There are many ways to make a gradient. You could use yarn that you spun from a gradient fibre pack. You could blend colours together within the textured sections of your pattern. Or you could dip-dye for an ombré effect.
This month's issue has news of not one but two 100-foot works. One is made from avocado-dyed fabric and highlights social and ecological concerns around avocado production. The other tells the story of one feisty woman who fought off French invaders with a pitchfork.
Read on for more news, views and reviews for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers. This is the free edition for March 2024.
Find out how to receive the full version of Hand Spinning News in your inbox, earlier than the free edition appears online.
Cover photo: Wool picking by Galdric PS via Shutterstock.
British sheep farmers are planning to burn wool in protest over low wool prices.
Graham Clark of British Wool said that the price was improving.
The story also notes that some farmers have begun to have their own wool spun and woven.
Great-grandmother Shirley Ellicott has knitted a wedding dress in just three weeks.
It's not for herself or a family member but for charity. She says that she has "always wanted to knit one". "It's amazing what two needles can do", she says.
With thanks to Pamela for the link.
people.com/great-grandmother-hand-knits-wedding-dress-3-weeks-8551650
The Guardian story of 24 Feb tells of a "Plaque being unveiled" to honour Jemima Nicholas, who is said to have armed herself with a pitchfork to help thwart an attempted 18th-century invasion of Britain.
In a letter to the newspaper, Isabella Stone pointed out that this article "undersells" an impressive 100-foot Bayeux-style tapestry on display in Fishguard town hall, which tells the story.
It was designed and made over a number of years by 80 local women to commemorate the bicentenary of the invasion in 1997.
www.theguardian.com...welsh-woman-who-took-on-french-invaders...
Chilkat weaving almost died out but is experiencing a revival. Nevertheless, an old piece like this has a lot to teach.
It has been in private hands but is returning home thanks to a group of donors. It will be accessible to descendants and students.
Thanks to Pamela for this story.
See also: people gather to learn weaving techniques from 12 Native American master weavers from across the Pacific Northwest
www.ktoo.org...historic-chilkat-robe-returned-to-southeast-alaska
This is the ninety-somethingth word in Sarah's Ninety Nine Nouns project. In this blog post she discusses achieving goals and deciding when you're done.
Josefin takes a look at Fjällnäs, one of Sweden's rarest breeds. As you'd expect from a rare breed it is sturdy but lustrous.
She acquired an award-winning fleece and takes us through the preparation and spinning.
This blend is World of Wool's Higglety Pigglety. It's the first in craftmehappy's Questionable Blends series.
In this case 'questionable' means that it raises questions in the spinner's mind about how best to spin it.
She tests four methods of dealing with the colour blend as well as simply spinning it from the end. She then knits those samples into mitred squares.
www.craftmehappy.com/2024/02/questionable-blend-number-1-higglety.html
This is a statue of a fisherman in Whitby. He's part of an art trail. Besides the art and the town, Sue has also covered Propagansey, a shop that sells yarn, patterns and handknitted items with an owner on hand to talk about the history of Ganseys.
travelfibreandthread.blogspot.com...propagansey-yes-it-is-spelt-correctly.html
Silk and kemp may sound as different as chalk and cheese but Josefin calls her experiments intriguing and 'surprisingly successful'.
She first tried combining a Gute lamb's fleece with silk in 2021. Now she has another fleece from this primitive breed and has tried again.
This is Norah Moses, operations manager of Clean Fleece. Gale Zucker has been to visit the smaller-scale scouring facility in Mechanicville, New York.
Most of the farms in the area are too small to send the minimum quantity of fleece to a larger scouring house and so Clean Fleece and a mill also owned by Mary Jeanne Packer and Gail Parrinello aim to provide services to farms in Hudson Valley and beyond.
Does this article answer the question "which yarn should I spin for cables"? Yes I think it does.
Alexa Ludeman takes a very comprehensive look at how different types of yarn work when knitted into cables, including various yarn weights, plies and spin, tweeds and fluffy yarn.
This is the second part of HighlandHeffalump's 25g Breed Project in which she spins " lots of different breeds".
Here are her notes and photos from the second 12 breeds.
highlandheffalump.com/2024/03/08/25g-breed-project-the-spinning-part-2
There are good reasons for teasing wool before carding and many ways to do so.
Brenda Anderson takes us step-by-step through the process of dyeing crocheted nesting baskets with an ombré effect.
Sara Dudek has used the same technique to dip-dye some tassel earrings.
This article aims to help you if you're interested in dyeing but don't know where to start. It has two sections - natural dyes and synthetic dyes.
Three factors affect drape in woven fabric. Agony Aunt Madelyn answers a question about how to get good drape.
Devin demonstrates three ways to add a leader to a high or low-whorl drop spindle.
spinoffmagazine.com/spindle-spinning-three-ways-to-add-a-leader
Christina learned bandweaving at Weave Together with Handwoven and here she passes on some tips.
littlelooms.com/5-tips-for-bandweaving-plus-bonus-video-tips
Suzy Brown's Hackle Pattern System allows you to plan your coloured fibre into hackle 'loads' that are predictable and repeatable.
Her book, Fun with Spikes, is now revised and available in print.
I see that we had a good review of this book in 2021. Here is a reminder and a very brief review, related to the fact that the author will be teaching at Spin-Off's Annual Retreat (SOAR) this year.
spinoffmagazine.com/Knitting Traditions from Around the World
The UN urges all countries to produce as much food as possible from their own resources. However, in Norway, less than half of grazing resources are currently used and more than one farm a day is going out of business.
This video from The Guardian tells the story of Rakel who had the chance to follow in her father's footsteps and continue a small farm.
Sometimes just a picture is enough
Elly has used yarn spun from a Hilltop Cloud gradient pack to make this felted bag.
Her top tip is "don't forget to weave in ends before felting".
The pattern is Angela's Fabulous Felted Bag by Angela Roberge
www.ravelry.com/projects/woollyelly/angelas-fabulous-felted-bag
battyfibers has posted a series of pictures including the original fibre nests.
The yarn was fractal spin by spindle. She comments that a "second pass adding ply twist was a huge game changer".
This woven cap was intended to be a no-sew design but leigh had to use a running stitch to gather the fabric.
There are some 'in progress' shots and lots of details in this blog post. In this earlier post she tested the design before using handspun yarn.
leighsfiberjournal.blogspot.com...saori-su-chan-wool-cap.html
spindelicious says that when the cold weather hits, it's legwarmer season and calls these ones her favourite. She likes to use handspun for "maximum color stripe action".
The free pattern she used may well be this one.
This jumper combines Spindrift from Jamieson's as well as copper orange handspun.
The pattern is Next Year In Lerwick, by Tori Seierstad
Terumi Ohta makes hyper-realistic animals using needle-felting. She desires to "capture the soul and expressiveness of animals, rather than mere physical accuracy".
www.boredpanda.com/hyperrealistic-wool-animals-truestylelab-japan
Sophie Laurent also makes very realistic animals, if a little anthropomorphised. In this short video the hare almost appears to come to life.
In another post she comments that these hares are her most favourite ever work. She answers some FAQs here.
zaneteknits has added pattern number four in the Yoke Meditation series. This beautiful example uses handspun yarn for the contrast colour with a commercial yarn for the light main colour.
The pattern page is currently offering a 15% discount code until 17 March.
Spinning Shepherd has posted pictures of four pairs of wet-felted mittens, trimmed with woven bands and pompoms.
A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
This pattern is available for free in both knit and crochet versions and in multiple languages.
This has been the subject of a crochet/knit-a-long.
As you might guess, the default colours are inspired by the beautiful colours of the goldcrest but participants have been creative with their colour choices, and the yarn partner Scheepjes have come up with more palettes based on other birds.
It requires seven colours of Fingering / 4 ply weight (14 wpi) yarn.
www.scheepjes.com/en/cals-and-mals...dawn-chorus-ckal-goldcrest-scarf/pattern
This free pdf has two patterns and instructions for weaving using an inkle or backstrap loom.
Suzan presents this idea for a little thank you gift. She has made lots of them to give out to her audiences at lectures.
They can be used as a bookmark or tag for luggage or project bag.
Somewhere in the middle of this blog post is a link to a video that shows how to crochet the heart.
The Crafty Yarnster calls this "a great free pattern" but she has some useful comments to add. She also put the '"100 minute" claim to the test.
I'm linking to her post. The pattern itself is here.
This pattern is free with no sign-up required.
Bobbles and a diamond pattern create a chunky texture. Note also the gradient colour effect.
www.yarnspirations.com/en-row/products/bernat-diamond-filet-crochet-blanket
Woolly Wormhead's latest hat pattern is sideways knitted beret-style hat with an attractive pattern of swirls.
it has seven sizes determined by gauge.
This scarf uses worsted-weight yarn on 5mm needles making it a quick knit although gauge is less important for a scarf.
Theresia has used handspun for this example. She revised the pattern last year and it includes both charted and written instructions.
Beads form a geometric pattern on this hat which was inspired by art deco architecture.
Choose a luxurious yarn. DancingTofu has used handspun angora.
The design is one-size but I guess could be adjusted with gauge. It requires sport-weight (12 wpi) yarn.
Stephen suggests that you choose three colours and use the textured stitches to fade them.
He has a matching shawl pattern, and these socks are also available in an e-book with three other sock patterns.
With thanks to ewespecial for the suggestion.
My picture shows TheLaceEater's pullover, made using handspun corriedale fleece. It was mottled brown/caramel, overdyed with shades of purple.
It needs 1078 - 1694 yards of 5 ply-weight (12 wpi) yarn, depending on size. There are five sizes given in the pattern.
This is a light and airy crescent shawl, perfect for Spring.
The suggested yarns are light fingering / heavy lace and there are two sizes requiring 360 or 600 yards.
Fernando Laposse has made a 40-metre tapestry made with avocado-dyed fabric and a cabinet clad with avocado skins.
The art is intended to raise awareness of conflict around the avocado trade and the resulting impact on lives and nature.
www.dezeen.com/2024/02/15/fernando-laposse-conflict-avocados-exhibition-ngv-triennial
At first glance, these works look like textiles but the artist works with canvas and oil paint to reproduce the rucked rugs in realistic detail.
www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/antonio-santin-hyperrealistic-rugs
Lindsay Olson's work begins with scientific research. She then translates what she discovers into embroidered textile art. In this case wetlands conservation.
www.textileartist.org/lindsay-olson-from-conception-to-creation
13 - 21 April 2024, The Forum, Norwich.
A wide variety of crafts including knittings, spinning, weaving, crochet. A strong presence from local guilds.
Demonstrations, have-a-go tables, workshops and exhibitions.
Note that Spring Into Wool 2024 has been cancelled due to building work at the venue.
27 - 28 April 2024, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells
First held in 2006 to promote the market for Welsh wool and add value to product for small wool & fibre producers in Wales, the festival celebrates the green credentials of Welsh wool and its versatility as a material for creative crafts, designer clothes, home furnishings and more.
Wonderwool Wales has grown year on year. It covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process.
A list of accommodation and camping in the surrounding area is available on the Wonderwool website.
7 - 9 June 2024 Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, Pudsey, LS28 5UJ
A weekend festival celebrating textiles through a series of talks, workshops, a wide range of stalls and more.
www.sunnybankmills.co.uk/event/apply-now-for-threads-festival-textile-market-2024
18 - 19 May 2024, Grand Octagon room, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton
50 exhibitors will be displaying the best of yarn, knitting, and crochet in the gateway to the Peak District. The website contains an exhibitor list and ticket information.
The event's home page contains some charity patterns raising money for Macmillan.
29 - 30 June 2024 The Heritage, Bishton (opp Bishton Hall), Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire
A celebration of all things woolly, just 25 mins from J13 of the M6.
Saturday 1 June 2024 Leeds Industrial Museum
This popular event includes a packed out craft market, expert demonstrations, talks, performances, tea rooms, a gin palace pop-up and loads more
museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-industrial-museum/whats-on-at-leeds-industrial-museum
1 - 2 June 2024, Dilham, Norfolk, NR28 9PT
Hosted by the historic Worstead Guild.
8 - 9 June 2024 Magna, Magna Way, Sheffield S60 1FD
Accessible, inclusive, welcoming.
8 - 9 June, 2024, The Assembly Rooms, South Molton Town Hall with tour of JAT Mill
This legendary event returns. Includes mill tour and workshops, talks and even a few other vendors at the beautiful 18th century function rooms in South Molton Town Hall
Tickets for tours, talks and workshops are now available for booking.
22 - 23 June 2024, J36 Rural Auction Centre, Cumbria
A gathering of people with a love for wool and yarn, and the associated crafts. The first Cumbrian Wool Gathering is organised by the same team responsible for Bakewell Wool Gathering and Buxton Wool Gathering.
Wed 10 - Thu 11 July Knight's Hill Hotel and Spa, King's Lynn
Two days of uninterrupted hand spinning bliss. Immerse yourself in this therapeutic, mindful craft and enjoy total relaxation with full use of the leisure suite to complement your wellness. You will leave feeling serenely recharged.
www.thespinningbarn.co.uk/event-info/hand-spinning-wellness-retreat
13 and 14 July 2022, Uffculme Centre, Birmingham B13 8QY
A fibre festival produced by Stitches and Hos. "Lots of exciting things planned".
27 - 28 July 2024 Redborne School, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, MK45 2NU
For all lovers of woolly crafts - spinning, knitting, weaving, crochet, feltmaking and dyeing.
Picks up where Fibre East left off.
10 - 11 August 2024, Newcastle Racecourse
90 amazing stalls plus a great range of workshops. Cafe, demonstrations.
17August 2024, Hulme Hall, 23 Bolton Rd, Bebington, Wirral
A selection of vendors selling everything from hand dyed yarns and fibres to felting kits and needles
Entry £4 per person, available on the door or online.
7 and 8 September 2024, Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire
The perfect event for all lovers of knitting, crochet, feltmaking, weaving, spinning, dyeing, and all things woolly!
7 - 8 September 2024, Dewars Centre, Perth, Scotland
The Scottish Yarn Festival is the new name for Perth Festival of Yarn.
The Vendors' Gallery Marketplace is the place to find materials and inspiration for your future crafting projects, the chance to meet and talk with the makers behind your favourite independent brands, to indulge in a little celebrity spotting.
Past tutors and lecturers have included Jeanette Sloan, Françoise Danoy, Andre de Castro, Di Gilpin, and Amy Palko
A fringe programme of social events has included books signings, gala dinners and fashions shows, and Perthshire gin flights
13 and 14 September 2024, Farnham Maltings
unravel... autumn is a celebration of all things yarn making from knitting and crochet to spinning and weaving
At the core of unravel... autumn is the curated marketplace which showcases independent producers, well established makers alongside first-time yarn show exhibitors from around the UK. In addition, on each day of the festival, there is an inspiring programme of bookable workshops.
14 - 15 September 2024
A weekend celebration of rural crafts, food, entertainment and of course, sheep farming.
Sunday 15 September 2024, The Pavilion Centre, Royal Cornwall Showground
Showcasing the best of hand-dyed, hand-crafted and sustainable yarns, fibres and related products, all in an exciting market-style show with a vibrant festival feel.
28 - 29 September 2024, Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire
Over 180 makers, craft workers, retailers, and artisans in the picturesque market town of Skipton, North Yorkshire.
29 September - 5 October 2024
Shetland Wool Week is a world renowned celebration of Britain's most northerly native sheep, the Shetland textile industry and the rural farming community on these islands.
Includes classes, talks, drop-ins, art. See website for the full events listing.
10 - 13 October 2024, Alexandra Palace, London
Saturday 12 October 2024, Queen's Hall and Plas Hyfryd Hotel, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
A celebration of all things woolly. From beautifully hand crafted items, clothing and footwear to knitting wool, fleece and all the equipment needed to make at home. Demonstrations run throughout the day with stall holders sharing their skills and knowledge with visitors plus wool skill workshops such as felting.
Saturday 5 October 2024, Liskeard Public Hall.
19 - 20 October 2024 Bakewell Agricultural Centre
A wool festival dedicated to the best of yarn, knitting, and crochet, in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales.
There will be exhibitors, demonstrations of fibre crafts and a fleece stand selling plenty of local fleece.
18 - 20 October 2024, The Trades Hall, Glasgow
Scotland's longest running yarn festival, championing local and innovative makers since 2011.
GSoY has an abundance of beautiful yarns, fibres, and accessories for every crafter.
8 - 9 November 2024, Sandburn Hall, York YO60 7RB
More details to follow
21 - 24 November 2024, Harrogate Convention Centre
Meet up with like-minded crafters, discuss ideas, learn new skills and shop for your annual craft supplies, including wool, beads and beyond from household name brands and special suppliers alike including Fabric Godmother, Toft and more.
I'm Shiela Dixon, I've been doing this for almost fifteen years in order to promote and encourage spinning and related crafts.
It's made possible by a number of readers who contribute financially. You can join them with a regular contribution (pay what you like, no matter how small) and in return receive a longer version of HSN delivered to your email inbox earlier in the month than the free edition appears.
All that remains is for me to thank everyone who blogs, writes articles or posts pictures on the subject of spinning, knitting, crochet or weaving. This newsletter wouldn't exist without them.
Nor would it exist without your support, so thank you for that.
Please share a link to hand-spinning-news.com with anyone who may be interested.
It's always good to hear from readers for any reason and I'd particularly like tip-offs about about any relevant stories, websites or social media accounts that I should be following.
Happy spinning!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
A PeacockMedia publication
Please share HSN with your friends:
All issues since January 2015 were archived. However, due to old and dead links making bad SEO, I'm not quite sure how to handle this. Watch this space.
H S N archive
Follow me on Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
