Learning about the characteristics of different sheep breeds allows us to choose just the right material for our project, and this month we see a number of articles and posts about specific breeds.
Show season is almost underway (or already underway if Unravel has happened before you read this). There are a couple of posts anticipating the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, including a ticket giveaway. If you've been reading HSN for some time, you'll know that I'm a sucker for cute lamb pictures at this time of the year and we have some of those.
I can only ever report what I find but this month there has been a wealth of spinning stuff out there to choose from, making a full and inspiring issue.
This is the free edited version of Hand Spinning News for January 2016. For details of how to subscribe, scroll to the bottom.
Photo right: Rachel, welfordpurls, Snoqualmie Valley Shawl. Cover photo: by Chris Paul rld CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
KnitBritish have three pairs of weekend tickets for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival to give away.
The event is 18-19th March 2016 at The Edinburgh Corn Exchange. There will be 100 selected vendors, great workshops and a host of other attractions.
For details of how to enter the prize draw, click through to KnitBritish using the link below.
Khadi is defined as handspun or handwoven cloth. It represents employment and self-sufficiency.
A pilot has begun to install a large number of solar-powered charkhas across India.
The definition of khadi seems to be becoming less strict (It's proposed that cloth made on solar-powered spinning wheels to be called khadi. It looks as if the solar charkhas are miniature spinning mills and a long way from what we'd recognise as hand spinning) but the cloth is certainly green; it's suggested that the cloth could have a 'zero-carbon-footprint'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk...Khadi-goes-green...solar...spinning-wheels.html
Cowgirl-boot-wearing storyteller Jenn has another spinning-related tale for us, and lots of playful kitty. Watch from the start if you find that cute, or skip to a third of the way in if you're more interested in the story.
The Scottish tale of the Good Housewife and her Nighttime Helpers contains a useful tip about removing the drive band from your spinning wheel so that it can't aid your enemies.
It also has the usual fairy-tale moral that there's no such thing as a free lunch.
http://rovingcrafters.com...the-good-fairy-showed-up-to-finish-the-spinning
Show season is underway and to whet your appetite, Nadia says here that she's going to make EYF her annual holiday and is going to make sure that she has no regrets about not buying something ... by buying everything! Her strategy is to take an empty suitcase with her, and to also mail some things back home.
http://abso-knitting-lutely.../its-happening-edinburgh-yarn-festival.html
A rya rug is a knotted wool rug, used pile-side-down as a cosy bed cover.
the1764shepherdess writes a little for us and then embeds a captivating 10-minute video which I'm sure will spark your interest.
http://the1764shepherdess.com/2016/01/16/rya-rugs-weaving-a-mystery/
Faerie Cashmere conjures up some strange chimera images but Goldilox has matched two quite different fibres, cashmere from Hilltop Cloud and an unnamed fibre from Faerie Fiber.
They're different colours but blend beautifully in the ply to make a lovely yarn for which Goldilox is now on the lookout for a pattern.
http://goldyspinner.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/faerie-cashmere.html
In the first of our 'sheep breed' articles, Wingham Wool Works give us the lowdown on the Merino D'Arles which is becoming more popular with spinners and felters.
This is part blog (about how Fran spun this black and white alpaca with small amounts of colour) and part free pattern.
http://wooltribulations.blogspot.co.uk...spinning-alpaca...into-bulky-yarn.html
BabyLongLegs wouldn't usually be drawn to Blueface Leicester but her inner control freak enjoyed the challenge of evenness and consistency.
It's made a beautiful yarn. She spun two plies of the Hilltop Cloud gradient and added a third ply of a different fibre (Polwarth/tencel) in a different colour.
From above, individuals become one fluid group.
With thanks to The Telegraph and Knithacker for sharing this large herd of New Zealand sheep being herded..
https://www.facebook.com/TELEGRAPH.CO.UK/videos/10153979970254749/
My own feelings are the same as Sarah's, I've always striven to make even, consistent yarn, the closer to commercial yarn the better.
Here she gives some interesting thoughts about that, and some pictures of this skein which changed her outlook a little towards "relaxing into the texture".
http://knittingsarah.com/2016/02/11/on-expanding-ones-comfort-zone/
It's not uncommon for people to come to spinning specifically for the wheel and refuse to consider the spindle.
But as Rebecca says, it has its time and place. She makes a very neat point about portability; we go to the wheel but the spindle comes with us.
I'd personally add that I enjoy using a spindle, I've made some major projects using a spindle and I like the additional control that I feel.
Rebecca's thoughts are an interesting read.
One major advantage of making our own yarn is that we can spin the best yarn for the job.
If we consider the breed of the sheep then that makes a large number of various characteristics for us to choose from.
Rachel writes here in some detail about Cheviot and about this gorgeous yarn she's made from the breed. She feels that it'll be perfect for socks.
http://welfordpurls.com/2016/02/04/the-realm-of-breed-specific-yarns/
An interesting post about using imperfect fleece (apparently this fleece was "nasty"). There are ways to make the best of the situation.
Jenn's thoughts make a worthwhile read and she in turn links to a couple of useful posts, including Yarn Harlot's article about feeding wool into the drum carder sideways. Yes - sideways!
Another profile of wool from a specific breed, Countess Ablaze writes about North Ronaldsay; 'traditional' wool from hardy sheep.
A fibre with character, maybe not one for wearing next to the skin but see how it takes dye.
http://www.countessablaze.com...the-rt-hon-ronaldsay-north-ronaldsay-wool
Martin Curtis provided combed Shetland tops to members of Team Hand Spinning News UK for Spinzilla 2015.
Here he gives us an insight into his regular work, designing products using eco-friendly processes and made from genuine Shetland wool.
It's interesting to read about aspects such as woollen vs worsted and dyeing / design decisions from a more industrial perspective than our craft point of view.
http://www.countrysideonline.co.uk...martin-curtis/wrapped-up-in-wool/
How to deal with this roving of many colours? April says that she could have easily separated the colours, but that defeats the object a little.
Instead she spun across the end, making fast colour changes that twisted two or three colours at a time.
She knew that plying would muddy these colours, and so it should remain a single.
Click through for pictures of the fibre, the spinning and the finished singles yarn.
http://www.withwool.com/blog/2016/2/9/the-first-handspun-of-2016
Maggie Casey is an author and teacher, and here, courtesy of Schacht Spindle Co, is a free tutorial for spinning fine yarns for weaving. I think all of the tips will apply to spinning fine yarn for knitted or crocheted lace too.
http://schachtspindle.com/tips-for-spinning-fine-yarns-for-handwoven-lace/
I'm getting pretty proficient at dropping one stitch down a few rows to fix a mistake, but how about fixing a whole 30-stitch section several rows back?
YarnHarlot faced that problem and rather than knit back back ('tink') some very long rows, here's how she pulled back just those 30 stitches for 3 or 4 rows.
Because of its uneven thickness, textured or art yarns might produce uneven results when knit or crocheted, but Denise Renee Grace demonstrates with samples that it's perfect for woven fabric.
http://schachtspindle.com/7-ways-to-weave-with-textured-yarns/
This blanket has been made by sewing together striped strips. It takes a while to do the sewing, but what about all the ends?
Kristen wove in the ends as she went along, so there's none of that to do. In this post she gives us step-by-step pictures showing her technique.
Thanks to F Y Geek and Nerd Knits for sharing.
http://cozymadethings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/all-those-ends.html
Kate Larson's new book gets a great review at Knitty.com and as I write this it has 5 x 5-star reviews at Amazon.com
Kate keeps sheep as well as being a spinner, and this is reflected in the book. There's information about sheep and breeds as well as analysis of spinning projects.
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEw15/FEATw15stuff/FEATw15stuff.php#KS
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Sometimes just a picture is enough
Rachel of Welfordpurls says "There is something very profound and rewarding about designing, spinning and knitting a yarn" and who would disagree.
She's done just that, spinning this yarn from stash fibre during last year's Spinzilla. Fibre that she was saving for "something epic".
She knit it towards the end of the year. "quite an effort" but she couldn't be happier with the results.
I wish I'd spotted this in time for January's '2015 round-up' but I just missed Earthchick's collection. She says that it's the most yarn she's spun in a year, around seven pounds which I make over 3 kilos.
Click through for more statistics and her plans for the yarn.
This is a small part of a long shawl blocking. The fibre had distinct areas of red and black, I wouldn't have been sure how to avoid solid areas of those colours.
Michele used fractal spinning. She made a 3-ply with the original fibre split first into thirds. The first third spun as it was, the next third split into 4 and the last third split into 10. She says that it's the best yardage she's ever achieved from a 3-ply.
http://www.ravelry.com/people/akasha/handspun/the-first-draft-sw-merino-6
It's always good to see the various stages of making yarn, as this single collage has.
There's a walnut and some leaves in the pictures, were they used to dye the yarn? (akjBawa does dye using natural ingredients). No information about that but the mohair yarn is certainly bright and reminiscent of the Calendula it's named after.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130937258@N05/24551916566/in/dateposted/
fibrefantaisie has test-knitted this new pattern in her own hand-dyed handspun yarn, also using Czech beads.
Finished in two weeks (from cast-on). Did you sleep?!
No word on the pattern or the fibre but froggymonkey says that she has her next one planned.
This pattern is in my (very long) queue, it'll look great in a colour-changing handspun and here's the proof.
Follow the link below to the full picture of tmkr's shawl blocking.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56819539@N00/24324309675/in/dateposted/
This project shows how the colours in a hand-dyed braid of yarn can play out into stripes.
TheBon made this sweater before the baby was born. She's now grown into it.
Fitting our theme of sheep breeds, Rebecca lists the handspun and commercial yarns (with breeds where known) that she's used in this showcase of a jumper. The colours work very nicely together.
I share Rebecca's love for Stephen West's imaginative constructions but I'm sure I'd feel constrained around the arms. Maybe it works if you don't need to lift your arms above your head?
April took a long time to sew on these soles but it's such a neat job.
The soles make a very professional-looking result. For faster grippiness, take a look at Sock Stop.
http://www.withwool.com...fo-non-felted-slippers-and-practical-washcloths
On our sheep breed theme, Diane the Spinning Shepherd shows us the range of colours in Ouessant wool.
http://spinningshepherd.blogspot.co.uk...sweater-sunday...new-years.html
This stunning blanket scarf is half-silk. I've no details other than that handspun yarn is involved.
A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
Do you have a pair of 15mm needles and some BIG yarn? Alice says "anything that needs knitting up on 15mm needles is pretty goshdarned chunky". She's made a number of patterns available for sale and so has put this one on her blog for her readers.
https://aliceinknittingland.wordpress.com...chunky-ftw-a-free-pattern
I spotted this very cheery pattern in a collection of patterns designed for ombre yarn.
I'm sure this lace shawl will look great in solid, semi-solid, colour-changing or gradient yarn.
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/knitting/accessory/fruit-cocktail/178973
This is the second part of Sarah's series on brioche knitting, look for the link to the first part, brioche basics, if you need to.
In this post, along with further instruction, she gives the pattern for this warm and stylish cowl. It's deceptively simple, "essentially an up-scaled swatch".
Sarah says that "it can be worn as an extra over-shoulder layer indoors and adjusted to wear beneath a coat too."
http://www.craftsfromthecwtch.co.uk/2016/01/brioche-knitting-part-2.html
I'm already spinning for a chunky jumper with colourwork yoke and my search for a suitable pattern is at an end.
This is regular contributor SandAndSkyCreations but I don't think that this particular finished project is handspun yarn.
The pattern is here, link to Simone's finished jumper below.
http://sandandskycreations.com/blog/2016/02/05/fo-friday-riddari/
This seamless jumper has a stranded colourwork yoke, but one long colour-changing yarn "does all the work".
The main colour could be commercial with a special handspun yarn for the detail.
18 & 19 June, 10am - 4pm, Village Hall, The Street, Dilham, Norfolk
The Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers of historic Worstead have asked me to list their family fun day (note the slightly different spelling of Worstead village and the worsted yarn; I'm assured that the one is named after the other.)
Friday 24 June and Saturday 25 June, Cockermouth, Cumbria
Woolfest was founded to provide a showcase and a celebration of the best of wool and wool crafts.
The event is all about creativity and design with beautiful quality, amazing colours and skilled craftsmanship.
30 and 31 July 2016, Redbourne Community College, Flitwick Road, Ampthill, Bedford MK45 2NU
The sixth Fibre East, giving those in the Eastern, Midlands and Southern Regions an opportunity to join in an event which aims to encourage and promote British wool and natural fibres.
The college now provides an indoor venue.
Friday 5 and Saturday 5 August, York Auction Mart
Supporting the Campaign for Wool.
Exciting treasures to discover; wool from fleece to finished items and other items you will need to spin, weave, knit, crochet, hand dye, cross stitch, embroider or make felt.
24 and 25 September Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire
For you if you love yarn and are passionate about all things woolly. It aims to celebrate the beauty and diversity of wool, cotton, linen and silk fibres in all their forms
24 September - 2 October 2016
A busy weekend dedicated to celebrating Shetland wool and textile heritage.
Events programme to be announced in April.
Bakewell Agricultural Centre Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October
This year sees the fouth year of the Bakewell Wool Gathering, an event for wool lovers in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales.
There will be exhibitors, demonstrations of fibre crafts, workshops plus a knitting and crochet help desk to help novice and expert alike.
January 2015 saw a milestone; Hand Spinning News split into two; a free version, which is edited down a little bit, and a full version for paying subscribers.
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Happy spinning and don't be a stranger!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
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