Modern spinners are rediscovering the traditional Scottish spindle. It is as strong, practical, and dependable as the culture that created it.
On July 14, France celebrates Bastille Day (or as they call it “Quatorze Juillet”), the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 that marked a turning point in the French Revolution—well, the first of their revolutions, anyway.
Preparing for the start of the Tour de Fleece, I’ve been standing at my bobbin winder, turning the crank as I empty spinning bobbins until my arm feels ready to give out.
It often takes extra work for a dyer to create a perfectly smooth gradient of handdyed top. Here are a few strategies for spinning gradient yarn.
Most handspinners aren’t just handspinners. Being a spinner is certainly enough, but most of us either come to spinning from another craft or take up another craft to use all that handspun yarn.
With the Tour de Fleece beginning soon, here are some words from the neutral zone about rider safety and avoiding injury.
For spinners and cycling fans, it’s an exhilarating, challenging, and gorgeous three-week event: the Tour de Fleece. Or France, for those who require two wheels.
Women would sometimes wear these muslin dresses in all kinds of weather—rain or shine. According to some sources, this led to an increase of respiratory illnesses dubbed “muslin disease.”
Next time you’re spinning, stop and take a look at your drafting method. Twist holds both woolen and worsted yarn together.
Dreaming up projects using handspun yarn is one of the joys of spinning. Judith MacKenzie shares her experience spinning fiber odds and ends for a beach sweater as wild as her beloved Northwest coastline.