What do you teach in Color Whirl?

Color Whirl is a fun, colorful class that will give you new tricks for your fiber paintbox!

Spinning can be on a wheel or spindle; to get the most out of the class, you should be able to spin a consistent single and ply.

Previously taught: sessions at my LYS, A Dropped Stitch in Sequim, WA.
Being taught to the Seattle Eastside Spinners, July 13th, in North Bend, WA.

We cover:

• Candystripe
  
• Faux Cable
  
• Self-striping ... singles, Navajo-ply and two-ply methods
  
• Fractal plying
  
• Neutral effects ... black, white, grey, brown, and the perfect neutral
  
• Nub yarn
  
• Color texture ... coils, snarls, beehives; great with nub singles
  

Along the way we'll talk about color selection, space-dyeing roving, carding, and more!

To read more on color in spinning, I most heartily recommend Color in Spinning by Deb Menz. And a new one, The Painted Skein, is in the works by Janel Laidman. Techniques from those, Intertwined by Lexi Boeger, Mabel Ross’ Essentials of Yarn Design for Handspinners (once again out of print, darn it!), and the video Spinning and Plying Textured Yarns by Patsy Zawitoski are featured in this class!

A Spindler's Bibliography

Well, I am thinking about writing a book on spindling. Okay, so I'm actively writing already. Here is a list of those who have walked that path before me, for those interested in reading more about spindling while I'm putting fingers to keyboard and pencil to sketchpad.

I can't guarantee you can find all these books -- many are out of print, they were out of print and second-hand when I got them(the rarest was a surprise gift! ah the sweetness of the human spirit). But they are all on my bookshelf amidst the myriad more-than-spindle or other-than-spindle books, well-thumbed and referred to on my path to becoming the spindler I am today.

• The Akha Spindle Workshop by Wendy Whelan. A great pamphlet on spinning in the traditional way with the Akha spindle. No date, mine was purchased in 2003 from Gemini Fibres.
  
  
• Gossamer Webs: The History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls by Galina Khmeleva and Carol R. Noble has a section on Russian spindling, including their interesting plying method, from spindle to plying disc.
  
  
• The Handspindle ... Not Just For Demonstrations Anymore by Paula J Vester (2002). A good pamphlet to learn with, nice photographs and concise text.
  
  
• A Handspindle Treasure: 20 Years of Spinning Wisdom from Spin-Off Magazine by Interweave Press (2000). Selected articles on spindling from the first 20 years of Spin-Off. Covers quite a few spindle tips like quills for top whorls, as well as methods for Tahkli, Akha, Russian, and Navajo. A nice diverse collection.
  
  
• Handspindles by Bette Hochberg (1977,1980). The most amazing range of spindles from history, and in use today. It inspired a whole generation of wood-turners urged on by spindlers to re-create the Victorian Silk Spindle for one!
  
  
• Hand Spinning Cotton by Olive and Harry Linder (1977). Covers almost all the tools to spin cotton -- Support spindle, bottom whorl spindle, top whorl spindle, Navajo spindle, Charka, Great Wheel, and spinning wheel. (No mention of Akhas, though). Punis, natural dyes, and use of cotton yarns. Very concisely thorough.
  
  
• How Nikki Shared Her Coat by Detta Juusola (1994) a children's story with notes on collecting and spinning dog fur (factual part overlaps Yes, It's Made from My Dog's Fur, same author).
  
  
• Introducing Spindle Spinning by Mike Halsey (1982) from scouring fleece, picking open locks to spin, to all the bottom whorling you can handle, singles and plies. Great sketches, thorough treatment of the material. Love the fact that it's clearly photocopies of typewritten pages, too -- can't beat that typeface!
  
  
• Learn to Spin Cotton from Cotton Clouds. Support spindle instructions included in their learn to spin cotton kit. Nicely written. No date provided, I purchased mine in 2002.
  
  
• Learn to Spin Cotton into Thread A nicely diagrammed pamphlet of support spindle instructions, included in a kit purchased about 2002-2003.
  
  
• Learn to Spin Silk on a Top-Whorl Spindle by Ruth MacGregor (2002). A nice book on choosing a top-whorl spindle suitable for silk, silk types, and managing silk while spinning and plying.
  
  
• Learn to Spin With a Turkish Drop Spindle by Wanda Jenkins (2004, 2008 with a DVD). Clearly written text and thorough photos walk you through learning to spin with a Turkish spindle. Includes the author's own wind-on for a great flat-bottomed ball of yarn. As of 2008, sold with a DVD too!
  
  
• Navajo Weaving Way: The Path from Fleece to Rug by Noel Bennett & Tiana Bighorse (1997) has a nice section on Navajo spindle spinning (26 pages on the topic, from fleece to yarn).
  
  
• Russian Drop Spindle from Peace Fleece. A short note about this spindle (a Turkish variant, not a Russian Lace spindle) was included with the spindle. A nice little spindle, I enjoy mine! No date, purchased in 2002.
  
  
• Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot by Handweaver's Guild of America has spindling articles from time to time. I think they may have reprinted a collection too, but I didn't find that book on my shelf for compiling this list (darn it!)
  
  
• Simple Spinning on Sticks and Spindles by Lionel Jacobson (1977). Gets you spindling from zero to the bottom whorl spindle in no time. Plenty of sketches and rich in 1970's style. Touches on using the bottom whorl as a support spindle, too!
  
  
• Spin It: Making Yarn from Scratch by Lee Raven (2003) a nice adaptation with new, color photographs, of the spindling portions of Lee Raven's earlier learn-to-spin book, Hands on Spinning (1987). Covers hand carding, has some nice small handspun knitting projects in it, too.
  
  
• Spin Yarn on A Spindle by Detta Juusola (1994) a more thorough writeup of spindling, still touching on collecting dog fur (which, granted, you are more likely to have on hand than a sheep in your back yard, if you're a city dweller!) Features her signature potato spindle and hangar niddy-noddy.
  
  
• Spin-Off Magazine by Interweave Press, in particular the Spring 1995 issue with its focus on Hand Spindles. Many other issues before, after, and since the 2000 Handspindle Treasury collection, of past articles also touch on spindling topics (or at least have great ads! get your hands on a current copy to find out who peddles spindles online or in your area).
  
  
• Spin-Spin by Heidi of My Paper Crane (no date, mine was purchased in 2006). Covers top whorl spindling, a little ungrammatical at times ... very current voice, I found it an interesting reflection on what the internet has done to open spindling to a wider audience.
  
  
• Spindle Spinning (Needle Crafts 13 from Search Press) by Patricia Baines (1984). This was the surprise gift! I'd heard of it but couldn't find it on eBay, alibris, or elsewhere. A nice, easy read geared to teaching the reader to spin primarily on a bottom whorl spindle, with mention of Hip Spindles (see Handspindle Treasury for an article on the topic of Lapland/Icelandic spindles) and support spindles as well.
  
  
• Spindle Spinning Cotton by Patricia Baines (1994). A great pamphlet on the topic from picked cotton, making punis, to support spindles. Practical and clear. Also a useful discussion of charka spinning.
  
  
• Spindle Spinning: From Novice to Expert by Connie Delaney (1998). Covers top whorl, bottom whorl, a note on Turkish, tahklis, and Navajo spindles. Connie Delaney also has pamphlets on Akhas, Russian, and Balkan spindles -- get them to round out her book. (available on www.spindling.com) Her earlier pamphlet, Drop Spindling (1995), is completely covered in the book.
  
  
• Spindling: The Basics by Amelia Garripoli (2003). For beginning spindlers, how to spin on a top whorl spindle, with troubleshooting tips and further projects in fleece preparation and dyeing. (See, I said I'd been writing! This one is self-published and would be used in the first section of the new book.)
  
  
• Spinning In The Old Way by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts (2006). I see this book as mostly supplanting her former (1998) book on the topic, High Whorling. Covers high whorl spindles, with a mention of Salish (looks like a Navajo in the drawings) and Akha spindles. Covers fiber processing as well.
  
  
• Spinning With A Drop Spindle by Carol Cassidy-Fayer (1997). Covers top and bottom whorl spindles. Not many drawings, but her website has some additional useful photos.
  
  
• Spinning With a Drop Spindle by Christine Thresh (1971). A bottom whorl spindling instruction book from raw fleece through plying.
  
  
• Spinning With a Turkish Drop Spindle by Martha Moore (1996). Came with the Valkyrie Turkish spindle. A brief instruction pamphlet covering how to spindle in minimal words (very concise!) including winding on, that great mystery of Turkish spindles.
  
  
• Using a Navaho-Type Spindle (sic) by Jan Symonds (1997) Covers the basic technique for spinning singles on a Navajo spindle. Great illustrations!
  
  
• Yes, It's Made From My Dog's Fur! by Detta Juusola (1995). Covers fiber collection, preparation, and spinning from dog fur. Yay for our woofy friends!
  

Often, learn to spin kits are sold with the Interweave pamphlets on spindling singles (Low Tech, High Satisfaction) or with handwritten pamphlets on spindling singles on the type of spindle in the kit (top whorl or bottom whorl). Of the ones I've purchased, generally I find them readable and reasonably understandable -- enough to get you started with singles, and itching to move on to plying.

Most books of wheel spinning may touch on spindling; The Spinner's Companion, for example, mentions spindle types. And Aldon Amos's Big Book of Handspinning has several sections on spindle types, use, and even construction (tahkli, top whorl, bottom whorl, Akha (Thai), Navajo (Southwestern)). And any book on fiber processing, textile history, and fiber types is as helpful to a spindler as it is to a wheel spinner.

Your learning need not stop at the printed work -- there are also a ton of on-line resources and forums for spindlers.

Did I miss a Spindle-focused book? please let me know -- there's room for more on my bookshelf, always!

You know, it's amazing I am even writing a spindling book, given the richness of the list above. Well, the hunt for a publisher is underway ... if you know of one wanting to publish a book that is a modern take on spindling, do let me know!

Bellefeathers! 29 June 2008

Whew! Show season -- what a fun time that always is! This is my booth at Black Sheep -- in the beginning. The Mach 1 and the Louet went home with people, and much fibery and spindly fun was had by all (including me).

The greatest thrill for me was selling my handspun yarn. And it's not too late -- there are new listings on my Etsy shop, By Our Hands.



If you want to purchase some handspun with a Ewe'Niquely Yours Knitting Pattern, all of the By Our Hands handspun are available on TheBellwether.com too!

In addition, I've updated the Bosworth spindles and will be getting the newest Kunderts up next -- a nice assortment of solid wood, plying weight spindles to choose from!

In upcoming news, The Bellwether will be taking a brief vacation at the end of July ... we're travelling to New Jersey and Washington D.C. to see family and take in a bit of our nation's capitol. Until then, it's business as usual. Happy shopping!

Stay updated -- subscribe to the whole blog for regular spinning tips and news, Fiber Mine for links to spinning tips I find on the internet, or Bellefeathers for the Bellefeathers newsletter (for Bellefeathers by email use this link). Thanks, and happy spinning and felting!

Should I get the quill head for my spinning wheel?

Quill heads for spinning wheels have been having a resurgence in popularity, due to the interest art yarns fueled by fiber artists such as Lexi Boeger and her book Intertwined.

Quill heads have the advantage of being able to take up yarn of any size -- there is no orifice for doll parts, sequins, bows, or other whatnots to travel through. Also, there is no take-up to have a tug-of-war with, but a nice stiff quill to keep tension against. I found this terrifically helpful in spinning elastic thread core yarn!

However, on standard spinning wheels, there are some things to consider. Castle/upright wheels and many Saxony/traditional wheels put the orifice right above the treadles. The quill attachment on most wheels sticks out a good 4-6 inches further than the orifice. For short folks, this puts it really close to your hands when you treadle. And you're going to need to treadle.

This however deserves consideration, because you spin off the quill by keeping your fiber/yarn in the making at about a 45 degree angle to the point of the quill -- quite an arm stretch if your quill is just above your treadles.

Some wheels have the flyer/quill off to one side -- my friend's Jensen Saxony is this way, and my own Majacraft can have the flyer tilted to be at one side of the treadles.

My all-time favorite for a quill attachment, however, is my electric wheel -- no treadles!

If you are curious about quills, try an experiment first. Check your wheel's orifice:

• Delta orifice -- sorry, you can't do the experiment. But most delta orifices will let a fair bit through them, so depending on how broad your art-yarns get, you may be fine.
  
• Elliptical orbiting orifice (Louets have this) -- sorry, you also can't do the experiment. Luckily, Louets have big orifices, so they also let most insertions through.
  
• Orifice simply rotates around the center of the orifice -- yay! continue with the experiment.
  

Measure the diameter of your rotating orifice (not when it's rotating, silly!). Go to the hardware store and buy wood dowel of that diameter. Usually this comes in four foot lengths ... that would be a bit long, so if you need to pick up a hacksaw too, do it. Cut a length about 6 inches long (heck, cut a 4.5", 6.5", and 8.5" length -- you'll still have leftovers!). Use a penknife or really big pencil sharpener to put a blunt tapered point on one end. Guess what -- you've made a quill!

Put the quill in your wheel's orifice. You might want to wrap masking tape around the end (sticky side on the quill) to make it fit more tightly in the orifice. Now, you can spin on this. It's up to you if you put a bobbin on your wheel or not ~ you won't be using it. Double drive wheels can simply put both drive bands in the flyer whorl if you don't put a bobbin on.

Put a leader on the quill up near the orifice, just like you put a leader on your bobbin. As you treadle (or turn your electric wheel on), the leader will barberpole up the quill and then flick off the end ... it will go flick, flick, flick off the end. This is normal, you are putting twist into the leader. OK, attach your fiber and start adding twist to it, instead.

Once you have an arm's length, you'll have to stop, unwind the barberpoling, and then build up a cop on your quill. I'd recommend an X-style wind-on for speed, just like I use on my spindles. fill the top half (closer to the orifice) with your yarn, barberpoling back out to the tip and continuing to spin a new length of yarn.

So, if you've used the dowel-quill, you can evaluate the layout of your wheel for quill use. And then decide if the dowel is good enough, or if you'd like the more formal quill attachment if your wheel maker provides one.

What I did on Friday ...

Friday was one of those once-a-year days. When I walked down to the barn, Deneb was well inside, clearly catchable, so ... time to roo! If you have a really good memory, and have been reading this blog since early last year, you'll remember the discussion from last February about Soays shedding their fleece (rooing).

So, this is Deneb now, on the far right, compared to his still woolly field-brothers on the left:


And this is his crop:


It came to 1 pound, 1.5 ounces ... average staple about 2 inches unstretched.

Meteor (the darkest one) is leaving clumps of his wool on the fences now, so I think he'll be next!

~~~

Do you like posts about sheep and fibery beasts? Then I can heartily recommend these blogs:

Devon Fine Fibres -- a Cashmere goat farm in Devon, UK. Lovely pictures and interesting news about the farm.

Soxophone Player -- an almost-daily post on his sheep, dyepots, and hand-cranked socks!

Sheepwreck's posts on sheep breeds -- a terrific resource with a spinner's real-life experience with fleeces from sheep.

Benny's Blog -- an infrequent but hilarious blog written by Benny the sheep!

Shepherd's Notebook -- news from the world of Maryland shepherds, the most recent post was about the Maryland Wool Pool (where farmers got 76 cents a pound for their nice white wool!)

I know there are more, Spinning Spider Jenny and Leigh's Fiber Journal also post quite interesting entries on sheep breeds alongside their amazing spinning, weaving, and knitting postings. And I've been listening to Yarnspinner's Tales, her terrific podcasts on handling fleece were a nice listen.

Feel free to add links to sheep and goat blogs and podcasts you've found ... I'm always looking for a good read (or listen)! Thanks!

What is a Pocket Wheel?

Spin-off is collecting names and contact information of custom wheel makers. I sent them two Washingtonian makers ... Betty Roberts (see this post) and Doug Dodd.

Doug's Pocket Wheel had a big thread on the spindlers Yahoo group recently, I suppose because it is such a portable wheel, at just over 6 pounds.


I own one of these -- or I should say, my daughter has claimed it for her spinning. It's a great little travel wheel, very light. It has its own flyer/bobbin -- the shaft is similar diameter to Ashford shafts (smaller than Majacraft shafts), but the bobbin is larger than Ashford's, it fits a good 4++ ounces on it -- I have 4 oz. of about 20 wpi singles on mine (don't tell DD -- I borrowed it for a cafe craft night) and it isn't full yet. The flyer is released by twisting the orifice (which is shaped a bit like a padlock -- big metal sturdy at the bottom, delta opening at the top, more delta than the usual U of a padlock, though) -- it's a pressure screw, not an actual screw. You give it 1/2 a rotation and then the flyer comes off, similar to the Fricke style (though they have a pressure screw separate from the orifice itself). Then you take the bobbin off the shaft.

You can take it apart -- the treadles and stand come off, and it fits in a grocery-bag sized tote. I just keep it together and use my wool-show-buyin' tote for it, or carry it as-is.

It is a similar idea to the Hitchhiker in that it is a direct-drive wheel. Rather than changing out a set-location wheel for the ratio, though, you move the drive wheel up and down a metal rod to set the ratio -- so there isn't a "set list" of ratios, just anything you care to get, between a minimum and maximum (about 3:1 and 12:1, in the standard model). He's working on a new model that goes up to 15:1, as well.

And I think they're showing up more on blogs and other places, as he gets more made and out there. Mine was #7, purchased last year :-) I guess you'd call me an early adopter.

The Pocket Wheel isn't bobbin-led, rather, it's direct drive -- it uses scotch tension. A wheel rotates the flyer shaft (not the bobbin) by rolling against the big wheel that your treadle rotates. Louets' basic wheels are bobbin led, with a drive band that goes around the wheel and the bobbin. There is very strong draw-in on wheels like that. The Pocket behaves just like the scotch-tension, flyer-driven wheel that it is.

The Scotch tension is around the back of the bobbin, so it's pretty hidden by the bobbin in pictures of the wheel that try to take it all in.

Comparing the Pocket Wheel side-by-side to the Hitchhiker (thanks for asking, Jessie!):

Hitch: direct drive, 3 ratios of 7, 9, and 13:1 by changing out the drive wheel
Pocket: direct drive, officially any ratio from 3.5:1 to 10:1 (or so, mine goes a bit higher) by sliding the drive wheel along a shaft.

Hitch: flyer rod/hooks comes out and stores in the foot.
Pocket: flyer stays in place generally (when you remove it, just the flyer comes off, the flyer rod (aka spindle) stays on the wheel. You can undo the nuts that hold the treadles on and take off the treadles, stand, and flyer for more compact "tote-bag" storage.

Hitch: about 9 pounds
Pocket: about 6 pounds

Hitch: on-board bobbin storage
Pocket: no on-board bobbin storage

Hitch: standard Ashford bobbins, has been modified by Woollywormhead to take an
Ashford Jumbo Flyer.
Pocket: has its own bobbins; Ashford and Lendrum bobbins also fit. To use Victoria or Majacraft bobbins, you need an eight dollar sleeve that fits around the rod; Doug has them available, and I believe you can find them at the hardware store too. I expect you could ask for one to be made with a larger flyer to fit their plying bobbins, but I've found this one to be a healthy size. The rod is usually too short to fit Schacht bobbins, but you could request a longer flyer rod (since it is a custom wheel...)

Hitch: bobbin size about 2-3 oz of fiber generally
Pocket: bobbin size about 4-5 oz of fiber generally

Hitch: hooks on flyer arm (standard Ashford style)
Pocket: slider on flyer arm (like Majacraft)

Hitch: tube orifice; has an on board orifice hook
Pocket: delta orifice; no orifice hook needed

Hitch: screw-in flyer (fair amount of twisting ... I have RSI, so this is something I take note of generally)
Pocket: tighten/loosen bolt for removing/placing flyer

Both: present bobbin at an upward 45-degree angle, about the same height (my knees) if memory serves me okay.

Hitch: either left-treadle or right-treadle.
Pocket: double treadle. You wouldn't want to wear a long skirt and spin on it ... but I haven't had and problems in my jeans.

Both have their own particular treadle considerations ... I find with any wheel, I need to learn its rhythm, and then I can simply treadle without thinking about it. The Pocket is fairly similar to my Majacraft, I've also heard it compared to a Jensen Tina. The Hitchhiker is heel-toe like the Journey Wheel.

Hitch: standard footman leather (I think) connector of treadle to drive wheel.
Pocket: has bearings that ride back and forth under the treadle, no footman connector used.

Hitch: standard woods used.
Pocket: variety of woods used ... he takes some requests, but mostly is re-purposing woods. I love the patchwork of mine, but I realize others like consistency.

Hitch: $278 standard with 3 bobbins
Pocket: $450 standard with 3 bobbins
These are current prices as I write this, "subject to change" as they say.

Now, disclaimers ... I have only ever really played on a Hitchhiker; maybe filled 1-2 bobbins, and took some videos of how to put one together and take one apart. So it's not a wheel I have studied in depth. I've used my (DD's) pocket wheel a fair bit more.

Whew! Let me know if there's some attribute I've missed ... I'd be happy to expand this review. And if you have blogged about your pocket wheel, please post a link in the comments of this post so the world of spinning blog readers can find out more! Thanks!

What Workshops Do You Teach?

From time to time, I get asked what workshops I teach. So here's a current list. I've taught all of these topics to at least one person, though I will be the first to say, some have been informal. Almost all have been taught in more formal situation already (i.e. I was paid!).

Background: I "fell" into spinning when a house purchase included two llamas. Since then, spindles of all sorts invade my bookshelves, and there are wheels and charkas in every spare nook. Spindling: The Basics is my first book, and I am having a blast with my blog and teaching workshops.

You can find me on ravelry, flickr, and blogger as askthebellwether, on youTube and LiveJournal as thebellwether, and by my real name, Amelia Garripoli (nee Carlson, if you go back into the archives) on various Yahoo groups.

I sell a wide variety of spindles, amazing batts and rovings, and more on TheBellwether.biz, and my young daughter and I sell our handspun and gadgets on ByOurHands.etsy.com.

Program fees: cost is $30/student per workshop plus materials and travel for most programs, which are 2-3 hours in length; group rates are available, typical workshop size is 2-15 participants. Day long programs are $50/student plus materials and travel. Presentations are 1-2 hours to any size audience, for a flat cost of $80 plus travel.

Expanded day-long versions of most topics are available, with more in-depth exploration are an additional $20 per student. Or, combine 2 topics for a day-long workshop, 4 for a weekend retreat.

For a complete list of materials, experience and equipment needed, and more in-depth description of each class, please contact me if there's no link to the full description here.

Spindle Programs

Program: I Wanna Spindle!
Description: Top whorl spindling for beginners. You'll be spindling and plying by the end of the class.

Program: Drop Spindle Ph.D.
Description: Drop spindling for spindlers -- techniques for speed, plying, top and bottom whorl, Turkish, Mid-whorl, Balkan, and more specialty spindles.

Program: The World of Support Spindles
Description: Navajo, Ahka, Tahkli, Russian ... travel the world without leaving your chair! Learn traditional spindling techniques and fibers on each, each has their own culture, uses and methods.

Program: Spindle Mania!
Description: A presentation of myriad spindle techniques with discussion of their place in history, around the globe, what they're used to spin, and how they all inter-relate.

Weaving

Program: You Wove A Hat?
Description: Weave a hat on a cardboard tear-away frame in an evening. This is fun and great for leftover handspun, novelty yarn, or a dedicated project. No knitting or weaving skills required.

Nalbinding

Program: What is Nalbinding?
Description: You will learn the basic looping stitches of Nalbinding and their use in creating a hat. We'll discuss its place in history and use in the world today.

Program: The Nalbound Edge
Description: Have you heard of nalbinding? Use this technique to edge and embellish a knit or woven garment. You'll walk away with knowledge of the history of nalbinding and a new skill you can do with yarn you already have!

Felting

Program: Needlefelted Pins
Description: Learn to needlefelt a flat design that can be turned into a brooch, badge or pin. For beginning and experienced needlefelters. We'll discuss fibers, design, texture, and finish.

Program: Silk Fusion
Description: Make a lovely piece of silk "felt" using silk and fusion material. The fabric can be used in many places ~ quilts, book covers, notecards, lampshades, vests and more. A great way to approach this lustrous fiber!

Spinning on a Wheel

Program: Learn to Spin
Description: a weekend or long-day program from scratch to plying on a wheel. Includes handcarding and combing, spinning singles and plying on a wheel. Participants need to have a wheel.

Program: Spinny Gritty
Description: Have a handle on your spinning and want to take it up a notch? Explore ratio, wraps per inch, twists per inch, crimp, grist, worsted and woolen, repeatable yarn and correcting yarn.

Program: Plying Around
Description: Looking for some new ways to twist your fiber? This will have you plying up a storm of new creations in no time! We'll ply our way through Navajo ply, cable, boucle, plying with thread, coil, snarl, beehive, diamond and more.

Program: Color Whirl
Description: play with color in singles and in 2-ply: we'll create rainbows of color with a variety of techniques for mixing solid rovings and for getting the most out of space-dyed roving. Learn about nub yarn, candystripe, faux cable, self-striping, coils, fractal plying, exploring plying colors.

Program: Spinning Slippery Fibers
Description: We'll spin the slippery stuff -- fibers without wool scales to help them hold together. Silk, bamboo, alpaca, mohair -- Join me to explore some really "out there" spinning fibers ... with a life vest on!

Program: Spin a Fine Yarn
Description: Learn techniques to take you beyond laceweight; make your wheel do the work, explore fiber handling and plying techniques.

Program: Spinning Sock Yarns
Description: Learn how to spin a great sock yarn: we'll tune our wheels for socks, pick fibers, spinning style, and plying methods, and play with color. Discuss knitting with handspun vs. commercial sock yarns.
Explore the world of spinning sock yarns!

Program: Constructing Yarn
Description: Explore the world of created yarns ... from designing blends to designing art yarns, we'll have a go at garnetting, nubs, loops, inclusions, beads, batts, swirls, and more. Bring yarns you'd like to copy and topics you'd like to try out!

Program: Explore Boucle
Description: Boucle, the pinnacle of a spinner's repertoire. We'll do a boucle entirely from handspun (no thread!) then move on to simple boucle, fuzz boucle, coil boucle, and even Navajo boucle. Who knew there were so many boucles?!

Program: Spin Soft Singles
Description: Let's teach our wheels how to spin soft singles. From laceweight to bulky, we'll pick fibers, tune our wheels, and spin! Woolen spinning and long draw will be explored, and how to finish skeins for non-biasing knitting.

Fiber Processing

Program: Using The Batt Machine
Description: Bring your drum carder and learn how to make terrific batts and roving for your next spinning or felting project. We’ll start with basic drum carding of a clean batt of wool, then move on to fiber blends, color blends, texture blends, and self-striping batts. Let's get batty!

Program: Combs, Flickers, Handcards
Description: Learn the techniques and appropriate fibers for each of these hand-processing tools. Combing fibers for worsted spinning, flicking for spinning from the lock, and handcarding for woolen spinning. Then take it a step further with variations and blending techniques.

Dyeing

Program: Pot Dyeing Wool Roving
Description: Turn 3 colors into 6 with this fun dye method. Dye wool or wool blend roving with acid-mordanted dyes.

Program: Dyeing Self-Striping Sock Yarns
Description: Have fun turning undyed or pale solid colored sock yarns into interesting self-striping sock yarns. Fair-isle, rainbow, and shadow techniques are covered with microwave dyeing using acid-mordanted dyes.

Circular Sock Machines

Program: Circular Sock Machine Demonstration
Description: A demonstration of sock machines -- a sock is created while the history of the machines and the techniques used are discussed.

Program: Using the Circular Sock Machine
Description: A workshop for those with sock machines, to get them up and started with a basic mock-rib sock. No ribber needed. This can be tailored to the class's experience level -- we can go on to explore ribbed socks, argyles, mittens, lace patterns, i-pod pouches, or more.

In Conclusion ...

Whew! I know, that's alot of workshops ... What can I say, I like variety ;-) And some of these are taught much more often than others, as interest in the topic comes about in the venues I've submitted applications to teach. I'm happy to do individual instruction on pretty much any topic, even more than are here -- spinning on a charkha, washing fleece, knitting, warping a loom ~ so if you don't see a topic you are interested in pursuing here, feel free to ask!