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Hand Spinning News

This month is an issue of contrasts. It features textiles ancient to avant-garde. Colours from natural to neon and styles from traditional to gothic. That's 'gothic' as in the modern subculture, rather than fourth century goths or the architectural style.

If that's not your thing, don't worry, there's colour inspiration in soft pastel tints, wool in natural colours, wood in amazing natural hues and some unusual pattern suggestions.

Read on for this month's cunning curated collection of inspirational information and entertainmenfor spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers.

This free issue for May 2020 is brought to you in association with Audible. Listen while you spin. Download a free audiobook with your 30-day free trial.

Find out how to receive a longer ad-free* version a couple of weeks earlier.

Photo right: Yarnharlot's Wavedeck. The cover photo is detail from Carding by Thomas McEwan.

Contents

 

In the media

The Hunt for the Lost Mountain Pass

The hunt for the lost mountain pass

This rather grungy mess is a woollen mitten, sewn together from pieces of other textiles.

It's one of many pieces of textile found at one site as glaciers melt due to global warming, exposing ancient artefacts which tell a story. This patch of melting ice at Lendbreen pass includes horse dung, horseshoes, bits, knives spears and indicates a trade route over the mountain pass.

A complete Iron Age tunic, dated to AD 300 is said to be the oldest piece of clothing found in Norway.

secretsoftheice.com/news/2020/04/16/mountain-pass/


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Handspun stories

The Great Quarantine Bobbin Challenge!

The Great Quarantine Bobbin Challenge!

If you like to think outside the box with your spinning and the idea of using unusual materials appeals to you, then this is for you.

Spin Artiste Arlene Thayer used to run 'bobbin challenges' for a small group. There are some fabulous examples on the linked page.

There is a chatty video where you can learn more about the challenge, but in short there are four compulsory items (toilet paper, tea bags, office supplies, and a yarn from the bottom of your yarn stash) and a couple of other items of your choosing.

If you'd like to join in then feel free, and if you're the sharing type, then there's a facebook group.

www.fiberygoodness.com/2020/05/the-great-quarantine-bobbin-challenge

Inspired by a gansey

Inspired by a gansey

This picture is, as Liz Lovick says, perfectly composed. It's from the Orkney Archives and well worth a look at the larger version.

By enlarging the picture, Liz was able to learn something about the gansey that the fisherman is wearing. It's made from handspun yarn and has both horizontal and vertical stripes.

It hasn't been possible to reproduce the pattern exactly, but what she can see has inspired Liz to design a poncho, or 'gansey swoncho'.

northernlace.co.uk/2020/05/04/inspired-by-a-gansey

Fibre art directory

Fibre art directory

Because events have been closed down due to the global pandemic, Fiberygoodness have started a directory for vendors in which it's free to advertise and free for anyone to download.

This does seem to be open to vendors worldwide and it currently includes a couple of UK businesses. If you have a business, get in touch with fiberygoodness for a free linked ad. If not, download a copy and find suppliers worldwide.

www.fiberygoodness.com/2020/05/fiber-art-directory

A Furry Love Story

A Furry Love Story

Heather Fulford was asked to spin fur from two beloved Chow Chow Newfoundlands and weave a blanket.

In order to make the blanket as dark as the dogs appeared, she blended in a little black alpaca and wove the blanket using a warp of black wool.

This article appears on Ply magazine's website but hasn't appeared in print. Heather tells the story of one of her first pet fur spinning experiences and notes the things she's learned.

plymagazine.com/2020/04/a-furry-love-story

Replanting weld - an experiment

Replanting weld - an experiment

The plant that gives weld, a strong beautiful yellow dye, is a large plant. riihivilla found some that had self-seeded in her flower bed where there wouldn't be room for them. They have a very long tap root and don't like being transplanted, but with nothing to lose she has tried.

riihivilla.blogspot.com/2020/04/replanting-weld-experiment-variresedan.html

We need photos of your spinning hands!

PLY magazine needs photos of your spinning hands!

PLY magazine have put out this appeal for photos of your hands. They're interested in the different ways that spinners position their hands for drafting, for an article to appear in their Autumn issue.

They don't give a 'closing date' but as long as the page exists at the link below, and they haven't updated it to say otherwise, then I assume they're still looking.

plymagazine.com/2020/04/we-need-photos-of-your-spinning-hands

Fundamental

Fundamental

Tracy Hudson admits that this isn't a fully-fomed essay but a collection of thoughts. In it she quotes and links to a number of delightful things including a grandmother making yarn from plastic and paper bags, a spindle made from an avocado pit, a bamboo reed, coffee filter yarn. She appeals to us not to lose touch with the basics.

www.einesaite.com/blog/einesaite/2020/4/22/fundamental

"Shopping" my handspun

Stashed handspun yarns are often in a quantity too small for larger projects. This may be why the Nightshift shawl is so popular with hand spinners. It calls for six colours of yarn, 150 yards of each.

Debby Greenlaw went 'shopping' in her stash for suitable yarn. She came up three skeins and then spun three more from stashed fibre.

I look forward to seeing the result. Here she discusses her choices.

florafiber.live/blog/shopping-my-handspun

Local bast: adventures in wild retting

Local bast: adventures in wild retting

Karlissa Keller has tried retting Caesar weed or Urena Lobata.

I don't think the plant grows wild here in the UK but if anyone knows better I'll be pleased to hear about it. It has been cultivated for its fiber, and is considered invasive in some places,

It is a bast fibre plant like flax, hemp and even our nettle.

Separating the fibres from the inner woody core and the outer bark isn't easy and involves leaving the stems in dew or in water to rot away the plant matter. This is called retting.

Karlissa's experiments were a success. "The fibre was just as fine as the flax I have in my fibre stash and even slightly more golden in colour."

spinoffmagazine.com/local-bast-adventures-in-wild-retting


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Colour inspiration

When little needs saying except 'beautiful colour'

Alpaca rolag project

Alpaca rolag project

Here are some beautiful pastel tints in the pink and mauve, spindle spun by slothycreations.

The fibre is suri alpaca with a little Angora. It must be very airy, 4.5oz (~125g) of fibre has yielded almost 300 yds of sport/dk (12WPI) yarn.

www.instagram.com/p/B_98IUHJu5s/

Old Magic

Old Magic

This colourway is called Old Magic. It contains very dark and very light patches.

I love to see the transformation of the colours as the fibre becomes yarn. threadbender comments that the white sections here "soften and heather the dyed colours".

www.instagram.com/p/B_scy1np0O5

Calcifer

Calcifer

Sticking to one part of the the colour wheel gives you a more homogeneous-looking yarn. In this case red through to yellow gives a fiery look.

www.instagram.com/p/B_9LZlUh07H


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Tips and tutorials

Learning to Spin: How Much Should it Cost?

Learning to Spin: How Much Should it Cost?

This is a pertinent question if you are in the early stages or only starting to think about learning to spin.

Debbie's experience is that it needn't cost anything other than the cost of the fibre (she was loaned a couple of spindles until she bought her own). Other people are gear junkies and that's fine too.

Debbie lists the essentials and the nice-to-haves for spindle spinning and wheel spinning.

sweetgeorgiayarns.com/2020/04/learning-to-spin-how-much-should-it-really-cost

Become a spinning-wheel detective: tips for buying vintage wheels

Become a spinning-wheel detective: tips for buying vintage wheels

If you're relatively new to spinning, you may be very keen to buy a wheel. The image of sitting at a fairytale wheel is a seductive one.

Beware of a wheel that appears to be a bargain, especially f it's 'vintage'. Flyers or other important parts are often missing, as with the one shown in this picture. These parts are not standard, it's likely that a replacement would have to be custom made by a specialist and your wheel is then no longer a bargain.

Spin-Off magazine's Heavenly Bresser offers some tips.

spinoffmagazine.com/become-a-spinning-wheel-detective-tips-for-buying-vintage-wheels


Technology

A major league baseball uses 316 yards of wool but only lasts 7 pitches

A major league baseball uses 316 yards of wool but only lasts 7 pitches

I'm sure US readers will know this factoid already, but I was unaware that a major-league baseball uses wool yarn in its construction.

The 'How It's Made' video embedded on this page shows that three different types of yarn are used, 316 yards in total.

www.sportscasting.com/...316-yards-of-wool-but-only-lasts-7-pitches


Yvonne

Social distance

I thought it was only humans that had to maintain social distance? Being on turnip tops makes us gassy. You might want to keep your distance too.

If you like Yvonne, click the image to find her page, you can use next and previous to explore more cartoons.

Jigsaw - online

Jigsaw - online

Thank you very much if you've had a go at any of these on your computer or tablet.

I've set them up with 35 - 50 pieces- just the right number for a coffee-break challenge and you gradually reveal the cartoon.

But if you fancy more of a challenge (or less) you can customise the number of pieces before you start.

www.jigsawplanet.com/shieladixon/Yvonne

Keeping this wheel spinning

Your news here

Your news here

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Read more

Gallery

Sometimes just a picture is enough

Ghost Horses

More ghost horses

I had a case of deja-vu here because we saw a handspun Ghost Horses pullover last month.

However, this is a different pullover, by a different maker and has a hood!

All of the yarn is spun by kraftybadger. Natural undyed and also wool dyed by snerbyarn in colourway 'On my mind'. It's very neatly spun and knitted.

It's her first project made from 100% handspun yarn and she's rightly "super proud of this project"

www.instagram.com/p/CAIV4JoJJL0

Woven weaving bag

Woven weaving bag

Josefin made this bag for her backstrap weaving loom using the said loom.

Details of the pattern and pictures of the weaving in progress are all in this post.

waltin.se/josefinwaltinspinner/weaving-bag

Saluki lavender sachet

Saluki lavender sachet

This Saluki lavender sachet is made using fibre from the dog that it depicts.

Vivienne Morgan's Ravelry store contains a patterns for this and a matching cushion.

www.instagram.com/p/B_iCFShpE5i

Perfect for the goth daughter

Perfect for the goth daughter

Hand-dyed, handspun, handknit by indie dyer Sayra Adams. I have no intel on the pattern or the fibre used.

www.instagram.com/p/B_f_KTHJapm

Bouquet of natural wood spindles

Bouquet of natural wood spindles

This month's sexy spindle shot is a 'bouquet of spindles' shot by willow.wisteria.

The colours in the Bosworth spindles are all naturally-occurring (not colour treated).

www.instagram.com/p/B_kVGmRgn41

Recent spinning

Recent spinning

This is a lovely photo if natural colours are your bag.

But what really intrigues me are those bobbins. I've not seen anything like them. Are they made for a special spooling machine? If you know anything about them, please do tell me.

All I can glean from a Google Translate of the text is that the yarn includes Merino and Romney, and that the Romney is a singles yarn.

www.instagram.com/p/CAILZF1Jap8


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Free patterns

A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.

Hemp Table Linens

Hemp table linens

This article appeared in Schacht's e-Newes.

Constance Hall discusses the fibre from an environmental perspective as she was writing just ahead of Earth Day.

It contains details of how to make two table runners using Zoom Loom squares and has tips for using hemp yarn on a Zoom Loom.

schachtspindle.com/newsletter-april-2020-2

Uplands headband by Mirella Moments

Uplands headband by Mirella Moments

This headband is made by knitting a tube in the round and finished with a smaller tube.

The pattern suggests alpaca and uses less than 100 yards.

This page contains written instructions and a video tutorial.

mirellamoments.com/uplands-headband-knitting-pattern


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Not-so-free patterns

Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers

Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers

Rachel says that cropped cardigans like this one are great for using smaller amounts of yarn - this one used 260 grams of fibre - but if you have a longer torso you may like to add a couple of inches.

She also used a smaller needle size than that pattern suggested for a denser fabric, and took out a few stitches across the back for a closer fit.

The main link goes to the post about Rachel's project, the pattern is here.

welfordpurls.com/2020/04/14/felix-cardigan-finished

The Chameleon Shawl by Melvenea Hodges

The Chameleon Shawl by Melvenea Hodges

This shawl is specifically designed with handspun cotton in mind. (Yes, cotton does come in those colours naturally.)

Accessing the pattern does require a subscription to Spin-Off magazine. Without a subscription you can read the start of Melvenea Hodges' article and her spinning notes.

spinoffmagazine.com/the-chameleon-shawl

Contrast Racerbra by Jessie Maed Designs

Contrast Racerbra by Jessie Maed Designs

This may also be a first for these pattern listings. This is a sports-style bra / top.

Jessie Maed Designs' Contrast Racerbra calls for 140 - 750 yards of DK (11 wpi) yarn. Obviously it should be yarn that's comfortable next to the skin.

woogirldude used handspun yarn in a wool/silk blend which she says is stretchy, super comfy. A quick and easy project.

www.instagram.com/p/B_-4LesHgZP


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But is it art...?

Unspun wool sculpted into intimate portraits

Unspun wool sculpted into intimate portraits

Iranian artist Salman Khoshroo has been inspired to make these works by recent quarantine experience.

He prefers to use the dyed rovings in their unspun form. Making masculine portraits from a feminine material he evokes the delicacy and vulnerability of our bodies.

www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/05/salman-khoshroo-wool-portraits

Rie Sakamoto knits rubber bands like yarn for elastic garments

Rie Sakamoto knits rubber bands like yarn for elastic garments

This is Japanese designer Rie Sakamoto wearing some of her rubber band garments.

I imagine that if you have any hair on your body when you put it on, you don't have afterwards.

She admits that she doesn't "consider the garments to be a practical option for everyday wear" but wants to surprise people with the potential of the lowly material.

She painstakingly joins the bands one by one before knitting them by hand in the usual way on needles .

Its stretchy quality lends itself to clothing, she said, as it enables the material to morph to different body-shapes and sizes.

www.dezeen.com/2020/04/20/rie-sakamoto-knit-rubber-band-fashion-design


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2020 events

In light of the current situation, the regular events listing here is temporarily replaced by an 'online events' listing.

Are you hosting or taking part in an online event or challenge that I'm not aware of? Let me know.

More color and into the whirled odds and ends

More color and into the whirled odds and ends

Jillian Moreno's second samplealong is well underway but there's no reason why you shouldn't begin. It will include combo plied and combo drafted yarns

It uses 'minnies'. This is a perfect thing to do with braids that you aren't so in love with anymore, and any pieces of braids you have leftover from a project.

www.jillianmoreno.com/journal/2020/4/8/samplealong-2-with-into-the-whirled-odds-and-ends

Tour de Fleece

Tour de Fleece

Saturday June 27 until Sunday July 19, 2020

Spin-along during the Tour de France. Challenge Yourself. Spin. Have fun.

There was some uncertainty for a while about whether the Tour de Fleece would be moved so that it still coincides with the Tour de France if that was rescheduled. At present, the Tour de Fleece group is still saying 27th -19th, but watch that page for updates.

www.ravelry.com/groups/tour-de-fleece

BritSpin

BritSpin

14th to 18th October 2020

Challenge, Fun, Friends, Charity

There is no entry fee to register a team. Spinners will be invited to donate a minimum of £5 each and ALL funds raised in 2020 will be donated directly to the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution)

britspin.org.uk



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 enjoy Hand Spinning News, please don't keep it to yourself. Obviously the link to the full version is a benefit for paying subscribers, but please do share a link to hand-spinning-news.com by email or on social media with anyone who may be interested.

It's always good to hear from readers for any reason (or no reason!)

Happy spinning!

- Editor / curator

shiela@hand-spinning-news.com

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