The Baize Shetland wool was the first Livestock Conservancy Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em fiber I purchased. I bought a 13 oz batt, and have been spinning it at demonstrations and fair booths. I’ve been quite remiss in actually making a fiber page! That is now rectified, and this wonderful fiber has a page in my sampler book.
Shetland wool is a joy to spin, and is definitely on my “will purchase again” list.
I finished spinning my pineapple fiber sample singles with a 3D printed Turkish spindle. I attempted to use the turtle of yarn to make a two ply yarn.
I had an unpleasant revelation. As the yarn comes off the top of the turtle a whole layer of wraps pops off, making a tangled mess. So I stopped trying to go directly from the yarn turtle, and instead made a nostepinne style winding ball with two strands.
After my yarn was neatly arranged, I was able to ply it without dealing with heavy tangles. There are spinners who consistently make plying balls, and I can now see the appeal.
I finished plying and my Turkish spindle wrapping technique is improving. Since I’m going to work directly from the center of the yarn turtle for the next step, I don’t need to rewind. The Turkish spindle turtle does very well as a center pull ball.
I excel at overthinking. I have gone through many contraptions to hold my full spindle so it wouldn’t skitter across the floor while I wound the yarn off into a ball. Before I headed off for a walk, I saw that I didn’t have enough fiber to last the walk, and I would be at the point I needed to wind off mid-walk. Throwing caution to the wind, I stuck a rolled up piece of card stock in my pocket and headed out. Within 10 minutes I had spun all my fiber and was faced with winding a nostepinne style ball without any of my spindle holding devices except my hands.
It turned out brilliant. I could rotate the spindle around the tube, keeping consistent tension by lightly gripping the shaft, and slowly rotating the card stock tube. I had been stuck in thinking that the spindle or bobbin needed to be set down in order to control the tension to wind off. I’m glad I broke through the “I have to do it this way” barrier, for this is now my preferred method.
I was winding my single spun camel fiber from the drop spindle to a nostepinne style ball, using my fishing swivel chain hanging from a wall hook when life interrupted. I put my makeshift nostepinne (rolled up card stock) onto the wall hook.
It may have stayed that way for a week. May is a busy time. I did eventually get back to it and finish winding.
It is good to know that I can pause my winding in this way. Life interrupts frequently and my hobbies need to be able to be set aside for an unexpected moment.
I wrote down the tare weight of my spindle so I could track the amount of yarn I’m building up.
I’m working on a camel bump, which amuses me. Camel fiber is quite soft, and the mill processed it into a “bump”, which is roving wrapped into an oblong, much like how yarn is sold in the big box stores. I’m spinning it on my daily walks, then recording the weight.
My efficiency is improving, or I’m walking longer, which are both valuable outcomes. I spun 4g of fiber the first walk, and 6g on the second walk.
Critters and Craft 