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All in Spinning
Earlier this month, in my first post of 2018, I shared my thoughts and plans for the coming year at Flora & Fiber. I've put the proverbial pencil to paper to bring those plans to life.
And that brings me to 'Alpaca - The Mini Series'.
The other 'Let's Spin . . ." posts have all been about various sheep breeds: Romney, Coopworth, Jacob, Lincoln, and Blue Faced Leicester. But today's post introduces something a little different, Camelids, which obviously includes camels, but also humpless South American alpacas, llamas, guanacos, and vicuñas.
A dear friend and fellow fiber enthusiast generously gifted me about 2 1/2 pounds of raw alpaca fleece in 3 colors - black, white, and cinnamon brown. A spinner's treasure trove! So how do you get from this wonderful bag of fluff to . . . luxuriant alpaca top ready to spin?
In today's post, I thought I would share my process from beginning with unspun fiber through the production of a finished woven project . . . in other words, Fluff to Stuff.
There's a lot of competition here at the farm for Best Spinner and Best Weaver. Despite my undaunted efforts, I don't think I'm winning.
I'm planning to weave an Autumn shawl from handspun, so my wheel is busy spinning the fibers for the project. The yarn needs to be something that when woven will create a lightweight fabric that is airy, yet stable, and has a soft drape.
I chose Romney wool to fit the above wish-list of yarn qualities for my shawl. Read on and see what you think about my choice of this fiber.
I'm currently in the midst of The Tour de Fleece. What is that you ask?
You'll just have to visit the blog to find out!!
The next spin in the 'Let's Spin . . . ' series is Lincoln, sometimes called Lincoln Longwool. The Longwool family includes many of the fiber world's favorite breeds. We have already met another of the longwools, Bluefaced Leicester.
Longwools are a category of sheep, which as the name implies, have a longer staple length, generally greater than 4 inches (10 cm).
My first and only spinning wheel is a Louet S-17. As a novice spinner, the reason I chose this particular wheel was I wanted a quality, yet inexpensive basic wheel and the S-17 more than fit that criteria. Yes, there are fancier and prettier wheels, but I love the simplicity of my S-17!
Most spinning wheels have a lacquered finish, while some are intricately carved from beautiful oak and cherry woods. Not my S-17, it's unfinished, laminated hardwood that has been sanded satiny smooth. Now some might find this unattractive, but I see it as a pristine palette calling me to create something uniquely mine. And so that is just what I did.
Blue Faced Leicester, or more commonly referred to as BFL, is a favorite fiber of handspinners, as well as knitters, crocheters, and other yarn lovers. Because of its popularity, BFL fiber is fairly easy to find. It's also one of the most readily available breed-specific commercial yarns.
This is the second post in the Let's Spin. . . series. You can find the first post on spinning Coopworth here.
Today's spin study is Jacob wool. Jacob sheep are relatively small sheep that were historically kept as ornamental animals by the gentry of England. Jacob wool is interesting because there are multiple different colors within a single fleece.
Today is the first installment of a recurring feature that I'm calling "Let's Spin . . . " There is such a myriad of fibers that can be handspun - wool, mohair, angora, cotton, flax, bamboo, polyester, silk, alpaca, and so much more! As I work my way through spinning these varied fibers, I plan to share what I learn both from my study, as well as my experience with the fiber. I hope you enjoy and find inspiration!
This is Part 2 of a two post series on Spinning Fairy Salad. If you missed Part 1, you can get caught up by checking out Spinning Fairy Salad.
In the last post, we left our Fairy Salad fauxlags sitting pretty in their mixing bowl. Today, its time to make yarn!
So what is Fairy Salad you ask? A yarn I custom blended and then spun using 'Fairy Fibers' from a Phat Fiber Sampler box and the 'Salad Batt' carding techinque.
I thought I'd share my process of creating Fairy Salad in my hope to provide you with inspiration and, at the very least, a little colorful enjoyment. This is Post 1 of a 2 part series on Spinning Fairy Salad. Today I'll cover the fiber preparation and blending of the salad batt and the second post will be the actual spinning and final handspun yarn!
