Tag: spinning

Southdown spin

On By CarynIn Craft

I have 4 ounces of Southdown top from Camaj fibers and it came with a Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em sticker. Southdown is a heritage sheep that just came off the Conservation Priority list in 2024, which makes my sticker not count toward my threatened breeds list, but does show the power of the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em initiative and others like it. It is a British breed from the Chalk Hills near Sussex, England. You can read more about them here. I am spinning my portion of fiber with a 3D printed Turkish style drop spindle. The fiber drafts easily and spins fine. It takes me longer to do the geometric wrap around the spindle “turtle” than it does to spin the length of yarn, but the aesthetics of the winding has its own therapeutic reward.

Photo description: off white Southdown fiber spun fine and wrapped “under one, over two” on a Turkish style spindle. Calico cat sitting on the side walk in the background.

This spin is going to last me awhile between the amount of fiber, and the way I’ve chosen to spin it. 4 ounces doesn’t sound like much, but I’ll probably be walking with this fiber for months.

More Marled

On By CarynIn Craft

I liked the two-tone Jacob’s sheep roving spun up so much that I decided to make more marled yarn with the other two colors of Jacob’s roving I bought from Sweetgrass Jacobs farm.

Photo description: a dark brown ball of roving and a light brown/gray ball of roving in the bottom of a popup hamper with a jumbo bobbin

I pulled the ends from both balls of roving and am spinning them together on my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel.

Photo description: single spun marled yarn on a regular sized bobbin with a sliding loop flyer

It will take longer to spin this two color yarn, just because there is more. My plan is to chain ply it like I did for my other marled yarn, and then make plans for a warm vest.

Giving it a whorl

On By CarynIn Craft

I made this spindle whorl awhile back using a laser cutter. The dragonfly design is my own.

Photo description: plywood whorl with dragonfly design and six extended circle shaped spokes

I had an empty shaft and decided to give the whorl a whirl while I was spinning my Black Welsh Mountain fiber.

Photo description: single spun yarn wrapped on a spindle shaft

I should have sanded down the shaft some, the top hook did not stick up far enough which made it difficult to wind yarn on and off. The single layer whorl also didn’t feel substantial, and although the size was large enough to keep momentum, I struggled with it bumping into me. It is slightly better than using a CD as a whorl, but only because it has dragonflies. Back to the design board.

Rose top fiber page

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: rose top card from Hearthside Fibers top left, single spun, two ply, and cable ply yarns top right, unspun fiber middle left, twined swatch middle right, crochet cables swatch bottom left, knitted cables swatch bottom right

The Rose Top fiber sample was nice to spin, and working up the swatch projects was satisfying. Even though this fiber is produced in a similar way to Tencel, only using rose stems and leaves rather than wood pulp, I found this easier to handle.

Egyptian cotton fiber page

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: scrap book page with an Egyptian cotton card from Hearthside Fibers upper left, single spun and chain ply yarn upper right, unspun fiber middle left, twined weaving swatch middle right, knit moss stitch swatch bottom left, crochet lace round bottom right

I spun this Egyptian cotton sample on an Ashford Traveller spinning wheel fitted with a high speed whorl. Egyptian cotton has a longer staple length so is less inclined to form pills. It was nice to spin and worked up into the swatches well.

I enjoy spinning cotton, but is definitely a sitting activity, either on a wheel, or with a tahkli spindle. I also avoid wearing black, as the small fibers accumulate everywhere.