun-tea-style. Jenna's been dog-sitting of late and that's Jasmine in the background.

Note how the jars in the previous pic were clear glass. The jars in the pic directly above have been painted black, with a clear strip left down the side so that Jenna can monitor the dye job. Matisse, a beautiful Turkish Van, is posing with the dye jars and one of Kevin's, Jenna's husband, incredible pieces of sculpture.

And a whole line-up of solar dyeing going on amidst Jenna's gardens...

On to answering a request from Laritza for pics of spinning with the Akha spindle, mentioned in the last post, Plain Vanilla Two-Plying And Balanced Yarns. This Thai hand spindle is held so that the shaft is horizontal to the ground. The whorl is situated more-or-less in the middle of the shaft. There is a notched hook carved on one end of the spindle. Being in the "supported" spindle category, even short fibers, such as cotton can be spun successfully on this spindle.

I used a fine cotton thread (hidden under the cop of stored yarn) as a leader to spin onto.

Hold the end of the spindle's shaft with one hand. The pointer (index) finger and the thumb do the twiddling/flicking. The middle, ring and pinkie fingers lightly cradle the shaft once it's flicked and in motion.

Once the pointer and thumb flick the spindle, as for twiddling, the other three fingers have to open up a bit in order for the spindle to revolve. Don't expect tons of revolutions...the spindle may turn only once or twice or so per twiddle. The finer the yarn you're spinning, the more twiddles to make a stable yarn. Note that the spun yarn is stored above the whorl (on the same side as the hook.) Also please note the candy-caning of yarn up to and under the hook.

The twist travels towards the hand holding the unspun fiber like a freight train heading down the track. The hand holding the rolag has to draft as the twist approaches. If the hand drafts the fiber too quickly, the yarn will drift apart and not be stable because the twist hasn't had a chance to build up. If the hand drafts so slowly that the twist builds up and firmly enters the drafting zone (ie. drafting triangle,) it will be difficult to draft at all because the excess twist has "locked" it. The trick is to draft in tandem with the twist approaching, staying just ahead of the twist.

Once an arm's length has been spun, extra twiddling (if needed) will insure that the yarn is stable.

Once you're sure that the yarn has adequate twist, wind on as you would with any hand spindle. Be sure to leave a few inches of lead yarn beyond the hook, so that it'll be easy to continue to spin.

Do any of you spinners out there own an Akha? Any tips you can add would be most appreciated. Thanks.

Onward to hooky stick spinning. A few folks mentioned in the comment section that they'd like to see some pics and directions on using this simple, but fantastic tool. Not only is the hooky stick great to teach young and older folks alike, it's CHEAP to make...just cut a length of coat hanger, bend a hook on one end and be sure to smooth the rough ends with a file. Get some fiber and you're ready to spin!!

As mentioned in the last post, but worth repeating...drafting, twisting and storing yarn can all be achieved on a humble hooky stick. I like to keep a few in my purse just in case the situation for teaching spinning arises.

To begin, catch a few fibers with the hook. 'course if you pulled just then, without inserting twist, the fibers would come off the hook easily.

But if you begin to twiddle the hooky stick, yarn immediately begins to form.

Just like with the Akha spindle spinning shown earlier, draft in tandem with the twist you insert by turning the hooky stick. Obviously there's no whorl on the hooky stick, so you can't flick it and let it rotate freely in your fingers. Instead, you have to literally turn the hooky stick in order for twist to go into the fiber.

Rather than attaching a leader to spin onto, as with the Akha spindle, I instead carefully slip the beginning of the yarn down to the shaft.

It's a bit fiddly to start to wind the yarn on for storage. Consider rolling it along your thigh for support if you're having trouble winding yarn on at the beginning.

Again, be sure to leave a few inches above the hook so that the spinning of more yarn can occur.

I usually spin an arm's length before I store.

The above pic shows how I make a ply-back to check how the yarn will look plain vanilla 2-plied.

Ted ~ look closely and you'll see the 60% wool/40% Ecospun fiber that you sent me to try. Maybe I'll hooky spin enough for a swatch sometime soon!

Will end with an e-mail from Sue:
I have a Pat Green drum carder with what looks to be 49 teeth per inch(I bought it used and have no paperwork on it, so I just counted the teeth). I wash and pick the Icelandic wool fleece (I do not separate the thel and tog) then run it though the drum carder. It comes out very bumpy looking:itty bitty clumpy things, not at all the long and silky that I am looking for. What am I doing wrong? Many thanks for your input.

The spider answers:
The carding cloth you have on your Pat Green will work wonderfully with (according to the sheets that came with my Pat Green Beverly carder) "long lustre wools, medium wools and adult mohair." You've not done anything wrong, Sue...it's just that the short, finer, downy fibers of the Icelandic fleece are bunching up with each other, due to such few tines per inch on the cloth of your carding drum. Not every carding cloth works well with all situations. This is why Pat Green sells the interchangeable drums which can be used on some models, with different #'s of tines per inch...not to mention various lengths and fineness of the individual tines on each drum. Oftentimes, the higher tines per inch on the carding cloth can handle the finer fibers better than a lower amount of tines per inch. Additionally, my carder can be set at a slower speed in order to card shorter/finer fibers more thoroughly. Readers, can you offer any additional suggestions to help Sue?

One more thought: If I had your carder, Sue, with no other bells and whistles, I might finish off my batts with my hand carders, in order to distribute the finer fibers throughout the thicker fibers.

Hoping all you readers in Canada had a great Canada Day. Happy Fourth of July to readers in the lower half of North America!