Spin-Off

Asheville Grove

windrose — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:04:51 GMT

Asheville Grove is named for its hometown. I purchased this fiber at the Grove Arcade in Asheville, NC in a wonderful shop named Homecrafts. This is a blend of Merino fibers with a touch on silver Angelina thrown in for sparkle. The color graduates from light to dark (or dark to light) as you work through the skein. I spun this in a 2ply. One ply is comparable to a light worsted and the other a lace weight. When plied together they form a yarn with a little texture to it and a very subtle thick and thin. Its novel without being over the top.

Asheville Grove

windrose — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:04:26 GMT

Crottle and Granite

StrandedYarns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:39:46 GMT

Knitted hat - in kettle-dyed sock yarn, with matching scarf - from the same kettle-dye, but weft is handspun, woven in brooks bouquet, from Weaving made easy by Liz Gipson.

pink hand spun yarns, hand dyed

akjbawa — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:02:21 GMT

natural dyed, hand spun yarns

akjbawa — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:46:17 GMT

silk, diffrent sorts of natural undyed silk, handspun

akjbawa — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:42:42 GMT

Tiffany decorated drop spindles

shieladixon — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:14:22 GMT

One of my other loves is stained glass and particularly Tiffany Lamps. The idea of decorating my spindles and wheels has been floating around in my head for a while.

Armed with an Ashford Classic spindle, my copy of 'The Lamps of Tiffany' and some patience, this is the result!

Tiffany Clematis painted Ashford Traditional spinning wheel

shieladixon — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:10:31 GMT

One of my other loves is stained glass and particularly Tiffany Lamps. Of the three Tiffany designs I have put onto drop spindles, my favourite is the clematis.

I've painted the design onto an Ashford Traditional.

DVD Preview: Drafting - The Long and Short of It by Abby Franquemont

stefanie berganini — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:00:09 GMT

Whats the difference between woolen and worsted spinning? IS there a difference? How do you decide when to use what method? Why should a spinner care? The questions are legion, the answers sometimes confusing. Here to make common sense out of it all is Abby Franquemont, who has been spinning since she was five years old.

You'll learn:
- The short forward draw (worsted) and what kinds of fibers its best for.
- The backward long draw (woolen) and what kinds of fibers to choose it for.
- Two hybrid drafting methods, including spinning from the fold.
- Important extras such as making good worsted joins and spinning ergonomics.
- And last but not least, what happens when you give two kittens the run of a spinning studio.

The result? Youll be comfortable with a wide range of drafting methods, and you will have developed a sense of when and how to use them with different fiber preparations. Its all part of becoming an accomplished spinner, and making the yarn you want.

Find Drafting: The Long and Short of It and www.interweavestore.com

mohair/angelina 2 ply

juliam — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:31:25 GMT

kid mohair w/ angelina that spun up into a really soft 2 ply. sport weight

1 ply silk, 1 ply Cotswold lambswool

juliam — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:18:23 GMT

This yarn was spun up with leftovers, but Ilove the way it turned out.

BL and silk, 2 ply

juliam — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:11:37 GMT

This yarn turned out super soft, and I think looks like spun gold. I plan to knit this into a ribbed vest, but I haven't decided on the pattern yet.

woolen spun 2 ply from local shetland sheep

juliam — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:03:58 GMT

I have a hard time spinning woolen, but I think that this went pretty well. I think that this yarn will make a great hat!

A Homemade Zucchini Spindle

Linda Ligon — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:35:09 GMT

Linda Ligon describes how to make a simple spindle out of zucchini! August is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbors Front Porch Month (no joke!) For Linda's fabulous zucchini bread recipe, read Linda's blog post. And for more dates of importance for spinners, be sure to check out Spin-Off's 2010 wall calendar, available now at www.interweavestore.com.

Sarah Anderson - Navajo Plying

stefanie berganini — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:31:11 GMT

Sarah Anderson previews her Spin-Off Autumn Retreat 2009 workshop by explaining her unique Navajo plying technique. Her variation on the Navajo-plying or Chain-plying technique is different than many others because all three plies are completely under control and under equal tension when the twist enters them, resulting in a very consistently plied yarn.

More great information from Sarah will be found at her 2009 SOAR Workshop: All You Can Eat Yarn Design Buffet. Visit www.interweavesoar.com to register!

Weaving in Guatemala

Linda Ligon — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:36:05 GMT

Weavers of the village of Chajul in the Guatemalan highlands are eager to sell their handwoven huipils to volunteers from Friendship Bridge: Mary Ann Wise, Ellie Sturgis, Jody Slocum, and Meg Leonard.

Waste Not, Want Not

StrandedYarns — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:48:39 GMT

This is some botony lap waste, which was going to be thrown away, which I used to mop up the waste dye from our workshop on the weekend... literally recycled and angelic colours, perfect for a spindling project that I have in mind.

Provencal Lavendar

StrandedYarns — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:20:35 GMT

A montage of the various stages this fibre has gone through, from the dye bucket to completed skein.

Friendship Rug

StrandedYarns — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:18:58 GMT

All my first experimental spinning and dyeing workshop skeins went into this rug. Woven on my friend Guni's Loom over 10 years ago now.

I am afraid I don't have any technical details about the weaving, as Guni had warped up for me, but it was one of the most enjoyable projects I have ever undertaken.

Shell and Shale Shawl

StrandedYarns — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:13:58 GMT

Hand-dyed and Handspun Wensleydale Roving, knitted up in a shale and shell (or feather and fan) stole/shawl.

Shetland

hippochic — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:35:07 GMT

I spun this Shetland and knit it into the Morning Surf Scarf.

So Dyeable

hippochic — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:11:01 GMT

This is my second skein of hand spun, on my Ashford Joy DT. I learned long draw on this.

Fleece Attack!!!

muntchka — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:33:04 GMT

I made this just for fun and thought I could share it with you. Hope You like it :)

Mitteldecke blocking 3

lacefreak — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:32:12 GMT

Shot of flower Motif

Mitteldecke blocking shot 2

lacefreak — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:30:49 GMT

closer shot