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If Not for YouIf not for you
Babe, I couldn't find the door
Couldn't even see the floor
I'd be sad and blue
If not for you
If not for you
Babe, I'd lay awake all night
Wait for the mornin' light
To shine in through
But it would not be new
If not for you
~ Bob Dylan
Chris and I recently celebrated our 28th anniversary. That's my babes in the above pic just as we were heading into the forest for a bit of snowshoeing. We're only steps away from our home. Chris reminds me of a cardinal in his red jacket against the white, dazzling snow. Our anniversary got me thinking that I've spent more than half my life thus far with that jazz man of mine. In all honesty I'd have to confess that he surely has put up with more than perhaps even he bargained for. Betty Crocker I ain't. Nor am I Suzy Homemaker. Practical? NO!! Sometimes outrageous, eccentric and irritatingly outspoken? YES! (One friend, Ann, called recently and said I was a "party in a box!" hee, hee) When Chris and I met back in the 70's, I wore the latest fashions, including pointy-toed, spike-heeled shoes and my main concerns centered on what eye shadow graced my lids (no bloody droopy lids back then!) and where we were going to go dancing in the evenings. Only a few years into our generally blissful union together, the fashionable shoes were exchanged for Birkenstocks and I never looked back. My feet reacted by spreading out wider than a football field. How attractive. Chris proclaimed recently that the ol' shoe spikes would have made a useful gardening tool for me and I should have kept them. Smart ass.
Over the years Chris eyed me as I (sometimes sneakily) filled our home with fibers, equipment and fiberish books. Fiber work became intertwined with daily life in our household; it was one and the same. Chris even humored me for a few years in our early days together by not saying no when I suggested that two kids from Detroit, like we were, could consider having sheep. Did he ever actually say yes to sheep? No. Maybe just as well. But finally he did let Chloe, our black cat, share our life after 18 years of suggesting we get a cat. Hmmm...I suppose one could count that as check mark on my slate of wins.
Chris CAN be very protective of me and he'll be the first one to say so. Once, when I was sorely hurt over some sort of emotional trauma, he said something like, "I need to protect your spirit. We can't let anyone go tromping over your spirit. That just won't do."
Above you'll see an anniversary gift that arrived in the mail for us recently. Jofran knew Chris and I when we were starry-eyed lovers back during our university days (many folks have said through the years that we still look and act that way towards each other). Jofran saw the book, Woolbur, by Leslie Helakoski, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008 and knew she had to send it to us. When I read the story about the spunky, creative sheep who insisted on thinking and acting outside the box...well, I started to literally cry...out of joy and thankfulness. Jofran got it! My practical, list-making, mathematical-minded, chemical engineering friend not only got it, she has chosen to remain my friend. She understood that Chris and I were not your average couple by a long shot. Nor were we individually programmed sheep who followed the traditional or well-traveled roads...not in our careers or anything else for that matter. When some wrote me off as a ditzy scatterbrain back in school (or even at home), Jofran knew somewhere down deep I was actually thinking several steps ahead AND all the while insisting to do it 'my way'...and that goes for whatever hair-brained scheme that has ever made it's way to my consciousness . So leave it to me, a raging Sagittarius Sun, to call Meg Swansen of Schoolhouse Press one day a few years ago and supposedly out-of-the-proverbial-blue propose a BOOK idea! Mind you...I wanted to write a book for quite awhile before that moment but just never knew the direction I wanted to go 'til then. The most beautiful part is...Meg trusted me and said YES! And so, now is what will go down in my history as the "crunch year." Time to organize my writing, fill in the gaps with more technique and better pics, include some of my life's "Ponderings," and embark on the nitty-gritty of book production. Here's an update as it's time to let readers of the spider know about what's been going on with the BOOK:
- I thankfully have a tech editor and design/layout editor all wrapped up into one, amazing person named Lisa. Among her many wonderful attributes, she had worked over ten years as an editor of the Wall Street Journal...and more years at other publications previous to that position. Plus, she's a fantastic knitter and a fab spinner.
- There are 6 people who I refer to as the "Sensational Six." They are Jofran, Maureen (greenmtnknitter on Ravelry), Leslie, Lisa (lisasocks on Ravelry), Lorry and Lynn (that's 4 L's! What's up with that?). Three live in Vermont. One lives in Michigan. One lives in Canada. One lives in England. Each is working on one or more projects for the BOOK. Each is a godsend to me. Without their help I'm not sure I would be able to complete the BOOK in our lifetime (because if there's a long way to do something, I'm going to find it...)
- I am responsible for personally working on 6+ projects for the BOOK. I have naturally dyed ALL the projects...sometimes in partnership with the Vermonters in the group. Also, I am responsible for writing and/or editing all content, including technique and pics.
- The BOOK now has a title: Spinning Around ~ A Spinning, Dyeing and Knitting Adventure. The BOOK's key focus is on spinning and natural dyeing for some of the incredible knitted projects designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen over the years. It is on discovering the works of EZ and Meg which prompted me to sell my paints and other art equipment back in 1980 and pursue the art of knitting, etc. I consider the BOOK to be a literal "round trip"...beginning with discovering EZ and Meg and now writing for their publishing house. What an honor to be allowed to work on this project. We'll do our best to make Meg and EZ proud.
- Some of what's in this blog will be in the BOOK. I most definitely used the blog as a first draft for some of my tappings. BUT, I know that you'll want this information and more in one, handy-dandy, compendium that you can pull easily from your bookshelf and hold in your very own hands. Plus, my editor will fix all my wild grammatical mistakes no doubt. And, I know that my readers are loyal, upstanding citizens who surely want to promote a spider with a desire to educate and make spinning/dyeing/knitting more fun and uniquely creative for all. We'll make sure the BOOK is more than worthwhile for you to plunk your hard-earned $ on.
- We're aiming to get the BOOK done by Fall '08 and in your hands no later than Winter '09...just in the nick of time to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Schoolhouse Press. No pressure, eh? Ha!
Spent some of the other day putting away all the equipment, binders, books and fibers that I tend to take (if traveling by car) when I teach a spinning class. As I did so I thought about the truly nice participants I was blessed to hang out with over the past weekend. Actually, the workshop at Brookfield Craft Center in Brookfield, Connecticut was less about spinning and more about the journey one can choose to take towards making and designing your own, special yarn: Fiber Prep! Two, full days were devoted to exploring hand carding, drum carding, and flick carding; combing with handheld Viking-style combs, English 5-pitch combs, mini-combs, a blending hackle, dog rake, dog combs...and...just using one's own hands as fiber prep tools. Tho' fibers of all sorts lined the counters and tables, everyone played "nicey-nice" as they concocted their unique and varied blends of fibers and/or colors. The rules were few: observe all safety requirements with the sharp equipment and keep the nylon icicle and Angelina mylar glitz under control and away from infiltrating other people's stuff. What follows are some pics from the class:
Above you'll see Sara, Ann and Jennifer at their wheels. Behind them is Maureen, making magic with her own drum carder.
Gwen is shown above carding a wonderful blend that includes dog fiber from her two Keeshonds.
That's Ann spinning up a lovely wool, silk and red glitz blend she created on her drum carder.
In the foreground, you'll find Sara (with Ann and Jennifer (l to r) behind her). Sara hand carded a variety of colorful blends that she spun throughout the two days.
Jennifer, spinning in the pic above, came to the Fiber Prep class having never spun before in her life. And while the class wasn't a spinning instruction workshop per se, we snuck in a bit of spinning technique so she could make her first yarns from the carded and combed fiber and blends that she, herself, designed. Bravo Jennifer!!!!
Here's Maureen, puzzled and sitting by her Louet carding thingy. This is the second time this piece of equipment has shown itself in my life and I still don't know how to instruct someone to use it. Louet folks, help please!! A past post, Solar Dyers Unite & Our Amazing Elizabeth~A Brighid's Dyers' Founding Member Plus, showed this same equipment, but in that case owned by Llama Farm Girl (llamafarmgirl on Ravelry), featuring a roller doohickey instead of the flat, wooden piece above, laying on top of the base.
Here's a side pic of the Louet carding thingy. Maureen and I tried various techniques...all to no avail. We both agreed the tool is kinda cool looking. But seriously, has anyone used this equipment? If so, fill us in please. We're wondering if the pegs on the bottom of the base should sit over the edge of the table or if they should hold the base at a slant, as above? I'm pretty sure the carding thingy is no longer available for sale by Louet for good reason...Now for a handspun project to show you...
This Scandinavian-patterned hat was not designed nor knit by me. It was designed and knit by the incredible Deborah Newton. Plus it was featured, along with the mitts below, in Spin-Off magazine, Summer 2002, pgs. 66-72. This was one of my collaborative articles "between knitwear designer and handspinner." Deborah Newton: knitwear designer. Me: handspinner.
The patterns for the mitts above and the previously shown hat are in the Spin-Off article itself.
Above is a pic of the yarn for the "Scandinavian-Inspired Mittens and Hat" article. Deborah asked for a "pearly" yarn and I complied by spinning two 80/20 blends of self-scoured Polwarth wool fleece with silk. The Polwarth fleeces came from Rovings in Dugald, Manitoba, Canada. The dark skein is made from dark gray Polwarth, with the brown tips cut off so as not to affect the final yarn color. This dark Polwarth was blended with Bombyx mori silk that was naturally dyed with Earthues logwood gray extract, along with an added weak iron wash. The lighter skein utilized a light gray Polwarth fleece (again with brown tips cut off) and undyed Bombyx mori silk. The blends were made on my Patrick Green Beverly drumcarder using the super Merino drum (the carding cloth on this drum has very short, fine teeth). The final 2-ply yarn measured approximately 14 wraps per inch and weighed in at about 1,275 yards per pound. The mittens took about 1 and a 1/2 ounces of each color; the hat also took about 1 and a 1/2 ounces of each color. The knitting gauge is 6 sts=1".And another handspun project...
Above you'll find me wearing my "Sister Sweater." This was a project done in collaboration with Susan Krahling for a Spin-Off magazine article, Winter 2003, ppg. 36-42. The two fleeces used were a white 100% Cormo and a gray Cormo/Romney X from Alice Field of Foxhill Farm in Lee, Massachusetts. Both of us spun yarn for each other and both of us knitted and designed our own sweaters, based on mutually agreed upon Turkish color-patterns. The gray yarn spun by Susan for my sweater (and her's) was naturally dyed after it was spun with logwood and cochineal extracts from Earthues. The white color-pattern yarn was dyed prior to spinning with various natural extracts: cochineal, madder root, Osage orange, logwood, quebracho red, and wattle. To prepare the white Cormo that had been dyed, I used my Patrick Green drumcarder, with the super Merino drum. The yarn averaged about 14 wraps per inch and 1,100 yards per pound. The knitting gauge is 6sts=1". I also spun a fine, 2-ply Tussah silk yarn that's been handpainted with Osage orange and logwood purple extracts...it was used as a trim.
A back view!
And the same sweater featured in a Tarot card that Alexander, youngest of the spider, and I designed for the KniTarot deck on the KniTarot group on Ravelry. Yes, I'm a Tarot reader. And obviously I think I'm the Empress, too...ha...just kidding! Have been a Tarot reader for a few years now. You should have seen Chris' reaction when I told him that I was going to pursue such a path...about the same reaction he had when I told him I wanted to spin (and we know where that led to...heh, heh). In any case, Tarot provides a great balance for all the fiber stuff I do. Oh, I had best tell you I'm a newbie Astrology student, too. Might as well come out of the broom closet about it...I've always been interested in metaphysical stuff but am finally allowing it a place in my life.
And lookee what the KniTarot moderator, Marion (onefrenchhen on Ravelry), sent me for coming up with the second card of the deck. Ooh la la...can-can dancers. Marion chose the lively cloth because she felt it just seemed like me. The little bag happily holds and protects one of my Tarot decks. Thank you, Marion!A hiccup and a few random pics featuring other wonderful gifts I've recently received:
Lee (BAAbins on Ravelry), a recent participant in some of my classes and now a friend, sent these darling beaded spiders all the way from her home in Indiana. They were made by P. Kay Bell of Bella K Jewelry in Pleasant Lake, IN 46779. If YOU would like such spiders for yourself or a spider-loving friend, call (260) 475-4099. Or visit Ms. Bell's website: Bella K Jewelry. Thank you, Lee!
Ooh, a potato! But not any potato. Look closely...
It's a potato brush...or a potato gardener's nail brush, perhaps. What could be better for a potato-loving freak like me?! Thank you, Leslie!OK, now for a decidedly out-of-the-ordinary random pic...
Have been wanting to show you my three, childhood bear companions for months now, but they never made it into a post. Well now they're here: (l to r) Brownie, Ronnie (my fave but sshhh...don't tell the others), and Melissa. Why would I show you these poor, little Teddies? Because Ronnie, in the middle, was repaired with handspun swatches. And under those swatches my Ma repaired Ronnie with cloth swatches but they started to fall apart several years ago. What...you can't tell Ronnie is a bear? Shame on you. He had an encounter with my Standard Poodle, Buns, many a moon ago and Ronnie didn't win the fight...it left him with one eye (that required facial surgery to keep the remaining eye on his face at all) and no ears. But he's still my Teddy. Brownie looks like he could use some foot repair. Melissa, too...note her temporary masking tape fix. Both Brownie and Melissa have snout issues, as well.And an even a more random pic...
Above you will find Alexander's bedroom door toilet papered. He was inside his room sleeping at some unbelievably obnoxious afternoon hour when friend, Leslie, called. I told her I was disgusted that Alex was still in bed. She said that she would toilet paper his room if she was me. So I did. When he finally rose from the dead, he came downstairs and asked, "What the...?" These are the kinds of things I do for fun and sanity.Before we embark on the spinning techie portion of the post, below you'll find a recent Bennington, Vermont Ravelry get-together at the very nice Bean and Leaf Cafe. Our wonderful afternoon of knitting and/or carding was organized by good friend, Sadelle...none other than fyddlestyx on Ravelry.
From l to r: Sadelle, the spider, and Lisa (yes, Lisa who is editor of the BOOK and lisasocks on Ravelry and one of the Sensational Six). Sadelle knitted, Lisa carded rolags, and I carded punis. Great company; excellent fiber productivity; good coffee; a lovely afternoon.
Before Lisa and I left Bennington, we went to Sadelle and Ann's home. Above you'll find Lisa (with Sadelle's hand) holding the amazing "Stretch," an American Siamese, who is eating up the fact that Sadelle is knitting him his very own sweater. Lucky kitty!Spindling! I'll begin this techie section of the post by paying homage to the low whorl spindle (where the whorl or weight is at the opposite end of the hook or notch). Is it me or is this a style of spindle that lately (over the past 5-10 years) has gotten left in the dust, with many spindlers favoring their high whorls? I've got some thoughts on why this may have happened, being a self-described crusader for things misunderstood and unloved...why do you think I love and admire spiders? Now understand that what follows are my own opinions/ponderings...take them and everything else I tap out with a grain of salt. I think high whorl favoritism all began when some published writing hit the fiber field proclaiming that high whorls are...dare we say...superior somehow to low whorls. Hmmm. Wow, the power of the written word is very evident here, eh?
Some of the writing I came across in the past pointed out the "fumbling" that one had to deal with with regards to low whorls. I'm assuming this sentiment had something to do with having to twiddle (a very technical term don'tcha know that describes the flicking of the shaft of the spindle to make it turn) a low whorl, as opposed to rolling the shaft on the thigh to produce spin. Never mind that many spindlers I've seen over the years have been twiddling (as opposed to rolling on their legs) their high whorls regularly...not necessarily a traditional way to go but practiced hither and thither nonetheless and somehow not thought to be "fumbling" in that case. But also there's that whole thing that was explained where some spinners choose to do a half hitch on the bit of shaft under a low whorl and then bring the spun yarn or leader up to the top of the shaft, where they might need to do another half hitch (if there's no hook or t-notch to catch the yarn). Well, I'd have to admit that all that half hitching might be a bloody drag to have to do regularly. But that's not what I do anyways with my low whorls. Hey spinners, low whorl spindling doesn't have to be a drag at all!! And low whorls don't have to be equated with poor quality, ugly, unbalanced tools...'cause just like with high whorls, there are good 'uns and not-so-good 'uns...and keep in mind that high price tags don't necessarily make for a better spindle.
The pic you see above is of the low whorl that started my love affair with spindling. Yes, I owned another two spindles prior to that. For instance: 1) There's the spindle, if you could call it that, given to me during a spinning class that I took back in '83 at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI (walked out of this several week course mid-class at the first session and never went back...but that's another story...); 2) And there's the 'head-clonker" spindle, with a ridiculous square shaft no less, that I bought from a now extinct mail order vendor back in '83...with the purchase based only on a description and no pic (not a good idea to buy spindles totally sight unseen, if I say so myself).Lee Raven was the editor of Spin-Off when I purchased the above spindle from her. I don't quite remember how I knew she was making and selling them, but it was my lucky day when I sent for the spindle. It's simply gorgeous. Beautifully finished, balanced (ie. no wobble when you twiddle), has a convenient t-notch (see below) at the top of the shaft, and is downright delightful to spin with. Many a mile of yarn has been spun on my Lee Raven low whorl spindle. Much of that yarn was spun as Chris and our boys played ball in the various parks and fields near our homes years ago. Do take a peek at the Indigo and Lichen Tam in my past post, Tangled Up In Blue, as that yarn was spun with the Lee Raven spindle on one of those baseball fields.
During the mid to even late 80's, there just weren't a whole lotta spindlers who practiced their art at guilds and get-togethers (at least not in the guilds I frequented). I remember vividly when I was sitting next to a kind woman at a guild meeting. She eyed my spindling and said most seriously something like, "Dear, I've another wheel in the car if you'd like to use that." No joke. Boy, has THAT attitude about spindles changed, eh?! And thank goodness for it!
Here's the t-notch that was skillfully made by Lee (or her husband?) at the top of my Lee Raven low whorl. Bette Hochberg, in her booklet Handspindles, (self published, 1977, revised edition 1980) calls this shaft treatment a "slot." Bette writes, "These styles do not require each length of yarn to be fastened with a half hitch, and are therefore faster to work with." Carved hooks, spiralled grooves, cup hooks, fancy hooks like the swan's neck, and more make half-hitching not necessary with low whorls. To use the t-notch: after candy-caning the yarn up the shaft (which is apparently another bothersome task for some reason for those devoted only to high whorling...hmmm...well, that's their opinion and I respect it, but candy-caning bothers me not, nor is it particularly time consuming as they'd have you believe), simply bring the yarn under one side of the horizontal part of the notch and then straight up through the vertical slot. The yarn will come right out of the center of the notch, causing no discernable wobble because it's smack-dab coming up through the middle of the shaft.But actually, if one did have to half-hitch a lot, with time and practice one would undoubtedly get very fast and efficient at it. I remember taking an amazing class from Ed Franquemont back in the early 90's. He showed Peruvian low whorl spindles with no notch of any sort...not to mention these humble Peruvian spindles weren't perfectly balanced, nor particularly beautiful either. In that case, two half hitches were used to secure the yarn for additional spinning. And if I remember correctly, many of the spinners are taught at a very early age (Abby, am I on target here?) and think nothing of half hitching twice AND are no doubt lightening fast in their technique; producing much needed, usable and well-made yarn. Reminds me of how aesthetically snooty...not to mention acting all high and mighty regarding technique...that some of us can be these days in the fiber field..(Hey, I'm not pointing fingers at anyone...I, too, am guilty and have my fave wood preferences just like you...bird's-eye maple makes me swoon when I find it in a spindle whorl...even tho' I have two spindles with that wood already! And I also have my fave techniques...).
Here's another low whorl spindle in my collection. This one was made by Bert, the dear cabinet maker at Black Creek Pioneer Village when I worked as a historical interpreter (spinning, naturaly dyeing, weaving rag rugs) in the 90's in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It's a great 'exhibit A' pic showing a cone-shaped cop with the heavier portion of the cop resting right on top of the whorl (aiding and abetting the whorl's weight and hence, spinning longevity per twiddle). A cone-shaped cop is a typical yarn storage shape, especially when using low whorls. For the record, I like to keep my cop height below the 1/2 way mark on the shaft...this gives me ample twiddle room. Plus note the plain ol' cup hook at the top of the shaft...works just fine even tho' it's not fancy or special.
Lest you think I'm a low whorl snob, here's a little Bosworth high whorl gifted to me by my friend Lorry in England (yes, one of the Sensational Six). I'm showing it to point out another type of cop shape: the beehive...looks kinda like an upside down cone, but as it builds it'll get more pregnant around the middle and keep that thickness all the way up to and under the whorl. The puni I'm spinning is the qiviut and silk latte blend shown in the past posts, Spinning Hand Carded Qiviut; Some Bling: Naturally Dyed Icicle, and Spindle Spun & Plied Silk Latte and Qiviut For Knitted Lace. Eagle eye readers with good memories will note that I went to punis rather than the softer, airy rolags I started with for this moebius scarf project for the BOOK. Why? Because the punis don't squash out-of-shape in transport and since this is a portable project, that's an important feature. For more on punis, see the past posts Chloe and Punis, Making Punis, and More on Punis.
And here's another cop shape: a modified beehive...it's very pregnant around the middle but tapers as it goes up under the whorl.Interestingly, I don't generally set out to make one cop shape over another for the most part. It just happens. Any other cop shapes I've missed, readers? Any fave cop shapes? If so, please do comment and let us know. Thanks.
Thought you'd like to see my favorite leader yarn for spindles or bobbins. It's a cabled cotton crochet yarn that Chris brought back for me when he was on a tour with his band in Turkey. I remember thinking, "What on earth am I going to do with all this stuff?," when I saw the many balls of it that he brought home. Little did I know that stash would keep my students and I in leaders for years. Being cabled, the yarn won't come undone easily no matter which way you spin the spindle or wheel. A leader out of this yarn may just outlive the life of your spindle or YOU, for goodness sakes. But you don't have to go to Turkey to get it. I'm guessing your LYS has something similar on their shelves.
Here's Chloe helping me make a leader. This next leader tip comes from a mentor of mine in Canada, Wendy Bateman. It's a goodie. Measure off a long length...about an arm's worth or more. Then do the same without cutting the first length, thus doubling the arm's length. Knot the two ends together.
Lay the doubled and knotted length under the spindle shaft, with equal amounts coming off both sides. Bring one end through the opened loop of the other end, encircling the spindle shaft as you do so.
But don't cinch it closed yet. Instead drop what you put through the loop and bring it under the shaft again, in order to be able to go through the loop in the same fashion (and in the same direction) one more time.
Here's the end going through the loop the second time (going through in the same direction as the first time 'round).
Here's what the leader should look like before you cinch it closed.
And here's the leader firmly cinched close. The beauty of this kind of leader is two-fold: 1) Once on the spindle, it doesn't go irritatingly whir-whir-whir around the shaft as you spin and thus provides a firmly attached leader to spin on to; 2) You can attach the unspun fiber that you want to spin in between the two strands of leader and then fold that unspun fiber in half before commencing to spin, giving you a stable join right from the start (see below for pics on this). The cool thing is that this kind of leader treatment can be used on your wheel bobbin, too. Just attach to the bobbin's shaft in the same manner as above and you're ready to go.
The above pic shows candy-caning up the shaft towards the t-notch. It's not absolutely necessary, but I tend to like to candy-cane clockwise if I'm spinning a Z {clockwise} singles (and conversely, candy-cane counterclockwise when I'm plying those Z-twisted singles S {counterclockwise}...or spinning a S {counterclockwise} singles, for that matter.) Note I'm not a half-hitch under the whorl kind of gal generally, and thus am a candy-caner...there's no need to be both at the same time...it's one or the other.
Above you'll find a pic of how I open up the doubled leader in order to poke the beginning of the unspun fiber through.
And here's the unspun fiber put through the loop of the doubled leader. This works best when you know the average staple length of what you're spinning so that you can put a little more than a staple's length through the leader and thin it (pre-draft...allowing the fibers to slip past each other) so that when you fold it over in half it won't be a glumpy glob of fiber. Don't know the average staple length of your commercially prepared top, roving, sliver, etc.? Just pull out some fiber from the end of the preparation and overlap it onto itself a few times to get a good 'read.'
This is how the unspun fiber I was spinning looked when a staple length was folded over and was firmly attached to the leader. At this point, since there's no chance that the unspun fiber will come loose from the leader (unlike when you try to join unspun fiber to a single core of a leader), pinch with your left hand (my drafting hand, but use the other hand if it's more comfortable for you) at the top of the halved unspun fiber and....twiddle... Please note to remove your twiddling hand (whichever you've delegated for the job and that which isn't holding the halved unspun fiber together...in this case, my right hand) from the leader. In the above scenario, I'll remove the lower hand for twiddling.
Twiddling is grand fun and is nothing other than a flicking motion. With a bit of time and practice, you too will become an expert twiddler and I'll bet you'll be proud of it. Above you'll see my fingers in the position to twiddle. Where to twiddle will depend on where you find the best spot on the shaft to maintain what I like to call "driver control," which eliminates wobble on an otherwise balanced spindle. Some low whorl spindles seem to like to be twiddled right near the top. A very few even seem to like to be twiddled right at the top. Other low whorl spindles appreciate (and respond nicely) to being twiddled lower down the shaft. You decide what works best for you with your given spindle!
Here's how my fingers look as I follow through with the twiddle action.
Completing a twiddle; letting go of the shaft as it spins. Beginners can practice at this point by utilizing a "Park and Draft" technique. It's a foolproof method for alleviating the situation where the spindle, as you're learning, keeps falling to the floor due to inadequate twist in the yarn. I have no idea who developed the "Park and Draft" method but if I knew, I'd want to hug and kiss them. It's virtually made learning to spindle-spin painless.
Here's the steps as you start: Begin by attaching the unspun fiber to the leader as above. Be sure to hold the halved unspun fiber closed on itself (I used my left hand for this...but reverse if it's more comfortable with the other hand.).
1) Twiddle (I use my right hand for this...but reverse if it's more comfortable with the other hand) as you let the spindle hang freely...try not to let the spindle go the opposite way of the direction you started in. In fact, stop the spindle from going the other way if it starts to do so! In the USA and some other countries, often folks spin their singles clockwise (even in the mills), but this isn't a hard and fast rule, so just remember what direction you started in and keep going that way for all the yarn you're going to spin on that spindle 'til it's filled (and for your project, as well).
Please note: From here on out, for the sake of clarity, ease of understanding and my sanity, I'll call the twiddle hand: the right hand; and the drafting hand: the left hand.
2) Twiddle again (and as many times as needed) with the right hand in the same direction...what you're aiming for is to build up twist in the attached leader and the taddy bit of halved unspun fiber...think of it as stored twist for further use. The leader and the bit of unspun yarn will feel overtwisted and hard at this point...that is normal and wanted for the Park and Draft method.
3) Park the spindle between your legs (see pic below). OK, I'll admit that a wadge of low whorl is less comfortable than doing the same with the shaft of a high whorl in the same situation...but it's really not that much of a problem unless you want it to be. Let's put it this way...it's not been that much of a problem for me. You? You'll have to decide for yourself! You probably won't be Park and Drafting forever anyways, so try to bear with this.
4) Bring your right hand up to the left hand that's been holding the halved unspun fiber closed on itself and, without letting any of the twist escape, have your right hand replace the pinch-job that the left hand was doing. This now frees the left hand, that was holding the unspun fiber closed, and allows that freed left hand to draft up and away from the right hand (drafting is thinning down the mass of fibers just beyond the right hand's pinch...letting the fibers slip past each other) about 1/4-1/2 of an average staple length. The left hand next pinches off what was just drafted (remember that the right hand is still pinching at the beginning of where you drafted). With the left hand pinching at the spot where you stopped drafting, the right hand now needs to let go and allow some of the stored twist below it to jump into the just-drafted area to make yarn! Presto! The drafted section is now twisted and most definitely can be called yarn...albeit a taddy bit of yarn. There's a good chance that there's more stored twist in the leader and yarn you just made in order to draft out and make more yarn (just repeat what you did in step 4 until most of the stored twist is used up)..that is, if you didn't let the stored twist escape! But don't worry if you did let some of the twist escape...you can twiddle again and make more yarn with newly stored twist as needed by following steps 1-4.
More considerations below...
The above pic shows the low whorl parked between my legs. Once parked, the spindle can't twist willy-nilly the other way and remove the twist you put in...only to land on the floor. It's this step that will eventually be replaced...when YOU'RE ready for it, by allowing the spindle to be spinning in the air as you practice the above steps (minus the parking)...in that case, not overtwisting and making hard-twisted storage yarn, but using the twist up as it's occurring. Continued new yarn is made as the twist jumps into the drafted, unspun fiber.If you find it hard to draft the fibers, some of the stored twist may have been caught in the fiber supply. If that is so, put your right hand on the spun yarn that's right next to the unspun fiber (called the point of contact) and roll out the twist just until the fibers straighten, with your forefinger and thumb. At the same time, draft a bit with your left hand. This roll-back, as it's called, releases the twist from your fiber supply and removes the "lock" so that you can continue drafting with ease. You'll find it's easiest to perform a roll-back when the whorl is parked between your legs if you're practice the Park and Draft method.
Once you've made some actual yarn by adding the twist into your drafted, unspun fiber, the next time you twiddle you'll be storing twist in the whole length of yarn (and leader, in the above case).
Here's a pic that shows continued drafting, using up the stored twist (in Park and Draft method, the whorl is parked between my legs at this point).
5) Eventually you're going to have a length of yarn (and in the above case, there's still leader present above the t-notch) that needs to be wound on to the spindle for storage. In the case of a low whorl spindle, this is done above the whorl. I usually wind on after I have an arm's length, including what's candy-caned on the shaft. Some folks like to do something called "butterflying," when they've spun a length that's much longer than their arm. I'd be happy to show that on a future post sometime, if you'd like.By holding the spindle shaft and resting it on my leg (whether I'm standing or sitting), I let what's been candy-caned unwind. Take another peek at Bert's spindle with the cone-shaped spindle cop. Basically, you'll store yarn by rotating the spindle in the clockwise direction (if that's the direction you spun the singles) and will candy-cane up and down the shaft, keeping well below the shaft's mid-section. Aim to build the stored yarn heavier above the whorl itself. Leave enough length to be able to candy-cane back up the shaft, be caught by the hook/notch, AND have about 3-4" of yarn above the top of the spindle shaft in order to continue drafting and spinning. If you don't leave this 3-4" of yarn above the top of the spindle shaft, it'll be hard to twiddle. If you find yourself short from having that 3-4" leeway, unwind the candy-cane down to the whorl again and try again.
The above pice shows how the leader is brought down to the whorl, and will be candy-caned up and down (along with any yarn that's been spun thus far) into cone-shaped cop for storage.
This final spindling pic above shows how the newly spun yarn is also being candy-caned up the spindle shaft. Repeat steps 1-5 to continue with your spinning. There will be a time when the spindle may start balking and going backwards. This may mean that it has accepted all it can and the yarn needs to be wound off and removed from the spindle. Even if your spindle isn't balking, it's probably a good practice to remove the yarn before it spills over the edge of the whorl. If you're using this yarn as singles, you can wind off onto a niddy noddy. If you want to ply, you could wind onto a cat ball (to make a felted cat ball, see the past post, Storing Takli-Spun Singles For Plying) and ply from 2 or more of these. Or you could wind off onto a spinning wheel bobbin and ply from 2 or more of these bobbins set in a lazy kate; plying either on a spindle or a wheel. Or you could use a ball winder if that pleases you, etc etc etc.There's a lot more tips that can be given regarding spindling: Fluid spinning...where one step flows into the other (as opposed to Park and Draft); size and weight of spindles in relationship to the size and type of yarn you're spinning; plying techniques; butterflying; other styles of spindles; and more. Would YOU like to see more info on spindles in future posts? If so, just say so in the comment section on this post. If you've anything to add to the above techniques, please do so.
A question came in via e-mail from Suzanne:
I've taken a few classes from you at Harrisville and I wonder if you'd be kind enough to answer a question for me. I've recently become enthralled with combing fleece and making roving. Have you dyed handmade roving? If so, any tips to keep it from felting, etc.?
Any advice would be appreciated.
The spider answers:
Thank you for writing, Suzanne. Combed top is far, far easier to dye than any carded prep. Fiber type and/or wool breed is something I'd suggest looking into regarding its felting abilities...which you're trying to avoid in this case. For instance, some wools practically felt when you look cross-eyed at them! Even with top, you still have to be incredibly careful not to stir or agitate the fiber as it's dyeing in any way. Simply turn the fiber over carefully with a long dye spoon. Also, beware with heated immersion techniques not to let the fiber sit in boiling water for any amount of time.
There's a blissfully simple technique several people have mentioned to me that they do. In fact, when I co-owned my natural dye business a few years back, my business partner came up with the same technique. Basically, you bring an immersion bath up to temp and hold it there just a few minutes. Turn off the heat source. Carefully place the hot pot on top of a blanket on the floor. Wrap two or more wool blankets completely around the pot. Leave the pot alone for a day or more. The incredible thing is, the pot stays at the desired cooking temp for several hours...with no chance of boiling and no chance of agitation, both of which may lead to felting of the fibers. I continue to use this technique with GREAT success.
I used to go through elaborate steps to wrap lengths of top (be it commercially prepared or hand prepared) in tulle, so that lengths wouldn't felt with other lengths of top in an immersion bath. After practicing this awhile, I realized that the tulle wasn't really needed. By avoiding agitation in the form of stirring or boiling or simply poking around more than I should in the dypot, I can avoid felting altogether.
Readers, any further ideas to help Suzanne?
And speaking of dyeing, Jeri sent me some pokeberry seeds so I can plant some of my own. Thank you, Jeri! Here's some links to her blog posts regarding her pokeberry dyeing:
http://soapquiltknit.blogspot.com/2007/10/too-late-in-season-for-poke-salad.html
http://soapquiltknit.blogspot.com/2007/10/more-pokeberries.html
http://soapquiltknit.blogspot.com/2007/11/poke-spinning-update.html
http://soapquiltknit.blogspot.com/2007/11/poke-berry-yarn-update.html
If not for youWinter would have no spring
Couldn't hear the robin sing
I just wouldn't have a clue
Anyway it wouldn't ring true
If not for you
Couldn't hear the robin sing
I just wouldn't have a clue
Anyway it wouldn't ring true
If not for you
