Debbie Held is a freelance writer, a contented real-life spinster, and an international fiber-arts educator. She writes recurring spinning-related content for Spin Off in print and on the web as well as for PLY, SweetGeorgia Yarns, and more. Debbie and her Persian cat, Marty, live on an urban farm in Atlanta, Georgia, where both enjoy watching the Shetland sheep that roam beneath their windows. Debbie’s new book, The Spinner’s Blending Board Bible, is available from Stackpole Books.
Spinners, there is only one more week until Le Tour de Fleece 2017 is in the books.
At the close of each Tour de Fleece, I enjoy taking a few moments to reflect upon my accomplishments, both the yarns I’ve spun as well as lessons gathered during the ride itself.
I consider the best end use of the fiber when I decide how to spin yarn. Factoring in color management or color effects can take me still closer.
In the Spin Off Summer 2017 issue, Debbie Held encourages you to enter your own handspun yarn and offers tips for navigating the rules of a yarn judging competition to bring home your own blue ribbon.
I’m talking about a skein (or two) of your own handspun yarn.
I can admit it: not every skein of handspun yarn turns out as well as I’d envisioned. In fact, there’s the occasional skein that is downright unsightly.
From the moment I began weaving two years ago, I did so using my handspun and a 4x4-inch hand-held pin loom.
I closed out 2017 like many other spinners around the world: with a finished object and some crafting contemplation. My FO: surprise (not)! It’s a shawl!
When it comes to spinning techniques, it’s no secret that spinners often disagree.
