Some benefits to mini combs
This week, I received a set of single pitch Louet mini combs. I had been holding off on buying a set, thinking that the wee little combs probably weren’t terribly useful. They’re too small, too fragile. What could I do with them? Then I started spinning off of my single pitch combs. They were too big, too heavy. It was hard for me to hold the comb for any long length of time, so I gave in. I was wrong. Really, I was so, so wrong. The Louet Mini-Combs are small, light, and perfect for shorter fibers and spinning off the comb. I was able to comb the let wool of the...
read moreDear Perendale – Letter the Second
Dear Perendale, I thought that we were friends. I thought that you would cooperate, be shiny, be bouncy, be a happy wool for me, but that just wasn’t meant to be. I washed another ounce of your shiny locks, waited ever so patiently for them to dry, then I started making rolags. The length of the fibers should have been my first clue that you were not going to cooperate. Once I had carded your luxe fibers, I still harbored a dream that you would spin like a dream for me. Alas, perfect yarn was not meant to be. Despite the fact that your rolags were perfect, puffy tubes of spinny...
read moreIn which we begin playing with fire
On day 3, we prepared our yarn for natural dyeing. Leslie assured us that natural dyeing, or any dyeing really, was just like cooking. You gather your ingredients, prepare your yarn/fiber, and follow the recipe. Wednesday, day 3 was the day we prepared to dye. Joanne, who was responsible for bringing the program to Smithtown, had arranged for us to have six brick fire pits. We only needed one for prep day. It’s a good thing too. The wood we had was a little wetter than we would have liked. Joanne was an Eagle Scout though, and got the fire going. We were thankful that it was a cooler...
read moreThere is still very little spinning
Day two: Once we’d washed up our fiber on Day 1, it was time to talk about prep. There are two ways we addressed prep in class: 1. Flicking: Be careful. The flicker will bite you if you aren’t paying attention! 2. Carding This is the queen of woolen prep. I’m a woolen spinner by default so I had a really good time seeing how Leslie carded vs. how I was doing it, and watching all the other women in the class (we happened to all be women). While I liked Leslie’s method, I feel like my method works better with some super short fibers – I’m looking at...
read moreEverything’s coming up wooly
After what feels like a very long time, my life has turned back to the fibery side. I’d been very down about the way Spin-U turned out, so much so that I wasn’t really looking forward to what the future held for my personal spinning. I had signed up for Olds College Master Spinner Level 1, to be held in (fairly) nearby Smithtown. Completing either the Master Spinner courses, or a COE (Handweaver’s Guild of America’s Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning) has long been on my bucket list. When I saw the Master Spinner Level 1 course being offered less than an hour...
read moreI think I broke my brain
I think I broke my brain. I’ve had a little Strauch Petite for AGES. I never use it because I was never happy with the results. I would feed in wool, and get out a neppy awful mess. I was afraid to put anything of any quality into it, even though I know the old adage “garbage in/garbage out”. I had considered selling the drum carder, but couldn’t bring myself to do so. After carding (and carding and carding and carding) the Hampshire fleece bits, I decided that I wanted a project for me, and I didn’t want to do it on hand cards, thankyouverymuch. I went...
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