So if putting fiber on a distaff is called “dressing”, then taking it off would be “undressing”? I’ll just file this under: Things that pop into my mind as I spin.
Undressing
Tag: wool
Turtle nest cop
Turkish drop spindles are very clever, they go together in pieces, spin well, and come apart without disturbing the cop of yarn built up around the arms, but with a Turkish spindle, this bundle of spun yarn is called a turtle. I have seen pictures of some exquisitely wrapped turtles that are art forms in and of themselves. Mine looks more like a nest. I have goals.
I had trouble deciding the title for this post, so I combined all the words for maximum misdirection.
Found!
I knew I had another box of blended fiber by Anniewhere, and I found it while looking for what to spin next in my prepped fiber box! Yay! I think I’ve spun 4 oz of this blend so far, which consists of Merino wool, Blue Faced Leichtester, Alpaca, Tussah Silk, and Finn Wool. I’ve been using it to test out different spindles, so I continued that and dug out a 3D printed Turkish spindle that I bought at a fiber festival. It spins beautifully and even though I have to use a half hitch at the top, rather than a hook or notch, I haven’t been dropping it as much as I feared.
I even used a small ball of a single spun from the same fiber that was left over from plying to start the yarn turtle, and in so doing had a gauge for how thin to spin, and saved more yarn from the scrap bin!
Cat’s in the cradle
Ok, not a baby cradle, but the cat is definitely interested in what is going on when my spindle is in the makeshift cradle formed by an upside down side table. I put my spindle there because it makes it easier to wind the yarn onto my niddy noddy. As I unwind the yarn, the spindle skips and jumps and makes interesting scritchy noises against the metal.
Despite the extra “assistance,” I did manage to get all the yarn onto my niddy noddy. This is the multi-fiber blend from Anniewhere. I’ve wet down the fibers and set them to dry out of the cat’s reach.
Cats and fiber arts really don’t mix, but it is remarkable how often they do anyway.
Wool nests
I have some Baize Shetland wool that came as large batts. I’ve been tearing off strips to spin, but decided that it was inefficient to unroll the batts every time, so separated all of the batts into strips and wound them into loose “nests”.
To wrap the nest, I loosely wrap the wool strip around four fingers, then tuck the end in the middle. The nests stay together, and are easy to grab when it is time to spin.
Critters and Craft 