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Read Thread: Spinners?

Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #940908 by Homecraft
Jan 22, 2017 6:36pm
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Another spinner here! I have both spindles and wheel, and I love them both. I do knit occasionally with my own handspun, but I tend to fill up the yarn basket faster than I knit it down! I've also just gotten into weaving and I'm excited to start weaving with my own handspun.

I have also played around with processing raw fleece, carding or combing it and blending with other fibers. Recently I'm trying to learn to spin cotton and linen--both VERY different from wool, and from each other!
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #940911 by Sea Maid
Jan 22, 2017 6:54pm
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What kind of sheep do you have?
If you want to learn to spin, you might be better off buying some ready-to-spin fiber (look for "roving", "combed top", or a "batt", but make sure you get some that is marketed for spinning rather than felting). Well-prepped fiber will make it much easier for you to learn to spin, before you start working with your own. This video by Abby Franquemont is a great introduction to spinning with a spindle.

As for spinning your own sheep's fleeces, the basic steps are:
1. Wash the wool (Here's a good article on it, though I use a sifting litterbox set--I can give you more details if you want).

2. Prep for spinning. Usually this means either carding the wool (with hand cards or a drumcarder) to produce rolags, roving, or batts, or combing it with wool combs to produce combed top.

3. Spinning!

4. Knitting/crocheting/weaving/just admiring it!

A really, really good book on the whole process is The Spinner's Book of Fleece by Beth Smith. Also, if you're not already a member of Ravelry, I suggest joining and looking for the Beginning Spinning group and the Fiber Prep group, both of which have very extensive pages of tips and FAQs as well as many nice and knowledgeable people who are happy to answer questions.
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #941006 by Intrinsically Knotted
Jan 22, 2017 9:52pm
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I have not tried cotton or linen. I am just happy with all the different wool blend and silks out there. Like you, my basket is home spun fills faster than I can knit it up.

:O)
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #941019 by Homecraft
Jan 24, 2017 5:14am
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Yesterday I gave kettle dyeing another go, this time in shades of green. Jacquard Emerald & Spruce (I think... the water on the second batch was running teal.) I only bought 6 jars/colors to experiment with originally and it's time to order some other colors...break away from my comfort zone maybe.

Knitting down the newly spun stash is a little like taking 1 step forward and 3 or 4 steps backwards!
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #941069 by On The Corner!
Jan 24, 2017 8:00am
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I don't do a lot with dying. What I do, is mostly done with Koolaid. We have a few ladies in our group who do natural dying. They will use anything from copper rods to Avocado shells & pits. It is fun to see what they come up with.

Yeah...I totally agree about the knit down of handspun. It just takes so much longer to knit something, than it does to spin up a skein or two.

:O)
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #940908 by Homecraft
Jan 26, 2017 3:14pm
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I'd love to learn how to spin. :-)

Sits N Knits
in Orlando
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #940908 by Homecraft
Jan 26, 2017 8:17pm
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I am supposed to have a spinning wheel. But I will get one someday.
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #940908 by Homecraft
Jan 27, 2017 5:50am
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I'm too scared to learn to spin. I do not need another obsession.
Re: Spinners?
Board: Knitters and the Fiber Arts
Reply to: #941177 by DebBee
Jan 27, 2017 5:20pm
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Exactly what I said before I went to my first fiber retreat. Someone put a Turkish style spindle in my hands and I was hooked.

:O)