Have you seen many posts relating to #memademay? It is a challenge designed to encourage people to make their own clothes.
On cue, this month's stories also include tips for buying vintage wheels, and for spring-cleaning if you already have one.
In-person festivals are back and I'm happy to see photographs and retrospectives. Sue recorded her day at Wonderwool on 25 April.
Read on for this month's round-up of news, views and reviews for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers. This is the full edition for May 2022.
Cover photo: Aidart / iStock.
The owners of Pembrokeshire's long-running wool blanket family business, Melin Tregwynt, have transferred the business to 42 employees via an employee-owned trust.
www.walesonline.co.uk...melin-tregwynt-ownership-staff-pembrokeshire...
Also in wool-mill-changing-hands news, you may know these faces. It's John and Juliet Arbon, who have been producing excellent yarn and fibre blends for 21 years.
They are handing the reins to Sonja and Helena, "the most capable of hands". John and Juliet will still spend some time at the mill, and you may still meet them at shows in the future.
Wonderwool Wales happened on 25 April for the first time in three years. Thanks to Sue for this postcard from the event.
castonandcastoff.blogspot.com...a-day-at-wonderwool-wales.html
I tend to focus on UK events but fell for this picture of Bonnie Barker singing crochet songs to Yarn Fest attendees.
The event took place at Loveland, Colorado on April 20-23. Kerry Bogert has this recap.
www.interweave.com/article/knitting/what-happened-yarn-fest-2022
Indigo may be the most famous of the natural dyes and widely used today. It gives its name to one of the colours of the rainbow. But as reported here on Handwoven, there is some debate about whether it should be included.
This is a real community project and this article contains sections written by the owner of the sheep, the shearer, the processor, the spinner and the designer / knitter.
The sheep are endangered Santa Cruz Island sheep.
fibershed.org...in-collaboration-with-sheep-shepherds-and-artists
If you sign up to a fibre club, it's easy to accumulate a stash of unspun fibre.
Sarah has taken a look at her unspun Southern Cross Fibre. She has grouped some of it by colour and is excited by the possibilities.
She also observes that if you save the 'good stuff' for the day you believe you're good enough for them, that day won't come.
paknitwit.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-state-of-spinning-stash-april-2022.html
This moving video tells the story of the Hutsul ethnic minority who are keeping a century-old weaving tradition alive.
We see how wool of the carpathian sheep is shorn, carded, spun and woven into blankets which are sold online. It is the main source of income for a family.
Hermit sheep often make it into the news but for those of us on the other side of the world it can be hard to appreciate how the situation could have happened.
Rebecca Marsh explains.
I think this information probably applies equally to wheels and looms. In both cases the wood can be raw and unfinished, oiled, waxed, or varnished.
Liz Moncrief deals with these finishes and how to sanitize and maintain them without damaging the wood.
I don't know how popular Murphy's Oil Soap is here in the UK, but a quick search shows that it's very easy to buy without international shipping.
handwovenmagazine.com/cleaning-and-sanitizing-your-loom-safely
This is the obligatory annual 'spring clean your wheel' article.
One option for treating your wood is to use a wood conditioner, and Deborah links to her own recipe involving beeswax and olive oil.
This article relates to a 'Tote-along' which is a bag-related spin-along. It's been running for a while, but you might like to visit the forum and see what people have been making and chatting about.
Me-Made-May is a challenge designed to encourage people to make their own clothes. You set your own challenge. Search for #memademay on your favourite social media platform.
In this article Gabby Axner explains the terminology of Slow Fashion.
Before washable fabrics and washing machines, how did Victorian women keep those amazing dresses clean?
There are some surprising tricks here.
With thanks once more to Pamela.
This is April's Kiki Mariko (design by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne).
It involves felting and steeking. April found cutting the steek open "so satisfying". It took her more courage to tackle the felting but that turned out to be "the fastest easiest part of the whole process".
Cashmere is well-known as a soft fibre from goats. The downy undercoat often contains some of the coarser outer hairs, and less desirable raw cashmere contains more of these hairs.
Jessica Cook discusses Dehairing Cashmere manually.
Primitive sheep breeds have a dual coat, a combination of strong outer fibres and soft fluffy undercoat fibres.
There are many ways to work with fleece from such sheep.
Ashford have announced the winner of their 2022 Textile Award.
The Istanbul Refugee Project uses waste from the textile industry and teaches weaving skills to displaced women.
www.ashford.co.nz/blog/the-elizabeth-and-richard-ashford-textile-award-2023
This illustration of a ram being given a bath is just one of many exhibits in a major exhibition dedicated to the history of sheep breeding.
Franklin Habit reports from Paris.
www.moderndailyknitting.com/2022/05/06/woolez-vous-musee-avec-moi
Here are some of the 18 ewes and 6 rams that have successfully made the trip across the channel from France to England. It's a more lengthy and complex procedure than you might imagine. Spinning Shepherd tells the story.
As a bonus she has been posting some very cute lambing pictures this month.
When little needs saying except 'beautiful colour'
spin_up_girl joined a 100-day challenge to complete as many WIPs as possible.
Hers included this gorgeous peach gradient from Cedar Hill Fiber Farm, being spun on support spindles.
The latest picture I've seen at time of writing shows the completed singles. I'll be looking out for the plied yarn and complete project.
These colours are making a metallic-looking yarn and a beautiful photo on this little Turkish spindle
This is another colour combination that I can taste.
It's Merino top from Wild Atlantic Yarns in Woodland forager colourway, I look forward to seeing what
zaneteknits makes with it.
The combination of colours on this merino certainly evokes a sunset.
tallhedgefibres plans to chain ply it to preserve the soft changes in colour.
This video is more engaging and important than it might seem from the title.
It includes contributions from the Prince of Wales, farmers, scientists and the fashion industry.
It should be no surprise to anyone today that plastic has had a devastating effect on the balance of nature. In order to meet climate change goals, farming and fashion can and must become circular. Regenerative farming and feed management can reduce carbon and methane gas emissions.
You may well have seen this as it went viral all over social media.
Kevin made an animation, recreating the Netflix intro using yarn. It took around three days. This is his 'behind the scenes video showing how he made it.
craftmehappy used just three colours and a blending board to make a gradient of around 24 colours.
She gives the recipe for his knitted curlicue and suggests five different uses for them.
www.craftmehappy.com/2022/04/craftmehappy-joyful-wreath-2-knitted.html
Do you have yarn in your stash that makes you think "what was I thinking?"
Tien Chiu has two tips for using colours you hate when weaving. I think these might apply just as well to other kinds of colour work.
www.warpandweave.com/how-to-use-colors-you-hate-in-your-weaving
This type of tapestry loom has fixed pegs which give a sett of around 5.5 warp ends per inch.
Rebecca explains how to warp these looms to give different setts. For example 8 or 11 ends per inch.
Thanks to Schacht for suggesting the video.
Over the last couple of months we have seen parts one and two of Carding for Colour.
This third part goes way beyond carding for colour, although those skills play a part.
Stephanie Flynn Sokolov takes us through creating a piece of embroidery. Along the way she covers choosing an inspiration photo and selecting a part of it to embroider, carding and spinning and then embroidering the piece.
Her tutorial is in the form of an ad-free downloadable pdf.
You may already have settled on your favourite 'make one' that looks neat and avoids holes but if not, this is an interesting 'Ask Patty' which covers the topic
www.moderndailyknitting.com/2022/04/11/ask-patty-m1-with-a-twist
If you're looking to buy your first wheel, you may be tempted by something like this, an unnamed wheel with parts missing.
Can it be repaired? Is it a bargain? Heavenly Bresser has advice about buying such a wheel at a distance.
spinoffmagazine.com/become-a-spinning-wheel-detective-tips-for-buying-vintage-wheels
Wool by its nature doesn't need washing as often as some other fibres, which makes the wash an occasion, says Clara Parkes.
She goes into washing by machine and hand, drying, soaps and drycleaning with many tips.
With thanks to Pamela for the link.
The fell line is where your last weft pick was pressed into place.With rigid heddle weaving, your reed isn't fixed and you rely on your hands to keep it straight.
Liz has some tips for fixing your fell line.
In honour of Earth Day, Handwoven published a tutorial for dyeing cloth with nothing but leaves and boiling water.
There are a number of ways to finish a woven project. The different finishing techniques have their own advantages and Susan is in favour of "thoughtfully finished weaving".
handwovenmagazine.com/team-colors-weave-along-finishing-tips-and-techniques-youll-want-to-know
There's a spot in my heart for this cast on. It was the cast-on I used for my very first pair of socks (which weren't actually socks) and I've preferred toe-up ever since.
www.interweave.com/article/knitting/judys-magic-cast-on-jmco
A nutritional products company has announced the launch of the world's first vitamin D3 made exclusively from lanolin oil that is produced from 100% pure New Zealand sheep's wool.
www.digitaljournal.com...vitamin-d3-made...pure-new-zealand-sheeps-wool
The fibres being processed here are from waste pineapple leaves. They will be turned into "a non-woven mesh" which forms the base for a leather substitute called Piñatex
Kate has details of how the fibre is extracted and its sustainability (spoiler: not 100%)
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Simone loves this beautiful woven basket which is specifically designed for drop-spinning. You can wear it while spinning to keep your fibre close to hand, and it has a loop inside for holding the spindle.
It's made from rattan reed and maple strips.
Simone has posted a video here of herself spinning while wearing the basket.
sandandskycreations.com/2022/04/24/testing-spinning-and-a-workshop
Josefin shows and tells these beautiful finnish hand cards with leather pads. They are a recreation of cards that were common in the 19th century.
Sometimes just a picture is enough
This beautifully fluffy scarf is made from Angora yarn that The Spinning Shepherd spun last year (possibly during Tour de Fleece). Some of the angora was dyed blue-green but it's plied with white and is nice and subtle.
This is Sue Carney's first attempt at intarsia, which she found surprisingly easy.
The 20"x20" cushion is a Kaffe Fassett pattern, Cityscape I-Cushion.
This Spin Off article has plenty of photographs, details about the process and Sue's thoughts.
spinoffmagazine.com/your-finished-object-kaffe-fassett-pillow
Joanne decided to knit 12 pairs of handspun socks in 2022, these are number five.
The pattern is DRK Everyday Socks by Andrea Mowry. It's simple enough for an adventurous first time sock knitter, and has 11 sizes. Joanne likes the cushioning of the fleegle heel.
She links to her Ravelry project for more details.
joanne-threadhead.blogspot.com/2022/04/a-couple-of-finishes.html
This is Amanda Schuck's entry into the Craft Yarn Council's Great Yarn Challenge.
The challenge has been running for the last couple of months, and the 'closing ceremony' was published on 24 April, featuring many fabulous entries and announcing the winners.
This is the ever-popular Nightshift by Andrea Mowry.
HighlandHeffalump has used "various balls of handspun from 2018 onwards", some spun during BritSpin or Tour de Fleece. She lists the various blends and colours and comments that although the cost of the yarn is impossible to calculate, it's certainly cheaper to spin yarn yourself than buy the same yarn.
This is thehatjunkie's first handspun shawl and she is "damn proud" of herself. In this post she gives her recipe for using up various small quantities of handspun yarn.
theunclefriend's Diponaea includes handspun yarn in a very attractive selection of colours.
You may recognise the designs here; this hat incorporates Alaska from Camille Descoteaux and the baa-ble hat by Donna Smith.
Sarah has made this fisherman's kep entirely from her own plant-dyed Shetland rovings.
fibreholic has finished this beautiful cardy from Cheviot yarn.
She says that it's a simple lace pattern and an enjoyable and easy knit.
crayondisasterknits made the sleeves in one with a steek and cut them apart, for a perfect match.
She used yarn that she combo-spun from Three Waters Farm 'fibre of the month'.
Damask is a top down boxy pullover. The lace pattern makes it ideal for warmer spring and summer days.
The title means 'finished object', nothing ruder than that.
This is Knit Wit in a fun pose demonstrating the length of her handspun Hitchhiker.
She used 1,320 yds of Southern Cross Fibre club shipments (see an earlier story). She knitted 60 'teeth' rather than the nominal 42.
Turtle Looms is a small business making little pin looms in hexagon and other shapes.
I'm a fan of the Zoom Loom, it's a very fast way to make woven squares. These hexagons are in my opinion more attractive and there are some fabulous projects out there.
Carol has made hexagons and half-hexagons for straight edges, and embroidered them with sheep. The patterns for two sheep are pictured on this blog post.
These felted miniatures made by Simon Brown and Katie Corrigan have character.
The pair are working on animating their creations with automata.
farmer_jia says that because alpaca isn't elastic, she plies it with sheep's wool for body and a fluffy quality.
woundupfiberarts says that this is her most favourite handspun sweater to date.
She recommends the Metamorphic patten, "if you have some handspun sitting around this is the sweater for it".
Isabella has made these socks as part of #project10skein which involves using ten skeins from your stash before you buy any more! (or perhaps spin any more if you're a spinner.)
They are made using a wool/nylon blend from Paradise Fibers. Hand dyed by herself.
I think this pattern may be her own, I hope it's published in the future. In the mean time she has given away the lace charts in her Instagram posts.
More handspun lace socks, this is a new photo of some old socks, originally made in 2015 and hardly pilling.
The pattern is Terhen by Tiina Väätäinen
A selection of free seasonal patterns which will work well with handspun yarn.
As a fan of retro computers (or just 'computers' as we used to know them) this caught my eye.
These socks feature the classic game Oregon Trail. They are the focus of this knit-along. You receive the pattern in parts, or 'clues', which have been made available weekly for free. Now that the knit-along is finished, the full pattern is available, again for free. The authors have asked you to consider making a donation to their chosen charity.
lattesandllamas.com/2022/05/01/2022-geek-a-long-oregon-trail-wrap-up
This kind of project is a stash-buster and is faster to make than a knitted or crocheted project.
It uses 60 squares.
Highland Heffalump suggested this tablet-weaving draft for a band featuring minions.
www.tabletweavingintheoryandpractice.co.uk/2022/05/minions.html
This beach bag is made from sari silk ribbon. You can easily buy this but it is silk fabric cut into strips and joined end to end, so I feel that tee-shirt yarn or any other fabric cut up into strips will do just as well.
This is one of two 'surprise' patterns that have been added to the Knitty site in between issues.
The all-over slip-stitch pattern adds stability and gives this knitted fabric a woven look and feel.
The pattern has five sizes. It is made using a bulky yarn and large needles.
www.interweave.com/product/tartan-jacket-knitting-pattern-download
A couple of months ago we saw this jumper. mamasteddybear had posted a collection of pictures showing the fleece purchase, the processing, spinning and knitting.
She has now published the pattern. My main link goes to this more recent Instagram post because I love the words that she's written. If you want to go straight to the pattern, it's here.
It's worked top-down in the round. It requires 1200-2600 yards of fingering weight yarn depending on size.
Seaflower Spins took the opportunity to photograph this finished project while in a store changing room.
The pattern is Plumeria Tank by Wool & PIne.
This is Seaflower Spins' second Plumeria. It's made from fibre from waratahfibres. She lost a game of yarn chicken but as she's short, two repeats of the main pattern rather than three have done the job.
Look closely at this lace pattern and you'll see rows of nodding poppy heads.
This pattern has sizes from XS to L (see pattern for actual measurements.) It has a low difficulty rating and high star rating.
www.barenakedwools.com/products/papaver-sok?variant=50967316244
I featured this design once before, but it was way back in 2016 and as Anne has just published this 'story behind the pattern' blog post, the time is right to feature it once more.
She says that the design "makes the most of a gradient yarn or one with random striping, the kind of colourations you get when hand spinning with dyed roving"
My preference is for these aqua colours and I can see seashell influences in the design.
The pattern includes two sizes, a larger shawl and a shawlette.
Finely spun and woven cotton contrasts with art yarn in Tracy Hudson's one-person show, Taking Up Space.
There are many pictures of the pieces in this blog post and it's good to be able to read the artist's own comments about her work.
Suzanne Shafer-Wilson uses an Italian needle lace method (designed for fibers like wool and silk) to make stitches using brass, copper, or sterling silver.
www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/04/suzanne-shafer-wilson-wire-vessels
Flore Gardner overlays vintage black-and-white photographs with vibrant stitches.
www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/04/flore-gardner-embroidered-photos
Some strange and interesting things pop up when you're searching for new content related to spinning and weaving.
This is Mimi Jung whose recent work "explores what it means to be protected as a person, and artist, of color".
www.culturedmag.com/article/2022/04/12/fiber-artist-mimi-jung-searches-for-safety-in-yarn
Estelle Chrétien has fun with the landscape and textiles on a large scale.
www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/04/estelle-chretien-interventions
April Bey's mixed media tapestries use various techniques. She looks to a positive future for black and queer people.
Saturday 4 June 2022 Leeds Industrial Museum
This popular event includes a market offering a range of goods from local traders, workshops and activities, demonstrations of special techniques, a pop-up tea room and loads more.
Friday 10 - Sunday 12 June, 2022, John Arbon Textiles, Hacche Lane Business Park, South Molton
This legendary event returns as an in-person event in 2022. Includes mill tour and "all sorts of additional bits and bobs". More details to be announced.
18 - 19 June 2022 FlyDSA Arena, Broughton Lane, Sheffield S9 2DF
Accessible, inclusive, welcoming.
9 and 10 July 2022, Uffculme Centre, Birmingham B13 8QY
A fibre festival produced by Stitches and Hos. "Lots of exciting things planned".
3 and 4 September 2022, Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire
The perfect event for all lovers of knitting, crochet, feltmaking, weaving, spinning, dyeing, and all things woolly!
10 and 11 September 2022. Dewars Centre, Glover St, Perth PH2 0TH
Bringing together independent dyers, farmers, knitters, spinners, felters and weavers. In 2018 nominated for the best yarn festival in the UK. Vendors' gallery marketplace, over 80 vendors, keynote event, social events and classes run over the weekend.
17 - 18 September 2022,
To highlight and raise awareness of all the wonderful things that our British wool can be used for.
24 and 25 September 2022, Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire
Stunning exhibitions, skill demonstrations and a full programme of textile workshops create a visual feast and make Yarndale a real must-visit for yarn lovers.
24 and 25 September 2022, Masham Town Hall
Craft market and fleece stalls, specialising in British wool to compliment the sheep-related events that fill the square of Masham over the weekend.
24 September - 2 October 2022
Shetland Wool Week will be going ahead in person this year. It will be a scaled back version of the usual physical event as the main focus will be on delivering SWW in full for 2023
Includes classes, talks, drop-ins, art. See website for the full events listing.
6 - 9 October 2022, Alexandra Palace, London
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October 2022 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.
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.
If you enjoy Hand Spinning News, please do share a link to hand-spinning-news.com by email or on social media with anyone who may be interested. Obviously this early full version is a benefit to you as a paying subscriber. An edited version of this particular issue will be mailed to free subscribers and visible at hand-spinning-news.com later in the month.
It's always good to hear from readers for any reason (or no reason!)
Happy spinning!
Shiela Dixon - Editor / curator
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