Did you know that King George III kept a flock of Spanish Merino at Kew? Or that prior to that, exporting the Spanish sheep was punishable by death?
Fortunately for us, the noble Merino wool is no longer 'the gift of kings'.
Wool of all breeds is once again getting a hoofhold in the clothing industry, and a welfare standard is encouraging responsible practices.
It's that time of the year again, just a few short weeks away from the shortest day. This month's pattern suggestions include plenty of warmer projects and some gifts. As we dig out our woollies, a bit of mending might be necessary. Are you keen on the visible mending movement or do you like your surgery to be invisible?
The tips and tutorials this month include spinning silk hankies, achieving a balanced yarn.
Read on for all of this and the rest of this month's cunning curated collection of inspirational information and entertainment for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers. This is the free issue for November 2018.
Find out how to receive a longer, ad-free* version of HSN earlier in the month.
Photo right: spinneanne's sexy spindle shot. The cover photo is Maarten van Heemskerck - Portrait of Anna Codde
This year's Wool Week stunts included this colourful washing machine installation in Covent Garden.
The message may not be obvious. "When you wash wool, you're not creating micro-plastics. Wool biodegrades naturally in the sea" said Campaign for Wool's Peter Ackroyd. He added that it's more washable than people think.
wwd.com...wool-week-takes-over-londons-covent-garden-colored-washing-machines...
The Britspin hashtag has grown into a wonderful selection of pictures and comments.
Shown here is the West of Scotland Guild WSD
Loch Ness Knit Fest 2018 was a 'monster' four-day event with no less than 30 workshops and presentations.
The best review I've found is here at Craft Business Magazine's website. The main link below goes to the #lochnessknitfest hashtag on Instagram. The photo I've used in the thumbnail was taken by Deborah Gray.
Our great-grandmothers and even some of today's small producers might argue with that headline's claim.
This is news of the Responsible Wool Standard, a voluntary global standard which is concerned with the welfare of sheep and the land they graze.
A number of well-known retailers are making commitments to using wool bearing the mark.
There are some interesting comments here from a New Zealand producer who is pleased that his crossbreed wool will be going into clothing rather than carpets and he sees the RWS becoming a more important standard in coming years.
www.environmentalleader.com...worlds-first-responsible-wool-clothing-garments
In news that will delight Yvonne the sheep, wearing wool gives you more sleep.
I'm happy to hear the results of this study, but there's still something amusing about the story.
When those Australian scientists watched their sleeping subjects with stopwatches in their hands, did they feel that they were doing the best job in the world or question their life choices?
No word on whether wearing wool is better than sleeping au naturel but just in case I'm just off to search for merino nightwear.
Another month, another hermit sheep story. I don't think that the 15kg fleece from Suzy is a record, but there is a lovely video on this page of her being relieved of it with hand shears.
There's one more video here, which shows the fleece being removed and weighed, plus a distant shot of Suzy before she was recaptured.
Thanks to tomofholland who has documented the 'visible mending' of this gansey in some detail.
I would certainly prefer to go the 'invisible mending' route, but the contrasting colour used here does make it easy to see Tom's stitches.
There is a back-story to the gansey which you can also read in Tom's post.
Following on beautifully from Tom's case history is this article about spinning mending threads.
Kate Larson says that she loves visible repairs and refers to Tom's work. She has three tips for choosing and using fibres for such visible mends.
www.interweave.com/article/spinning/roving-reporter-mending-year-3-tips-darning-well
Have you spun Wensleydale? It's a long lustrous fibre. The jumper here is made from Wensleydale (commercially-spun yarn, but British grown and spun). It's often mistaken for mohair.
LB Handknits has lots of information about the wool. It's an interesting read and if you're like me, you'll be wanting to try spinning some! (I found that World of Wool have Wensleydale top at 2.50 per 100g)
The biggest surprise is that the gorgeous jumper shown in the article was an improvised pattern.
Here's Tanis working on the Seaboard Sweater which I've featured later on.
In this blog post she talks about the Making Things app, which is billing itself as 'the Netflix for Knitters and Crocheters'. In short, you pay a monthly subscription for access to patterns from a number of designers. Just like Netflix you'll only be able to access patterns by designers who have signed up, and you'll only have access as long as you pay the monthly subscription.
Tanis takes a very positive attitude. I've also seen comments from designers who don't plan to sign up because they feel that this model doesn't serve designers well.
Only time will tell whether Tanis benefits overall from using this service, and I'll be very interested in what she has to say in several months' time.
If you'd like to discuss this controversial topic, there's a huge thread on Ravelry, which includes some contributions from Casey himself. Please feel free to get involved in the HSN Ravelry forum, which is where I've posted my own opinions.
www.tanisfiberarts.com/blog/2018/10/a-new-way-of-making-things
With plastic being the bad guy at the moment, there are projects such as #tuffsocksnaturally which are exploring alternatives to nylon or superwash treatment.
I assumed that this article from LB would be along the same lines, but she poses a very interesting opinion: that there's something more important than nylon or superwash treatment that gives socks longevity.
Sometimes we need a challenge to revive our mojo.
Whether that's the case for you, or you're just intrigued about spinning dyed silk hankies / mawata, Amy King has the challenge you need and an instructional video to whet your appetite.
Spinning silk is fun, if hard on the hands. As a bonus she also has this tip about exfoliating your hands before you start which is certainly helpful.
boogieblather.wordpress.com/2018/10/16/spinning-challenge-silk-hankies
Benjamin has been thinking too hard about fractal spinning. What we call fractal spinning produces a very nice effect but the result isn't really a fractal sequence.
He explains his thinking and produces a yarn with a colour sequence which repeats at a smaller and smaller scale.
His article includes the pattern for the Reeds and Rushes cowl shown here and the instructions for spinning the yarn.
Does your skein of yarn twist up when you remove it from the niddy-noddy? Or maybe when it first gets wet?
Kate Larson has three tips to help you achieve balance.
www.interweave.com/article/spinning/3-simple-tips-to-achieve-balanced-yarn
Fiberbot is a little robot that spins a cocoon around itself while climbing upwards. This produces a strong tube, and 'swarms' of these bots can build architectural forms.
The fibre that they spin is a mix of fibreglass thread and light-curing resin.
The structures grow organically. The robots can steer themselves to some extent to avoid collision based on rules that control flocking behaviour. Varying these rules produces different types of structures.
The video on this page is a worthwhile watch.
physicsworld.com/a/fibre-spinning-robot-swarms-build-architecture-from-scratch
Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.
If you like Yvonne, click the image to find her page, you can use next and previous to explore more cartoons, and join the mailing list for a regular digest email.
Thank you very much if you've had a go at any of these on your computer or tablet, particularly to the one or two people who've written to tell me that they've enjoyed them.
I've set them up with 35 - 50 pieces- just the right number for a coffee-break challenge and you gradually reveal the cartoon.
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I discovered this pattern collection via an older blog post from Kate Larson.
She visited the Shetland Isles some years ago, and during the visit bought a pack of wool in various shades. Her blog post about the visit is a good read.
She designed a Fair Isle hat, which now appears on the cover of this collection of 20 patterns, all designed with handspun yarn in mind.
A collection of patterns for spin and knit is unusual. It also contains a number of articles. Spinning Basics by Maggie Casey, for the spinning-curious, and more how-to articles. There's also a good run-down of sheep breeds. My full review is at the link below,
blog.handspinner.co.uk/2018/11/review-spin-knit-2017-spin-off-special.html
Sometimes just a picture is enough
Thanks to WoollyElly for posting her finished Knutschkugel in the HSN Ravelry group.
it's made using some Spinzilla 2017 yarn. The handspun yarn contains some merino/silk mix and some unidentified John Arbon fibre. The project also uses some Debbie Bliss yarn which contains silk / mohair.
I'm bewitched and enchanted by the colours in this yarn and by the finished hat.
I love it when a blog post contains notes and pictures showing the fibre, yarn and finished project, as this one does.
The 'By Rachel' tag is a nice touch.
Handspun yarn is perfect for this chameleon-like creature.
vermontgirlamy made this octupus using her handspun yarn for the body with a commercial yarn for the underside.
Pipe-cleaners make the legs poseable and googly eyes bring it to life. The pattern is from Hansi Singh's Amigurumi Knits book. Amy says "It was a well-written and fun pattern".
fluidmotion.blogspot.com/2018/11/knitting-scrappy-handspun-octopus.html
wildcatquilting's shawl is the perfect demonstration that you don't need a fancy stitch pattern to show of a beautiful handspun yarn.
The pattern is Quaker Yarn Stretcher by Susan Ashcroft which is said to be an excellent pattern for handspun.
The fibre was dyed by threewatersfarm and thanks to them for sharing.
The flip side of that is that you can show off your plain yarn with an interesting stitch pattern.
This is Instagram user @susanhunt57's Britspin yarn which became a hat very quickly.
Wearing a garment from yarn that you spun yourself is one thing but spinning the yarn using spindles that you made is even closer to total self-sufficiency.
The pattern is Cascadial Wrap by Erin Kurup. "A great pattern to show off mini skeins, gradients, or favorite leftover bits".
Congratulations to happay. Do check out her daelgan spindles which are beautiful.
Spinning home-grown yarn also fits the self-sufficiency category. As Amy says, "It doesn't get more local"
She posted the picture in response to a #wovember prompt, 'local'.
Fibrefolly says "I wet felted this back in August 2017 and it sat waiting for inspiration...I thought it looked a little like leaves, so I have been machine embroidering...I'm thrilled with the result!"
Another long-term project is siljadevine's Oddball Jacket. It's a real-life coat-of-many-colours. She says that she put the project down because it became boring. She has recently picked it up and finished it.
"No pattern, figured things out as I knit" she said.
This month's sexy spindle shot is by spinneanne.
The natural colours complement the spindle and bowl beautifully, which appear to be from Maine Fiber Tools.
A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
This is the first of two maritime-themed patterns this month.
This is Fran modelling her Shorelines cardigan in the most appropriate location.
She has deliberately designed it to combat a common problem; skeins of hand-dyed yarn all being a little different.
She has deliberately made a couple of her skeins deeper in colour for the accents, the rest don't quite match as well as intended.
I like the solution and I like the design of this garment.
wooltribulations.blogspot.com/2018/10/shorelines-shawl-collar-cardigan.html
Thanks to Ewespecial for this suggestion. She says, "I love Lace! and double yarn overs! This will be a fun knit! "
It uses around 450 yards of 4ply/Fingering weight (gauge not critical).
The baby blankets in the picture are not in handspun yarn but variegated and semi-solid.
They'll look great in any handspun yarn or combination of yarns; colourful, gradient, variegated or semi-solid.
As Tabetha Hedrick notes, acres of garter stitch can be mind-numbing. Or you might feel that it can be just the job for TV or travel knitting.
This is a quick project. Lili says "I know it's totally cheating to have an FO made with a 10mm hook, but it's still an FO!"
Hers isn't handspun yarn, but you could use a bulky yarn with large hook for gauge or hold multiple strands together. It takes around a thousand yards (or multiples of that if you're multi-stranding.)
She suggests that the design is "totally something you could live in for the next couple of months" (northern hemisphere).
Thanks to lilirious for the suggestion, I'm linking to her blog. Find the link to the pattern within it.
The yoke is made in rows (using short-rows) so the colour changes in the yarn will work from left to right.
The yoke would be a great way to show off a yarn with gradient colour changes. If you don't want to spin for a whole jumper, maybe handspun for the yoke with commercial yarn for the rest of the jumper.
With thanks to Melodye for the suggestion.
Garter stitch gives this hat texture and comfort.
It's knit in the round on 4.5mm needles (or size to obtain gauge) and the pattern suggests using two strands of "assorted 4-ply and dk yarns". There are four sizes.
I've linked to the Woolly Wormhead free pattern page as Woolly has requested. Simply scroll down a little way for Sarah's Slouch and click the icon to obtain the pdf.
Yes, I'm thinking ahead to next Spring / Summer here.
This seaside-inspired sweater isn't as plain and simple as it first looks. The darker stripes are worked in an interesting stitch pattern and there's a cable panel up each side, which add to the drape and fit, according to the designer.
The boxy shape with lots of positive ease is fashionable, I'm told, and Tanis says that she finds it flattering.
www.tanisfiberarts.com/blog/2018/10/seaboard-sweater-pattern
This caught my eye because of the word spin, but of course spin stitch refers to the knitting stitch rather than spinning or handspun yarn.
This is an attractive poncho nonetheless, and I'm planning to make one myself.
Thanks to puffintoad for sharing her picture of her finished LIminarie skirt. It's my favourite of all of the finished examples of this skirt.
She says "Finished just in time for the cold! "
She used a yarn with a long gradient and added four extra bands to the length.
Knithacker has collected 15+ projects which mix knitting (and embroidery / sewing etc) with electronics.
These will inspire you if you're handy with a soldering iron and fancy mixing sound and visual effects with your fibrey projects.
knithacker.com...15-inspiring-projects-that-mix-knitting-and-electronics...
You may be wondering, "how does Shiela spend all the time putting this together and pay the actual costs of webhosting and mailing services?"
The answer is that some lovely people choose to pay an amount that they see fit (no matter how small) and in return receive HSN earlier and receive a longer ad-free* version (approx half the number of stories again).
A final word of thanks to everyone who blogs, writes articles or posts pictures on the subject of spinning, knitting, crochet or weaving. This newsletter wouldn't exist without people writing interesting and useful things.
If you do keep a blog, or if you read a particularly interesting blog or website and you're not sure whether I already know about it, please write and tell me about it.
It's always good to hear from readers for any reason (or no reason!)
Happy spinning!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
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