UFO Resurrection: February 2007

Once again at the 11th hour .. well it's 8:30 pm so at the, what, 20th hour, well, umm ...

Let's just call February the month of the WIP. Last month's completed UFO, the Jacob spinning, is now firmly "WIP" with about 3 sessions on the needles, about 3-4 inches more of tote-dom added on.

The singles fair-isle arm warmers ... about 2 inches into #1. Arm #2 is going to be slip-stitch. I just can't hack fair-isle knitting. I can do it, I don't enjoy it! even with 2-handed 2-color knitting. Slip stitch knitting, though, now, that's a hoot!! So I get to research and plan out a pattern for arm warmer #2. That will be fun!

The superwash Merino from Madrona Fiber Arts Festival is all spun up (singles, sigh) and in the plying. Gorgeous bright-bright orange with some lightening from the whites.

I did at least "touch" two older UFO's -- the blue/tan sock yarn spinning got another hour of attention, and of 5 fleeces that are washed, two of them are now picked and ready to card.

A little beaded knitted bracelet is underway, a little over half done.

Onward into March! with 3 more days than February, my goal is to FINISH at least one of the things described in this post!

What sock machine email lists are there?

These are the ones I know of:

socks at topica dot com -- this was the list, but has not had any messages since October 2006. Perhaps the Yahoo lists have overtaken it.

sockknittingmachines at yahoogroups dot com -- a no-sales, no-flames list that tends to stay fairly technical. Great resources in the files, great place for information about retreats and conferences. The list has done sock-swaps in the past, I know because I ran one (grin ... table of socks is from that!)

sockknittingmachineswapshop at yahoogroups dot com -- the sister "for sale" list to sockknittingmachines. A good place to post "ISO" (in search of) requests, barter requests, and sock-machine related items for sale. Look for recently posted machines for sale, if you are shopping for a sock machine.

sockknittingmachine at yahoogroups dot com -- spun off from sockknittingmachines, lower traffic.

sockknittingmachinefriends at yahoogroups dot com - a spinoff from sockknittingmachines that welcomes NZAK owners and also allows for-sale postings. Great resources in the files and photos.

If you know of another, let me know! I love collection sock machine information.

News From The Bellwether ...

Do you have a name for our blogged newsletter (these entries, tagged TBW in our Categories)? If so, email it to me or post it in the comments here, for an entry. The chosen name will get 1 ounce of Crosspatch Creations or Three Bags Full fiber. See the entries so far. What fun!

I managed to post the new Crosspatch Creations and Three Bags Full colors, my favorite of this last batch had to be Crimson Shadows. Ooooh. And I know Joan is coming out with a complimentary triple-play to this one soon. Can't wait!

I did a little re-arranging and picture-ifiying of the store's home page, too. What do you think of it?

Most of the last week has been spent battling email problems (sigh) and finding out about blogging. There's great stuff out there! Speaking of which, let me toot my own horn with sightings of "The Bellwether" on other peoples' blogs ... and encourage you to blog about us too, with this special offer:

Did you mention The Bellwether on your blog? Let me know! I'd love to hear what you think of the products and customer service, good or bad. Shop again within 6 months of your blogging entry about your purchase from The Bellwether for our blogger's 10% discount. Mention this offer in your order to get the discount. A new invoice will be emailed to you.

Baabette's Fleece, lovely space-dyed roving -- we have this at shows, someday it will make it to the website.

Our Learn-to-Spin Kit, in use!

The no-longer-available cotton/wool blend -- see, things sell out!

Our keychain sock blocker kit, spun up! (and I may even be the vendor at OFFF that "trained" Marcy -- who knows!).

Crosspatch Creations wonderful fibers, along with some lovely fibers from one of my favorite other fibers to spin, Grafton Fibers!

Just helping out an email inquiry about spinning terms.

A Cascade Cougar Spindle.

Eeek! a hook that came out of a Natalie (she does otherwise adore the spindle, she tells me!) ... we worked with Judy to figure out the best solution for her, which may not be what everyone wants (a thicker hook).

A fabulous sweater from last year's California Red roving.

And two overseas blogs:
A Natalie, a Russian silk spindle, and gorgeous yarns (in French) (machine-translated to English).

Romney/Finn pin-drafted roving spun-up (page down for the translated description).

Did you mention The Bellwether on your blog? Let me know! I'd love to hear what you think of the products and customer service, good or bad. Shop again within 6 months of your blogging entry about your purchase from The Bellwether for our blogger's 10% discount. Mention this offer in your order to get the discount. It's that easy!

Happy spinning! Happy nalbinding! Have a great fibery day!

Why is my spindle wobbling?

If the spindle is empty, it could be that your hook is not set to allow the spindle to spin without wobbling. There's a great website on straightening the hook here.

Basically, the idea is that the yarn you are spinning needs to be in a vertical line with the center of the spindle's shaft (top or bottom whorl) to stop the spindle from wobbling. Yes, this means that half-hitched bottom whorl spindles tend to have a natural wobble. But, if you spin them really fast, the wobble is minimized.

The thickness of the yarn and the thickness of the metal of the hook can also contribute to wobble -- what was a straight line with fine yarn, for instance, may become crooked when spinning on the same spindle with a thicker yarn.

If your spindle already has wool on it, then the wobble may be coming from uneven-ness in winding the cop. You want to wind on as evenly as you can -- be consistent in your wind-on style. This takes practice and trying wind-ons (the bee-hive style, the foot-ball style, take your pick) to find what consistently works for you. If it always wobbles once you reach a certain fullness, well, that's the spindle's way of telling you it is full! wind it off, enjoy the new yarn, and start with the next batch.

(expanded from a post to spindlers on 12/2001)

Bright Lights ...

Ok, so there are light-up knitting needles and even light-up crochet hooks (what, you haven't seen those yet? tres cool. But I don't have any for myself yet, saw them at www.mountain-shadow-ranch.net -- no affiliation, yada yada).

But, what I want is: a light-up sock darner. That way I can put it in the foot when I kitchener!

I throw the idea out there for anyone else to run with, since I'm not going to find time to make one myself. Have fun with it!

Why is my handspun so harsh feeling?

Maybe it's the fiber. If the fiber being spun is harsh, or has a harsh part to it, then the resulting yarn will show up that harshness. Kemp, or hair fibers left in Navajo Churro, for example, or the britch of some breeds like Jacob can be fairly harsh and will make the resulting yarn harsh. Even a little bit of kemp or britch will have a big effect in the final feel. (That's a friend's Navajo Churro in the picture.)

How fine are you spinning your yarn? I've found that even soft fibers, spun finely, can seem harsh, since fine spinning needs more twist to hold together. The thicker the yarn, the less twist it needs to hold together.

Also -- are you spinning singles or plying? If you are spinning singles, consider plying -- the plying twist allows the singles to relax back out a bit, since it removes twist from the singles for the ply.

Maybe it's overtwist. In singles, you only want to put just enough twist that the fiber will hold together as yarn. It's tough to get this right; I do a tug test alot until I get a good feel for how much twist I'm putting in, and I continue to "tug test" all the way through, at semi-random intervals.

If you can't get less twist in your singles, but want that thickness, consider plying with thread -- there are cotton, silk, and nylon threads out there in a rainbow of colors.

If you are plying your yarn already, check the amount of plying twist, see if it is balanced, after the washing step -- perhaps it's overplied or underplied? (If the whole skein twists "S", then it is underplied, if the whole skein twists "Z" then it is overplied. Two or more full twists, that is -- less than that is close enough, for me anyway). For more on plying twist, see here.

If it's over or under plied you can quickly run it through a wheel (if you have one) even on a spindle it's not too onerous to add or remove plying twist to "fix" a skein. Rewash and all that after fixing the twist.

Perhaps the fiber needs washing and "whacking" to bloom and soften it a bit. Some fibers feel harsh until they are beaten on a counter to help them relax in the final yarn. I do this 3-4 times for a skein, after washing it, while it is rolled in a towel (to help keep the skein organized). This can lightly felt the fiber too, so be sure to check the strands of yarn in the skein to ensure they aren't sticking together afterward.

Some fibers benefit from a bit of hair conditioner in the final rinse, like llama.

(based on posts by me on spindlers, 12/2001 and today)

How do I ply on a spindle from two spindle-fulls?

I'd wind the singles into balls (or, Abby's method of one ball with 2 strands, but I haven't tried that yet), starting with my felt ball cores (so the middle of the ball doesn't get all snarly), and if they are small enough, hold them in one hand, feeding the strands through my fingers.

If the balls are too large for that, I'd put them each in a jar on the floor, instead.

I feed the strands through my fingers like this: (pinkie)(finger)(yarn)(finger)(yarn)(finger)(thumb)
That way the other hand is free to spin the spindle.

This also works great on the wheel and leaves a hand free to collar cats before they get caught up in the yarn ...

When I finish one of the balls, I'd Andean ply the remains of the longer ball, so there's nothing left over once I'm done.

As far as telling how much twist is needed, let me refer you here -- this is a topic I've blogged about :-).

(posted by me this day on LJ:spinningfiber)

How thick would you spin Romney wool?

I've typically spun Romney fairly thick -- maybe a 2-ply in worsted weight (12 WPI). There was some lovely brown Romney I cabled, so those singles must have been finer.

Romney would have a medium luster, which might be nice for a laceweight yarn, if you decide to go that route.

I take two approaches when picking how to spin a fiber: I want it to work for a particular project, so that's how I spin it, regardless. Or, if I'm not sure, I use the rule of thumb, to match the thickness of yarn to the crimp in the fiber. (I think this is from Anne Field, Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics) Romney's typically fairly crimpy, so a DK weight wouldn't be out of the question.

As far as using it for socks, scarves, mittens, hats, consider the recipient; as a medium grade wool, generally "softies" will find it too harsh next to the skin. My son, for example, basically needs cashmere or cotton before he stops complaining about fiber-itch, while I'm happy with mohair in a scarf, but not in a next-to-the-skin sweater.

Hmmm -- this post is a little bit like, "do what you want" -- but then again, most of spinning is like that.

How can I reduce the bump where I join wool when spinning?

One thing that I find helps is to make sure I have a fiber's length plus half (also known as 1-1/2 times the "staple length") of loose fiber on the end of the spun part, and join it to a fiber's length plus half again of pre-drafted fiber on my roving. Then, with that 'doubled' overlapped part, continue drafting as per normal to stretch it out to normal width.

If the spun part ends abruptly or is very thin, I will make sure to fluff it out, and even move back up to a thicker part to ensure there is enough fiber for a good join.

Also, I hold the joining part of overlapping fibers when I first start putting twist in, waiting to feel the twist between my fingers before moving back to uncover more unspun fiber.

If I really pay attention and don't try to take it too fast, that usually works for me and is usually indistinguishable from the non-joined parts.

(based on a posting by me on spindlers, 12/17/2001)
(drawing is (c) The Bellwether, from Spindling: The Basics. Used with permission)

Why do you wash the finished skein in warm or hot water?

When you soak your handspun yarn in warm-to-hot water, it brings back the 'memory' of the yarn and lets it relax. If you've spun your yarn very tightly (or even a bit too tightly), then it is likely to seem to relax in the hot water. If you spun it and then plied it, and got it 'exactly right', then it likely wouldn't seem to relax when put in hot water, since all of the fibers will come into natural alignment and find themselves happy. A 'balanced' ply has all of the fibers (ok, most?) running parallel to the length of the yarn.

(ed. note: the picture is some of my "crazy yarn", spun in 2006-2007!)

You can use this hot water technique to figure out what the right twist was for plying yarn -- freshly spun singles can show you what the right amount of plying-twist is, but once they've sat, even for a few hours, the twist begins to set in them. So, I take a sample when it's fresh, let it twist on itself, and stick it to my sample card. Then I let the bobbins (or, spindles) sit for a weekend (or a week! sigh!) so the twist is a bit set and the singles are less lively, and ply on this semi-set stuff to the same twist that the live sample showed me. If you forgot to sample before letting it sit, take a length of singles, drop it in hot water, and eureka! like magic, it will twist on itself and show you how it should be plied.

(posted by me on spindlers, 12/12/2001)

Can you do charted knitting on a sock machine?

Hmmm ... moving knit and purl stitches back and forth would be _very_ slow (for me, anyway). What I'd do is hand-knit the cuff and then put it on the machine to crank out the rest of the sock. My pile of not-yet-UFOs includes a plan to hand-knit a lace cuff in white and then attach it to the sock machine and crank out a colorful sock "underneath" it.

Kind of like the "peekaboo" heartstrings sock pattern.

(posted by me this day on sockknittingmachinefriends)

There is an instruction book for lace knitting on the sock machine, that involves just knit stitches, no ribbing, and moving stitches around on the needles to get the "YO" effects similar to hand-knitted lace. And the old Autoknitter and Creelman manuals contain instructions for fancy stitchwork that you can incorporate into sock legs.

How do you pack a Sock Machine for shipment?

Packing a CSM for shipment ... I've done this twice recently.

Start with a sock machine, a lifetime supply of bubblewrap, a roll of packing tape, a permanent marker, some little boxes for holding the little bits and a very sturdy, large cardboard box...

You'll want to immobilize the crank gear of the sock machine, at least, if you don't dismantle it entirely (I didn't, just took the yarn mast off, and the ribber).

Wrap all the pieces in bubblewrap, tape and label them (labelling is optional, but it was fun). Wrap the heavy pieces in bubblewrap twice.

If you have any sheet styrofoam, line the box with that; if not, consider an extra layer of cardboard at least. Make sure the box is a very sturdy box, too.

I put little things (buckles, needles in their tins, that sort of thing) into a small, lightweight box and put that inside the big box.

My boxes ended up weighing about 30-40 pounds, I think. Parcel post shipping wasn't horrendous, well under $100, WA->TX, even with insurance.

It was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle to fit all the pieces (the big AK shown here went in two boxes, in the end). I stuffed more bubblewrap and styrofoam blocks around it all. Sure made a dent in my bubblewrap, but it was worth it to see the box make it to the purchaser in one piece!

How can I knit socks from inelastic yarns?

If you want to knit socks with fibers that don't have much memory, like llama and silk, but you also want them to stay up, you might try knitting the socks with a strand of "wooly nylon" beside your yarn. (I've never bought from that website, caveat emptor)

Flat-bed knitters and sock machine folks use this to add some memory/elasticity to socks.

The other material you could use is lycra thread, but it only comes in huuuuge cones as far as I know. The wooly nylon you can find in most Sew & Vac places -- both my local ones have it. It comes in a variety of colors, so you can match or coordinate (and since it is nylon, it can be dyed with acid dyes too).

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

How can I spin a particular yarn thickness?

If I want a certain thickness in my final yarn, like DK, this is what I do ... first, decide how many plies I want (1, 2, 3, a cable?); let's say 2, that's typical. Then I can figure out roughly how thick my singles need to be ...

A DK (sportweight) is about 14 WPI (see wraps per inch chart at http://www.icanspin.com/WPI.htm).

The singles for a 2-ply are about 2/3 the thickness of the final yarn, so the single WPI is 14 * (3/2) or 21 WPI.

I pull out my handy-dandy (LOST! eek -- who sells these? please tell me! I need another...) VIP fibers measurement thing to get a mental picture of the thickness of 21 WPI. (There's also a chart in the back of Mabel Ross's The Essentials of Yarn Design for Handspinners.)

Then, I start spinning my singles, drafting out fine enough and measuring until I can be sure I'm getting about 21 WPI. At that point, I'll also take a length, fold it back on itself, and check the 2-ply WPI, to make any final adjustments -- do I need to spin the singles finer? thicker?

Once I've got myself "calibrated" (I know, this sounds like alot of sampling ... but in its own way, it's useful), I save off a length of freshly spun fiber, wrapped around a small piece of cardboard, with some unspun at one end so I have a picture of how much to draft, how thin to spin the singles, and a plied-back part at the other end of it to see what it looks like in the ply.

Then I refer to this card as I spin so I can keep my singles close to that sample as I go. And when I ply, I compare the amount of twist to that freshly twisted/self-plied sample.

This works for DK or any weight of yarn. Another thing to consider with spindles, is using a spindle that helps spin the type of yarn you want. For a DK weight yarn, I'd probably pick a spindle between 1 and 1.3 ounces; much lighter, and the spindle will stop spinning too quickly, much heavier, and the spindle will be pulling the fiber out of my hands before I can get enough twist in it to hold together.

I found a spindle weight to yarn thickness chart here, though it looks to me like she prefers a heavier spindle than me (grin). The Woodland Woolworks catalog has a chart with their numbers in it, you can see the PDF pages.

I hope this helped ... felt a bit long-winded to me (grin). The short answer might be, try drafting out finer if you find your yarn is coming out worsted weight. It may surprise you to find the fibers still hang together just fine, and you end up with a finer yarn. Remember, finer yarn needs a bit more twist, so be sure to set your spindle going faster or let it spin a bit more before you wind on.

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

How much weight will a Shetland fleece lose in washing?

How much weight a fleece loses from raw to washed depends on many factors. If you want to be absolutely safe, order twice as much raw ... but you'll end up with over 4 pounds if you order 8, unless the whole thing ends up on the mulch pile.

If you want some generalities, in the Shetland fleece I've known, the loss has been closer to 30% -- after skirting. So if I had 10 pounds to start, skirted, I'd expect to end up with at least 7 pounds. (5 pounds raw, skirted should end up with about 3.5 pounds washed.)

Things that can go wrong --

• lots of VM in the fleece. Though VM isn't all that heavy, it can cause you to toss out extra clumps of fleece; I had a Shetland whether who for some reason always had a ton of hay stuck along his spine, so his skirted fleeces always looked like donuts! (he's the black one in the picture -- you can even see the hay there! bad boy sheep! LOL)
  
  
• not fully skirted (all the junk around the outer edges -- legs, belly, backside). These may be muddy, thus heavy, really adding to the weight of the fleece.
  

I usually expect, to be safe, that from raw to roving I'll lose about 40% of the weight. If it's low-grease and clean, I might lose only 20-25%. If it's high-grease and clean, I could still lose about 35%. But 9 times out of 10 I end up "re-skirting" almost every fleece to save myself some hassle (or broken drum carder teeth) in carding. Shetland's typically a "mid-grease" fleece, in my experience.

(posted by me on Spin-List, this day)

What tips do you have for keeping fleece washing water hot?

When I was processing wool in utility sinks in my garage, at my last house, this is what I did to keep the water hot during the washing process:

Wrap the sinks in insulation, and when they have the hot water in them, cover them with a sheet of the stiff foam insulation.

I started out with my sinks at 180 F, and with this insulation, kept them above 165 for at least half an hour.

(Getting the sinks to 180 F -- 1/2 fill with hottest water heater water, 1/2 fill with boiling water)

(posted by me on spindlers this day)

The picture is fleece from Sitka, a Cotswold Ram, spread out on my skirting table.

How do I get the right knitting gauge?

If your gauge is off with the recommended needle size for your yarn, I've found as a "rule of thumb" that changing the needle size 1 size* changes my gauge 1/2 stitch per inch. That way, if I'm waaay off, I can move several needle sizes at once rather than reknitting the gauge swatch 5 times.

*that means 1 size, so 10->10.5 counts as 1 size, since those are both needle sizes ... is that too pedantic? oops...

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

News from The Bellwether ...

Welcome to the first edition of my as yet unnamed shop update blog-posting on The Bellwether. Three ideas so far! thanks! It's not too late -- the name entrywill be chosen March 30th.


Let's start with a big Woo-Hoo! for the latest Natalies. Here's even a photo of the wood selection in this batch -- Ebony, Cocobolo, Canarywood, Bocote, and Purpleheart. Wowzer. The Canarywood Natalie is usually under an ounce; I've had many requests for lighter Natalies, so here it is. But at that weight, this spindle design has a shorter spin-time. The more typical 1.2-1.3 ounce Natalie has what I'd consider to be a reasonable spindle spin-time. The center-weighted Natalie spindle is a fast spinner, not a long spinner. This design is based on the historical silk spindles in Bette Hochberg's book Handspindles.

And another cheer for the latest Forresters. Wow -- from the drilled whorls that minimize weight mid-whorl to the latest Linums and Pyrography spindles, wait -- there's a sheep in this batch too! Does he spin? You betcha!

We've finally, for our nalbinding buddies out there, restocked the Nalbinding instruction manual "Lots of Socks!" by Larry Schmitt. Now, I've been asked to teach Nalbinding this September ... so I'd best get the spinning done and the nalbinding underway. There are some great Nalbinding videos (in English) on a German video website, check them out for help with Asle Stitch, Oslo Stitch, and more.

In closing, you will find the latest Rhyme Times has seven terrific new colorways in it. A great time to subscribe, as two of these are only available in limited runs so they may not last until the next issue! This physical newsletter of Crosspatch Creations and Three Bags Full fibers also features subscriber-only specials. And stay tuned for the colors from the last issue coming to the website soon: Sage Brush Hill, Peacock Tales, and more (pictured is Black Hills Gold, batt, yarn sample and mitered knit sample).

Our regular blog entries are chock-full of spinning, knitting, and sock machine tips, along with occasional news of my own projects and the occasional "blogofile" thing. Use the Categories to check out what interests you, or just browse the archives.

I'm interested to know if you use an RSS subscriber other than bloglines, so I can provide easy "subscribe" buttons -- comment here or email me to let me know.

How much twist do I need when I ply?

How much twist you need in plying depends on how much twist you put in the singles ... and you can pick what you want your plied yarn to look like by how much twist you put in your singles.

Basically, singles with less twist needs less plying twist, and singles with more twist needs more plying twist. Mostly I aim for a balanced yarn, where the plying twist "balances" with the singles twist so the finished, washed skein doesn't twist on itself but hangs relaxed and open. The drawing shows two skeins, one under-plied and the other over-plied.

Before you let the singles wind onto the bobbin, hold the length of new yarn loosely so it can ply back on itself. This shows you what the balanced 2-ply would look like. If you are shooting for a 2-ply, then use the "ply back" test to ensure your singles have the twist you want for a nice 2-ply in the "ply back" test.

If you are shooting for a 3-ply, the singles need a little less twist -- a 3-ply at the same twists-per-inch as a 2-ply takes less twist out of each single (since it's taking it out of 3 singles, and the 2-ply's taking it out of 2 singles). So you can go for a "looser" looking result in the 2-ply "ply back" test and still get a nicely spun/plied 3-ply.

Of course, you should save a sample of the "ply back" test at some point in spinning the singles, to compare to as you spin the singles and also to compare to as you ply.

As you are plying, find a rhythm (number of treadles) that gives you the ply-twist you want and go with it; the "right count" will depend on your wheel's ratio of wheel to bobbin, the twist in the singles, and how much twist you're going to put in the ply.

(posted by me this day on Spin-List)

Sock Machines: hem or ribbed top?

OK, I'll chime in here too ...

I use a hemmed top on mitten cuffs, and put elastic inside (attach a safety pin to the elastic, shove it inside the hem-cuff, and work it around, then work it back out the going-in spot, sew the elastic's two ends together and let it "disappear" into the hem.

(PS I also used it on the "evening bag" for DD -- with an extra row of eyelets below the hem, to pull the cord through.)

Gotta keep those little ones' hands warm!

I usually use about 10-15 rows 1/1 ribbing at the top of socks, then 3/1 down the leg. On a 54/36 arrangement, I'll use a 2/1 ribbing all the way down the leg.

As long as I knit them tight enough, they stay up fine. If they are loose going on, I knit them too loose, and I know they'll sag -- or come off with my shoe. So I tink those with a ball-winder and reknit them.

(posted by me this day on sockknittingmachinefriends)

Do I measure the WPI of my singles or my plied yarn?

The wraps-per-inch (WPI) people post for handspun fiber is typically on the finished (plied, or singles if you chose not to ply) yarn.

That said, measuring the WPI on the singles gives you a reasonable estimate for the thickness of the plied yarn; typically, a 3-ply is twice the thickness (or, half the WPI) of the singles -- consider the singles are all wrapping around each other in the plying, so you won't get 3* the thickness). And depending on how you spun and how tightly you plied, the 2-ply is usually in the neighborhood of 2/3 * the WPI of the singles.

I did math on a Mabel Ross table (Essentials of Handspinning, most likely) of singles-vs.-final-plied-WPI once, and came up with numbers from 55% to 60+%, and I think Anne Field also discusses thickness of singles-vs-final-plied-WPI in Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics. The two rules of thumb above have stood me in good measure (think PUN) for most of my spinning (caveat: I knit what I spin, so it's usually not very tightly spun...)

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

How do you make sure each spindle-full has the same amount, for plying?

If you accurately divide the fiber in half, and manage to have the same amount of waste (neps, VM, snags by the cats...) for both spindle-fulls, and manage to spin exactly the same "grist" (think, thickness/ compactness/ wraps-per-inch-ness), then you might find each spindle has exactly the same length of fiber on it. Ditto bobbins on a wheel, for that matter.

Buuut, if you are not so exact, like little-ole inexact me, then you will be left over with a bit more or not so much from one of the spindles when you are plying. What to do with the left over bit? The Andean plying bracelet will let you exactly two-ply the remaining bit. Take the bitter end that finished and roll it together with the loose end of the Andean plying bracelet, then continue plying on from the bracelet until you reach the "end", which is a loop, with nothing left over.

Now, if you are three-plying ... well, here's what I did on my wheel (yes, I hate to waste anything!) When the first bobbin ran out, I took the less-full of the two remaining bobbins and Andean-bracelet-ed it, using its 2-ply and the other bobbin to continue 3-plying. Then when that ran out (this is why I picked the emptier one ... zero waste), I Navajo-plied (aka chain plying) the remaining yarn on the last bobbin for a 3-ply (granted with the little chain-bumps) right to the very end.

Sock Machines: What Manuals should I use?

The old sock machine manuals are interesting from a historical perspective, and if you take the time to learn the lingo, can teach you a tip or two, and even let you re-discover 'lost' techniques, like the scotch heel Pat Fly championed a while back, which is now in my semi-standard repertoire. And the argyle method, shown in the photo, which I knit on my Legare 400 a couple of years ago...

But, for a new person, I always point them to Pat's sock making instructions on www.angoravalley.com and to the helpful instructions on www.yrstation.com. And the helpful tips on www.countryrain.com. Did I leave anyone out? Sigh. Be sure to comment -- I love learning things!

Those are all written in "modern" English, with color photos -- very helpful! And for those who need voice, the CD from Yellow River Station (YRStation), Rox's videos, or the Norma Bogan DVD are all terrific! (I haven't yet put together funny money for the Country Rain one, so I can't comment on it).

(posted by me this day on sockknittingmachinefriends)

What should I do if I don't like how bumpy my yarn is?

I had a skein of nubbly yarn that I just didn't know what to do with; a friend used it to knit a dog coat -- and in the knitting, you could hardly tell it was nubbly yarn at all. As I recall (they are travelling now), the coat was mostly stockinette with a seed stitch border, for a small dog (he's a mini-dachsund).

If you want to accent the nubblies in use, the purl-side of knitting tends to be where the bumps show up the most, rather than the knit side.

If you decide you _really_ dislike the yarn, you could cut it into little bits and card it into something else -- oh yeah, you are so head-over-heels into spinning that you already have a drum carder, right? Well, dog slickers or handcards will work too ... but that is called "garnetting" the yarn, and the resulting "re-spun" blend will be highly textured.

Which brings to mind -- the 100% virgin wool on sweater labels -- it means the wool is "fresh from the sheep". If your wool sweater doesn't say that, it may be made from yarn that was the result of (granted, very thorough!) garnetting.

(posted by me on LJ\spinningfiber this day)

What spindle do you pick to spin for socks?

Absolute favorite sock spindle: 0.9 ounce Tabachek Compact Deluxe top whorl. I'll also reach for ... my 0.9 ounce Nikolai spindles (no longer being made), and lately, an Ed Jenkins Turkish isn't out of the question, though it's a bit heavier, at over an ounce.

It's not out of the question for me to pull a Bosworth mini or midi near this weight -- anything from 0.7 ounce (for the singles, if I'm 3-plying) to 1.1 ounces would do fine, or some other spindle from my collection (mustn't let them gather dust!).

Right now I have a 0.9 ounce Spin-Dizzy Traveller tucked into a box of sock-blend (superwash merino, silk, and romney from Franquemont Fibers -- yummy "lily pond").

For the plying I might pull out a heavier spindle (like the Turkish), or do that on the 0.9 ouncers too.

For me, it's mostly weight in the spindle that I'm looking at, since makers abound in my collection (and weights). Hmmm, I wonder how many 0.9 ounce spindles I actually have!

(posted by me this day on sockamania_spindle_spinners)

How do you price your handspun yarn?

There is a fair bit of handspun yarn on etsy these days -- maybe check out their prices? But be sure to check the variables -- weight of fiber, length of skein/WPI of fiber, fiber/dye used, number of plies -- and you can also see how much they've sold, which is one way to tell if they've priced it higher than the (etsy) market prefers.

Now, that's just etsy -- I don't know how "etsy" prices compare to ebay or other placed online where people may be selling handspun.

(posted by me on TechSpin this day)

The picture at the top is some cochineal dyed wool on a Jenkins Turkish spindle. Two-ply, worsted-to-bulky, intended for nalbinding, under 2 ounces. Probably enough for an accent in the nalbound slippers it is meant for ... I'm thinking hot red toes, grey foot.

How fine is that yarn?

Okay. So, for the last week, while my computer has been ill (read: so slow I was begging it to die ... but the kids' computer died instead ... but mom gets the new one, yay!), I have been learning about blogs. I love-love-love (to quote Eloise) the bobbin shots, so here's mine. Only a 2-color roving, I will try for more colors lately.

This has been a project and a half, as I have been getting better at fine spinning in the process. I have learned that I much prefer a high ratio wheel -- we're talking, I just reached the pinnacle of my wheel last night, at 36:1 -- for the really fine stuff. And this is fine -- maybe not cobweb, but it will be 3-plied into a sock yarn about the same size as Regia. I would say "size 1 US needles" but I know I will be putting this on a 72 needle cylinder sock machine and cranking out a pair of socks in 2 nights -- I estimate another week, at least, for the first 4 ounces (I'm about 2 ounces into this thing).

The second four ounces will be 2-plied, so I can compare wearability. I'm not sure if it will be faster or not -- sure, less plying and drafting, but the singles will need more twist than my 3-ply singles need (which, granted, is still alot!!) Well, okay, I bet the 2-ply will be faster.

I've used all my own advice on fine spinning:

• well-prepared fiber: this is superwash merino pencil roving, very pettable! super-easy to draft, though I break off 12 inch lengths to spin from as my hands tend to compress it as I go, if it's much longer than 12 inches the drafting gets harder toward the end of the segment.
  
• minimum draw-in: the wheel is double-drive, so I can set a fairly soft draw-in by adjusting the tension on the drive band. I mess with it a bit each evening. A-la Mabel Ross, if I can't easily pull the yarn back out, then it's not loose enough.
  
• high ratio: did you see that above? 36:1!!! I thought I'd never need better than 20:1. Well, need is relative ... I could pedal faster, and I do, happily, but on my Journey Wheel with its very easy treadle action.
  
• less fiber in the drafting triangle: well, really, it draws out so nicely, I almost don't have a drafting triangle. It's almost point-of-twist drafting, except I'm squeezing as I go, since this is for socks -- it's all about the strength, honey! Usually I'm not a "squeezer" as I love pouffy yarns. But not for socks. I want them to last.
  

And if all my study wasn't enough, I found that Abby posted a great writeup on wheel ratios on her blog today! Serendipity!

How big will my skein be? (aka "niddy math")

Take the length of the niddy. The yarn goes around it on 4 'sides'. So, the length of one full wrap is 4 TIMES the length of the niddy.

So, my 1.5 foot niddy is a 2-yard wrap (6 feet)
My 9 inch niddy is a 1-yard wrap (3 feet)
A 1 foot niddy would be a 4-foot wrap (1.333 yd)
A 2 foot niddy would be an 8-foot wrap (2.666 yd)

Take the # wraps * the # yards/wrap or, if it's not even, take the # wraps * the # feet/wrap and divide by 3 (3 feet per yard).

You want metric? ask someone with a math degree <vbg>

(posted by me on spindlers, 12/8/2001)

Caveats: someone wise wrote, all instruction is false. And he's right -- we teach what it is handy to teach, leaving out all the screaming details that would bore you so much you'd never learn to spin. So the fine print ... wrapping a niddy is not the most exact way to measure skein length. Consider you are wrapping at an angle to that arm you measured, and sometimes you wrap tightly, sometimes loosely; some yarn is closer in, yadayada. So the count of wraps * 4 * the niddy length is most likely an underestimate, but "close enough for horseshoes". If you want a more exact measure -- use a skein-winder or a McMorran Balance. (Google either term to see what they are)

p.p.s. sometimes topics come up more than once!

You're supposed to give gifts on Valentines? Oops ...

Valentine's Day ... I never thought of it as an occasion for presents; but, DH decided it was this year -- he bought me a "garden sheep" -- rusty metal fellow, no grass required. He said he wanted folks to know we were sheep types right when they drove up! how sweet is that. And cooler yet, it looks a bit like my Soays! (see the picture -- as promised! he's leaning on the garden wall, not yet "planted").

And on the vice-versa, my gift to him is a poem from memory (I usually start learning them around Thanksgiving!) This year is White Clover by Marvin Bell. Very sweet poem.

(posted by me on spindlers this day)

Sock Machines: How do you put a selvedge on a 3/1 sock?

These are the choices I suggest for a 3/1 top edging:

1) start out with a 1/1 setup, knit 1 row, do the selvedge rows (2 rows with the ribber out of work), then knit 1 row. Then convert over to a 3/1 ribbing and knit the rest of the sock.

2) start with all cylinder stitches (no ribber) and an e-wrap selvedge; knit 1 row, then convert to a 3/1 setup and knit the rest of the sock. (you'll find information on e-wrap selvedges here: http://www.yrstation.com/pdf/Home%20Study%20Lesson%20Three-a.pdf)

3) start with all cylinder stitches (no ribber), knit 2 rows, hang the first row (for a very short hem-top) on the needles, knit 1 row, then convert to a 3/1 setup and knit the rest of the sock.

Personally, I usually use solution 1, but I knit at least 10-15 rows of 1/1 ribbing at the top of the sock before converting to a 3/1 leg.

(posted by me this day on sockknittingmachines)

The Bellwether Shop News ...

We interrupt our generally scheduled FAQ, UFO, and Blogophilia for new news -- The Bellwether will be posting a semi-weekly (that means not more than weekly!) shop update on the blog. I'm thinking about calling it "TBW Tuesdays" or something like that -- have a name to suggest? Be sure to comment then.

Heck, I'll send a yummy ounce of fiber to the best one posted by the end of March. (Oh, yeah -- your name doesn't have to have Tuesday in it, any day of the week would do ... so you have control over which day it might appear, too!) all the usual smallprint would apply ... be sensible ...

So, if you want to keep up with The Bellwether, you can subscribe to the whole blog using this http:

http://askthebellwether.blogspot.com/

In your RSS-tracker (bloglines is mine -- if you already have bloglines and want to subscribe to this whole blog, click here.)

Or, if you just want shop news and not the semi-daily FAQ postings (which, I admit, could be a bit much to wade through!) you can subscribe to the special "TBW" tag to see when a new posting is added -- and click through to the listing from your blog-subscription-service. For that, subscribe to the TBW tag using this as your "aggregator address":

http://del.icio.us/rss/askthebellwether/TBW

If you use bloglines (like me!) then just click here to subscribe to shop news: Subscribe me!

Thanks, and now stay tuned for our first "TBW News flash" (it kind of sounds like a broadcast station, doesn't it?)

-- added later:
If you want to subscribe with Google Reader, use one of these buttons:
For the Whole Blog
Just The Bellwether's News

The buttons let you add the blog feed/news to your google homepage or to Google Reader. You'll need to click "subscribe" once the preview window comes up in Google Reader.

--- new update: email!
You can subscribe to just The Bellwether's news postings with the
"Subscribe to The Bellwether's Newsletter" link on the right side of our blog (just below the "Subscribe to the blog" box ...) This link takes you to a screen that looks like this (from FeedBurner), where you type in your email:

Type in your email, follow their verification process, and you are in!

What can you knit from 100% angora?

The nice thing about angora is how warm(ing) it is. I made a pair of wrist-hand warmers with a slit for the thumb on the side out of angora, and it really helped my wrists -- my hands get really cold when I type!

Another nice benefit to all that warmth is that even in lace, it still provides some warmth; so if you want to make an angora sweater, I'd do a very open lace and plan to wear it over something (oooh like a silk blouse). Though, after a while, the angora may shed a bit -- my 2yo alpaca/angora crochet scarf is now leaving bits on my jacket (sigh). So be sure to whack the skeins on the countertop 5 or 6 times (or more!) when you finish washing them, to ensure a good "grip" on the fibers in the yarn.

My other angora project was a small neckwarmer -- the kind with a keyhole slot to draw the other end through. And I saw a neat small neck-scarf just the other day here that simply buttoned or was pinned, to be kept close to the neck. A great 2-3 ounce project :-)

(posted by me on spindlers, this day)

Where can I find cotton hand cards?

You'll want to buy some hand cards with "cotton cloth" on them -- extra fine, i.e. lots and lots of teeth, more than are on "wool handcards". I got lucky (lucky me) and bought Clemes & Clemes cotton handcards on eBay that were in like-new condition, 5 years ago. They are getting rarer now, given they aren't made any more. I like the curved backs -- not sure who does curved backs in new handcards these days.

I've heard some good things about teeth density on the Strauch hand cards (at 255 teeth per square inch). Some makers have "cotton" handcards but the teeth density isn't all that great.

BTW, cotton handcards are also great for carding angora! And BTW2, if you have bad wrists like me, the "child size" option, if there is one, is a good idea.

(posted by me this day on LJ:spinningfiber)

Spinning for Socks...

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Yes, you can spin a sock yarn on a spindle. That said -- spinning on spindles to sell yarn is probably not very efficient. Peaceful, relaxing, but not efficient.

I've been working on my wheel-spinning for sock yarn lately and that is eye-opening in and of itself -- wheel ratios are becoming much more familiar to me vs. my earlier, DK-to-worsted spinning on wheels. Hooray for 24-to-1, I finally got my Better Roberts Accelerator working. But wheels aside -- congratulations!

Here are some good links on spinning for socks:

http://fiberlife.blogspot.com/2006/11/spinning-for-socks-short-course-of.html

http://www.hjsstudio.com/sockyarn.html

I would note they are at opposite ends of the spectrum -- spinning firm vs. spinning loosely. I think the biggest thing to consider may be (a) the wear pattern of the sock (b) the shoe it's going into. For a tight fit, you want a fine yarn that fits in a dress shoe -- something knittable on a size 0 or 1 (US) needle; but you can knit great boot socks on a size US 5 needle with worsted weight yarn, too.

Besides a WPI tool like the one from Nancy's Knit Knacks, I find the WPI Control Card from VIP Fibers to be a handy gadget (if only I could keep track of my gadgets ...) but remember, your yarn may bloom and fluff up a bit after it's spun and plied ... so sampling may be useful early on in your learning.

I'd probably hand a beginner a Romney wool, maybe a Shetland. But that depends -- if they're a sock-yarn beginner but know how to spin, a superwash Merino's not out of the question, and there's a yummy Merino/Tencel blend in my stash to be sock yarn. My current sock yarn blends on bobbins/spindles include: superwash merino from Crown Mountain Farms, a blend of superwash/romney/silk (from Abby!), and a CVM/Viscose/silk noil blend by Crosspatch Creations.

Having Mohair, nylon, viscose (aka rayon) and/or silk in blend with wool can add strength, so most spinners I've talked with recommend blends generally, for socks.

(posted by me this day on LJ:spinningfiber)

The Bellwether sells a mini sock spinning kit which includes fiber, a pamphlet on spinning for socks, a mini sock blocker, and a pattern to knit your mini sock.

How much twist does singles yarn need?

For singles yarn, you don't want to put as much twist in as you would for the singles you plan to ply. I did a really loose single that knitted up very well, but I know Brown Sheep yarn has a fair bit of twist in it (If you have any Brown Sheep yarn, get a piece of it, put it in warm water and watch what happens...it will twist back on itself a fair bit.)

How much twist is enough for singles? Just enough to hold it together, or alternatively, when you hold the just-twisted length loosely, it only tries to twist back on itself loosely, not enough to be a decent 2-ply.

(from a post by me on spindlers, 11/12/2001)

Do I need to set the twist in my singles before I ply?

(and then there are Daisy meetings ... wow! exhausting. Now, for a retro spindlers posting to round out my day ...)

If you know you are going to ply it, then don't wash it yet. You wash to remove the sheepy smell/dirt/oils from spinning and to set the twist. It'd be okay if you *did* wash it now, but if you wash and then ply, you'll need to figure out how much twist you want to ply it with without the guide of un-set wool to work with (see the starter notes in the spindler's group files, I think there's info on that there -- if not, beep me and I'll explain more).

Once you have your final skein ready (singles, or plied -- whatever you want to end up with), wind it on a niddy-noddy. Now, don't put the niddy in the water unless it's a PVC niddy. You don't need to, in any case -- before you remove the yarn from the niddy, put some figure-eight ties around the skein (I put one on each of the 4 legs of yarn), then remove it from the niddy. Lay it in the washwater. The ties keep it together. It might get a little disorganized, but not much.

I usually do one wash with a little wool wash or dish soap, then one or two washes in plain water to rinse. Don't agitate the skein in the sink -- that would felt it!

I roll my washed skein in a towel and push on it, to remove most of the water. Then I put it on a hanger and hang it over the bathtub so the final drips don't cause any mischief.

If it's angora, you are supposed to whack it on the counter several times. You can do this with other fibers too, it will felt them a little bit, but not into a single mass. It helps ensure the fibers will stick together well in the yarn, as well as helping the twist to spread along the skein as needed to reach a balance.

(based on a post by me on spindlers, 12/11/2001)

Will a felted item shrink when it is washed later?

The answer is 'it depends'. I made a felted hat with my first handspun, and it took 3 trips through washer and dryer to get it small enough to fit -- the last time it hardly shrunk at all, so likely it now qualifies as 'machine washable'. My mother's felted clogs, however, only went through 1.5 wash loads and 1 dryer load, so I'd be a bit leery of throwing them in the washer again. I don't know if there's some standard way to tell if it's as felted as it's going to get, other than felting a small sample until it won't shrink any more.

(posted by me on spindlers, 12/10/2001)

What can I make from mohair? Can it be worn next to the skin?

Wearing mohair next to the skin depends on the person -- and the softness of the mohair. Some of the first fiber I spun was some well-prepared mohair roving; it was plyed with wool, knit and felted into a hat. I can wear the hat about 15 minutes before I "feel" an itch from the mohair, but it doesn't bother me too much. Generally, I find mohair itchy next to my skin -- but that's just me, I know others do not.

Aside -- I've learned also that the "itch" can be useful -- it generates warmth! So a mohair scarf may be just the ticket to warm up a cold neck!

You could ask whoever you plan to spin the mohair for, to tuck some of the roving under a wristband or in a sock, and see if they find it itchy after a while. That's what my husband did with some of my wool when he said he'd like me to make him a scarf and I said I wasn't going to spin 100% angora for ANYONE once I finished the angora for his wrist warmers.

(mostly posted by me on spindlers, 12/3/2001)

What are your fiber hobbies?

When I was a child, I loved to sew, knit, crochet, and do anything 70's-crafty. Embroidery, cross-stitch, needlepoint, paint-by-number, and ended up with horses (thanks, Mom!) and even 4-H sheep! To this day my Dad won't give up his macrame wall-hanging with a macrame owl in it.

Got really busy in computers in college and professionally, but eventually returned to ... gardening, knitting, a touch of crochet. Then I discovered spinning! Wow! spinning, felting (needle and wet), dyeing, fiber processing, nalbinding, sock machines, weaving, kumihimo, you name it I love it. I try everything! But I keep coming back to fiber processing, spinning, and knitting (especially with those sock machines) as my trinity. I'd love to dye and weave more, just there aren't enough hours in the day for my fibery pursuits.

I suppose I could "give up" the sourdough starter and its upkeep, but we do love the bread and English Muffins, not to mention the occasional carrot cake it turns out!

It's a fine balance, and I'm always interested to see how the next new thing will impact it.

(posted by me on LoopyEwe's blog this day)

What about you? Are you primarily a spinner, a knitter, a dyer, a weaver? What path brought you there -- what else have you tried?

Sock Machines: What's a Legare 4 1/2?

Can I claim some confusion? I have Legare 400's (I know this, because the first one was a Pat Fly Restoration, and they all have the Legare emblem and 400 on the base) and they all (3) have silver disks on the outside that say 4 1/2. I had always assumed it was just a size disk "decorating" my Legare -- and not some new type of Legare? Is there a third Legare out there?

That said, my "3" Legares are all different generations; one (the restored) is very old, with a hand-painted logo on the base. The second is middle-old, with a little enameled red diamond on the logo-plate (and a solid-metal cranker, no holes in the large round dial), and my third is the least old, with no special coloring on the logo-plate and holes in the cranker (to make it lighter, IMO).

And that said, I don't truly have 3 complete Legares; I have:
3 outer cylinders, one with chipped-being-restored V-cams
4 72 slot cylinders (hey, how'd that happen?)
2 36-slot ribber plates
1 27-slot ribber plate (brass, yet -- wow it's cool looking!)
2 54-slot cylinders (I think)
4 ribber arm stoppers (a spare of those, I won't complain about!)
1 ribber topper
1 AK ribber topper (sigh) that sits off-center in all 3 of the Legares
plenty of weights,
2 working yarn-masts, a third needs its spring yet, and an argyle topper (cool!)

Well, you see, I just piece together a variety of setups to knit on, and have at it! I can't wait to re-clean my cylinder bases and try the Militec-1 lubricant on it -- that stuff worked wonders on my Schacht's Woolee Winder (then I _finally_ figured out one of the plastic washers was in backwards and now the WW completely works).

Anyway, I am off topic. So, it's about 2.4 complete machines, only one ribber. I'm interested to hear more about this "AK post" thingie to make AK ribbers work on Legares -- would it solve my off-center problems? hmmm.

(posted by me this day on sockmachinefriends)

When is the spindle full?

The spindle is full when it gets hard to spin on -- the yarn slips, or there's nowhere to twist it. Or, it's full when you run out of roving/fiber. This is true for any type of spindle -- top whorl, bottom whorl, turkish, support.

It's okay to cover the bottom of a turkish spindle; I lose the "point" at the bottom of mine all the time from winding on beyond that distance.

(posted by me on spindlers on 11/12/2001)

And I've learned a few things since then ...

Consider ... you start with a 15 gram spindle to spin singles for a sock-weight 2-ply. How much fiber do you expect to get on it before it becomes difficult to spin, due to the added weight on the spindle super-drafting your fibers for you ... said another way, how heavy of a spindle do you want to spin sock-weight yarn on? Something to consider.

A great "rule of thumb" I learned on spindlers from Sheila Bosworth of Journey Wheel (and Bosworth spindles!) fame is to aim to add 1/3 the spindle's weight to it in fiber. So on that 15 gram spindle -- that would be just 5 grams of fiber! A mere handful.

On the other end of the spectrum ... both a local friend of mine (Debbie) and an internet friend (Abby) stuff as much as they can on a spindle. Debbie puts up to 2 ounces, on her favorite 1-1.5 ounce top-whirl spindles. And I believe Abby once posted she had 4 or 5 ounces on her favorite 1-2 ounce bottom whorl spindles. Now that's full! Granted, neither was spinning sock-weight singles at the time.

So, something between the advice of 1/3 the spindle's weight and triple the spindle's weight seems to be the "norm". I guess the spindle police won't be handing out tickets anytime soon for over-filling a spindle!

And me personally? I think I use something like Sheila's guideline generally for my finer spinning, and put about an ounce on a spindle when I'm spinning singles to ply into worsted yarns.

Just how fine is cobweb weight yarn?

Laceweight yarn is typically anything over 18 WPI (wraps per inch). Once you start getting into 40+ WPI, _definitely_ cobweb weight!

Jamieson & Smith has "Shetland Cobweb" yarn that is stated to be 32 WPI, with 380 yards in 25 grams (25 grams = 0.88 ounces; so it would be about 430 yards per ounce -- a pair of socks is typically about 400 yards, in 4 ounces!).

A great parenthetical comment shows up under the WPI entry at everything2.com, "(keep in mind cobweb is to regular lace pretty much as fingering is to worsted, and often even lighter.)" So right!

(based on a posting by me this day on spindlers)

What do I do with my very first full spindle?

What you have on your spindle is singles. Congratulations! If you want to keep them that way (and singles are pretty popular these days, so no reason not to!), then wind them from your spindle onto a niddy noddy.

The primary "untwisting" danger is on the several inches of each end. Either (a) don't worry about this or (b) take the last 6 inches and fold it back on itself and let it twist around itself -- that gentle 3" of plied yarn will "hold" the twist at the end while you wind the whole skein around the niddy-noddy. I usually set my spindle on a carpeted floor for this, though you could set it in a shoe box if you don't want it to roll under the sofa.

Once it's on the niddy-noddy, tie a tie around each of the 4 legs of yarn on the niddy. Just a loop, tied around, will do it, or if you want to get fancy, a "figure-8" tie that goes around half then crosses itself and goes around the other half of the same leg.

Then take your skein off the niddy noddy and wash it up! Fill a sink with warm water and some dish liquid or wool wash, then put the skein in for 15 minutes; remove the skein, squeeze out the water, refill the sink with warm water (no soap), put the skein back in for a 10 minute rinse. Remove and squeeze it, repeat the rinse if you feel it needs it. At the end, I roll my skein in a towel and really lean on it, to take out as much water as I can.

Then hang the skein somewhere to finish drying; put a towel or a soup can through the loops at the bottom if you feel it's twisting too much, that will put some tension on it while it dries to keep it from twisting.

And congrats on the spindle-full! way to go!

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

What's a Spin-Dizzy?

Spin-Dizzies were hand crafted by Kat Walton, a spinner and weaver. The Bellwether is proud to be Kat's retail outlet for her fine spindles. These spindles are Turkish- or Russian-style, with two oblong, overlapping whorl pieces. The photo shows bottom whorl Spin-Dizzies in each size: the Standard (no longer available), Traveller, and Laceweight. These are all shown as bottom whorls.

The Standard and Laceweight also were made in top whorl arrangements; the laceweight even comes as a convertible, with the shaft shaped so the whorl can be closer to the hook or further from the bottom-whorl shaft.

The shaft on the Spin-Dizzies is round; a hand-carved crochet-hook atops the top whorls, and an indendation all the way around is near the end of the bottom whorl shaft. For the Traveller and Standard, the shaft is squared toward the bottom to hold the whorl pieces in place. The Laceweight is not squared, so it needs a leader tied and wrapped several times to hold the whorls in place at the start of spindling.

The laceweight weighs from as little as 3 grams to about 10-12 grams (in Ebony top whorl). It is not for the beginner spindler, being too light for all but the finest spinning. This is a great spindle to learn to spin cobweb weight on. In fact, my personal introduction to Spin-Dizzies was Kat showing up on my doorstep (literally!) with a 5 gram bottom whorl after I'd posted on Spindlitis that I thought I might try to spin cobweb weight yarn next. Wow!

The Traveler is sized for ease of transport and great spindling. It is only available as a bottom whorl, and is great for traveling. Great for spinning sock yarns, these weigh from 1/2 to just over 1 ounce.

Kat recommends having more than one set of whorls per spindle, especially with the laceweight spin-dizzies, so you can save one spinning project until you have a second spindle-full to ply with. I'd note also the laceweight spin-dizzies won't usually ply what they spin, as they are sooo light. But any regular spindle will ply their singles just fine. Yarn is much tougher than roving, and can take quite a bit of weight from a plying spindle. This picture shows two laceweights, top and bottom whorl style, with cotton spinning in progress on them.

As with Turkish spindles, you wrap the yarn around the arms as you go; use your favorite Turkish wrap -- these often get discussed on spindlers -- my favorite is simply to make an "X" at 45 degrees to the X of the arms themselves. Then I end up with a fairly round ball, and if I can fish out the beginning end from the center (bright red leader yarn is great for enabling this!) I can ply from both ends right back onto the spindle, with my Traveler.

Kat is no longer making Spin-Dizzies due to her health; she is teaching her son to make them, and we both have high hopes. The first batch of whorls from him was quite nicely done; next, he's going to work on Travelers. But he will be going to college, so it is likely his wood-working will be intermittent for a few years.

My Spin-Dizzy projects to date include several cotton skeins on the laceweights, used in my undulating twill project (still underway); and many a skein on a Traveler, used in various knitting projects and also for yarn for my mother (who loves to knit with handspun!). I've been eyeing my lovely Macassar Ebony Traveller lately, to do some more spindling-for-socks. Time to start a new project! LOL!

Do you walk and spindle at the same time?

Walking and spinning -- just not something I do. I usually bring spinning with me around tax time and the holidays for the post office line, but that's mostly standing still!

However, the funniest standing spin I did was last June. At the NwRSA conference, there was a contest to stand on one foot and spindle spin. If you did it the longest, you won! So, I won :-) It was pretty hard -- I hopped around a bit, and in the end I was doing my spinning Ahka style so my arms could be out to the sides. I was pushing 40 then (now I'm on the other side) and my balance just wasn't what it was when I was 8. But second place was a belly dancer, so I feel very proud of my accomplishment!

So, if you want to walk and spin support spindles, I recommend learning to spin on Ahkas -- the "horizontal support spindle technique". I put a snippet on how to spin on Ahkas here.

Hmmm, maybe that would re-energize my cotton spinning UFO ...

(posted by me on spindlitis, this day)

Actually, I have spun and walked to the kids' school bus stop every once in a while. But I don't really have any tips -- I was spinning medium weight, not fine, wool, and I kept the fiber lengths short rather than mess with a distaff. The additional fiber was stored in my coat pocket.

So, do you walk and spindle spin? and why ...

Sock Machines: How do you finish picking up a dropped stitch?

Once I have my dropped stitch all laddered up from where it dropped to the first knit stitch made in the same column, I take a piece of waste yarn and weave it (usually up a rib inside the sock), make an "extra" stitch-looking catch to "knit" the laddered-up stitch to the next real stitch in the row below it, and then weave the other end of my repair yarn down the other side of the rib.

But I kind of like the idea of unravelling right to the bottom of the sock -- except that most of my drops are in the ribbing at the very, very top of the sock and knit up again within a round of dropping. I'm not sure I could bring myself to ladder the entire length of the sock.

(posted by me this day on sockknittingmachines)

Where can I find a pattern for sideways knit socks?

There are a few free patterns out there, as well as published ones. Spin-Off had a "better mousetrap" sock a while back that was knit sideways in garter stitch, including the toe and heel in the sideways knitting.

Knitpicks has a garter stitch one where you add the toe on after knitting the leg, heel, and foot sideways, here.

Opal has one that also has an add-on toe, but in stockinette -- great for self-patterning yarn! That one is available here.

If you want traditional socks but with a sideways leg, Fiber Trends has a fun pattern called Ribs on the Side. The cuff is knit sideways, and the foot is knit "normally".

I knit the Fiber Trends one, the sideways rib was fun to do, and you can make the leg as long as you like, then knit the foot onto it. The leg is a knitted horizontal rib often called "Shaker Rib", if you like to make your own sock patterns.

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

How do you go from spinning fine to spinning thick?

When I'm moving from spinning thin to spinning thick, I'll do some pre-drafting down to where I think it needs to be for the thickness, and spin up a sample -- then adjust, repeat, until I can see how thick I need to draft for the spun yarn to come out right. Once I have it right, I save a sample drafted and a sample spun on a card that I keep nearby while I continue spinning.

Also with thicker yarn, less twist is needed for it to be yarn, so put in a little less twist before winding on to your spindle, or treadle slower on your wheel.

A 3-ply will give you a rounder yarn to knit with, but then again you'll have to spin that many more yards before you are done ... if you've time and patience, spin up a 2 ply and a 3 ply and knit up samples to see which you prefer. On the plus side, the singles for the 3-ply will need to be a little finer than those for the 2 ply, so that might be an easier thickness to spin.

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

What Turkish Spindles do you Like?

I like all of mine -- let's see. Some were from a shop up in Canada, west coast-ish, I had to call, but I forget (sigh) it is stamped "Ray". Cute things, some are top-whorl-ish, fairly light, with a notch that runs up to the top of the shaft (like an Akha notch)

My absolute current favorites are Jenkins' Turkish for high ounce to two ounce weights, and for sub-ounce to featherweights, Spin-Dizzies. (AD, I carry both of these :-) ) I can't say enough about the nice job on the shaft of the Jenkins Turkish, for I can flick the shaft and get a zippy spin out of it. The Spin-Dizzy Traveller has an indentation on the shaft too, so has a similar benefit there.

For pure artistry, the Forrester Turkish are lovely, with great turnings on the shaft below the whorl and holes drilled through the arms that are terrific. Gemini Fibres in Canada may have those.

And the most "practical" flat-whorl that I've ever had was the Russian-Turkish spindle from Peace Fleece. I don't know if they still carry them, but they are cool and spin well.

Nannette mentioned the Valkyrie Turkish -- those are nice, but currently not in production (sigh) -- which is why all the vendors are out.

And-and, I have a lovely fitted-arm (not rest on top, not go through the middle--the arms mesh, tres' cool imho) Turkish style; I forget the business name, DJ made it. That one went on my holiday trip with me, for some laceweight spinning.

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

Can you spindle while sitting?

It was probably too many years working at a desk, but mostly I sit and spindle. So much, that I have to remember to stand when I teach people!

It depends on the chair and your inclinations, but I generally like a shorter-shafted spindle (not more than 9 inches, 10 on the outside) so that it takes a little longer to hit the floor. Most spindles will keep going all the way to the floor; top whorls because you can thigh-roll them, and I flick my bottom whorls at the thinnest available spot to get the best turn rate I can. On some bottom whorls, I'll thigh roll them as well. If the yarn is barber-poled up the shaft and my trousers are non-grabby fabric, this works quite well.

I don't have a specific spindle recommendation, just those tips. Oh, and support spindles are fun too -- if there's no table, there are lap bowls you can use.

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

How much fiber do I draft out for thinner yarn?

It takes some time to figure out how thin to draft (how much to feed) to get a given thickness of yarn. Take a mental picture of how much you are drafting (or heck, save a real sample if that helps) and compare that to the thickness of the yarn. Yarn too thick? Draft it out thinner. Take a new mental picture/sample and repeat, until yarn is the thickness you want.

On the reverse -- if the yarn is too thin, you need to look at how thin your drafting triangle is, and draft thicker, get more fiber in the drafting triangle so the resulting yarn is thicker.

You control how much is in the drafting triangle by how thinly you pull it out. You can have very little fiber there for a very fine yarn, or a whole bunch for a thick yarn. I usually start people out with a "pinky-thick" guideline for their first spinnings, which is a chunky yarn, and then have them draft thinner from there once they get the hang of it.

If you're having trouble pulling the yarn out -- move your hands further apart. The best advice I got when I started to spin was to check the staple length (length of individual fibers) of what I was spinning and to keep my hands 1.5 * the staple length apart (staple-length-and-a-half apart). Then the fibers slide easily in the drafting triangle -- well, once you keep all the twist out of it, too. That was key advice #2, LOL.

(posted by me this day on spindlers)

Over The Edge Yarns ...

We finished our loop yarn today!! I didn't have a quill for my wheel, so I used my Mother Marion kick spindle -- what a workout! The photo shows the first 3 of my yarns (that's all we've done so far). In a fortnight we start "knot yarn". I think I'll do the next quill yarn on a charka, that or start taking tae-bo aerobics so my backside doesn't hurt quite so much, LOL.

(posted by me this day on Spinning_On_The_Edge)

What's a Mother Marion Kick Spindle? See the picture -- this is me winding off the skein once I'd filled the spindle. I bought this a looong time ago; it was either a trade on spindlers, or from The Woolery.

What's a Fiber Sandwich?

There was a Majacraft Spinning Retreat where the participants put a bunch of fiber on the floor in layers, tore off a hunk, and spun it up. It was blogged by JumpSheep.

Vivien was inspired to do this for a creative spinning class and blogged it on SpinAYarn99.

There's a Fiber Sandwich swap going on over on Spinning_on_the_Edge currently, but not many photos yet (of incoming fiber ... it'll be ?march before you see any handspun from it, from me, anyway!).

(posted by me this day on TechSpin)

How do I spin yarn for needlepoint?

I would pick a Longwool breed like Leicester Longwool or Wensleydale to spin for needlepoint yarns. Wensleydale makes beautiful needlepoint yarn, high luster, so when dyed it really glows. I'd use worsted-style spinning, fairly thin and smoothing it down so it won't be hairy -- I'd probably go so far as to ply from the start of the bobbin to ensure I kept laying the fibers down in the same direction, to minimize hairiness as much as was possible.

(posted by me this day on TechSpin)

What do I replace a fraying drive band with?

For a spinning wheel's drive band replacement, you might try carpet warp -- a thick cotton string. It doesn't need to be waxed. Or, some "poly cord", a plasticy, slightly stretchy cord. Usually you can melt the ends together with little more than a blow dryer. The large spinning supply stores (Woodland Woolworks, The Woolery) may stock this, or you may be able to find it at a hardware store.

(posted by me this day on spinning_camp)

How do I get the roving I've spun to wind onto my wheel?

First, check the tension with a long piece of already spun yarn (commercial, acrylic, or something smooth). Increase the tension so the yarn will draw on readily, if it's scotch tension, tighten the scotch tightener; if it's double drive, increase the tension in the drive bands (usually the mother-of-all adjusts for this).

Once the drawing in tension is set okay, if there are still problems with draw-in on your handspinning, take a look at the diameter of the roving you've spun that is ready to go onto the wheel and check if it might be getting hung up in the orifice (if the yarn is too big around in spots to fit through there).

Also, if you are spinning dread-locky or fuzzy yarn, it might be getting hung up on the hooks from time to time as it tries to roll onto the bobbin. I've found that when this happens to me, I can't see the hangup, but when I try to remove the yarn from the hooks -- wa-la! I find a pesky few strands that have somehow wrapped themselves around one of the hooks. If this is so, then completely lift the yarn off the hooks, put it back on, and watch it as you roll it onto the bobbin to see if it is catching still or not.

(posted by me this day on spinning_camp)

How much yarn do I have on my niddy-noddy?

How much yarn you get from a niddy noddy depends on the length of the niddy noddy -- so measuring it, if it didn't come with measurement information, is your best bet. A "typical" mass produced niddy noddy usually produces a 1 meter or a 4 foot skein (depending on which country produced it, I think).

But my favorite niddy size is one that produces a 1 yard skein, so I can just count loops and know how many yards I have.

You can determine the approximate skein size of your niddy by measuring the center bar -- if it is 1 foot in length, your skeins will be 4 feet around; if it is 9 inches in length, your skeins will be 1 yard around; and if it is 6 inches in length, your skeins will be 2 feet around (this is a great sampler size). The skein "size" is 4 times the length of the center bar, basically.

(posted by me this day on spinning_camp)

Cool Ideas for Novelty Yarns ... And a Progress Report

My spinning group (officially now the "Over The Edge" spinners) that is using Lexi Boeger's book "PluckyFluff" to help us spin outside our comfort zones is making progress! Granted, it's 5-hours-a-month worth of progress, turtle-speed but I like the thought of spending a year on this!

So far ... nub yarn, great, lots of combos; candystripe yarn, wow, metallic thread is really visible and we all spun muuuch tighter singles than we thought; mine is back on the niddy to help set the twist after washing, weighting to dry, and steaming. And we are now half-way through the loop yarn -- that is to say, we have spun the singles!

The get-together for making the loops is this Tuesday, and my homework assignment was to figure out ways we could spin this. One of our intrepid spinners determined that a 3/8" dowel fits in the orifice of the Ashford wheel, so we plan to try to convert the three Ashfords of the group into Quill wheels by sharpening the ends of 3/8" dowels. I'm hoping they grip enough! The Louet orifice is larger, so I may try out my other wheels to see if another maker has a 3/8" inside diameter on their orifice. And, I have a Mother Marion kick spindle, so I'm thinking that'll be what I use :-)

But anyway!! I wanted to pass on the cool ideas for our novelty yarns. One lady has already started a "shawl sampler", a simple triangle shawl in garter with each yarn used in turn, starting at the point and working up. I was emailed a suggestion to make a lap blanket (since the fibers are generally not soft!) using the Island Embrace Blanket pattern by Cat Borhdi, so I think that's what I will do.

And then I ran across this great website: www.yarnmuseum.com and noticed alot of the FO's are knit purses. There's a grand idea! We have a tapestry weaver among the group, too, so I'm guessing she'll weave a tote or tapestry from her yarns. I can hardly wait, grin! And as soon as my loop yarn is done, I'll start working on my lap blanket.

The yarns there are quite inspiring, and the FO's make me itch to spend more than 5 hours a month. But since I'm also working on spinning sock yarns, well, there's alot going on ... not to mention the cotton spinning that ought to get kick started and all the spindle projects and and ... LOL!!

(posted by me this day on Spinning_Over_The_Edge)

Sock Machines: I'm dropping stitches on the heels -- help!

Are the dropped stitches right at the start of the row, or mid-row?

For stitches at the start of the row -- are you manually wrapping the yarn around the outer needle to ensure it knits, or ensuring the yarn wraps the latch as you come back to start the row? Either way will work, so long as either the needle or the latch gets wrapped; if neither happens, the first stitch will be dropped since the yarn won't be there to "knit" it.

Another first-stitch problem I run into sometimes is my outer cam and my inner cam (sorry for the bad names) aren't rotating freely against one another -- not sure if the oil got too gunky or what -- if you notice, when you change direction, the lower/outer cam needs to sit still until the inner cam "engages" it (usually it has a bolt or a sticky-outy-piece that "hits" part of the outer/lower cam) and starts it moving again. If it's too sticky, the outermost one will start moving early, and the needles won't go up-and-down at the right time -- wala! dropped stitches.

Stitches missing in the middle of the row are usually, for me, due to the knitting getting too tight because my yarn got caught up on something and I didn't notice.

Keep trying, keep your eyes open, see if you can spot something as a cause. All of the above I figured out only after many dropped stitches. But I did figure it out :-)

(posted by me this day on sockknittingmachines)

What are the carding tools "doffer brush" and "burnishing tool" used for?

On doffer brushes and burnishing tools ... of the ones I have, the doffer brush is a little affair not much bigger than a flicker, but with long, deep, coarse-looking teeth. Great for picking up fibers off the drum carder to clean it. The burnishing tool is the same shape as, and maybe slightly larger than, a wool hand card, but with fine teeth (like my cotton carder's fine teeth) but fairly long besides -- same length as the doffer's I guess. I was told to hold the burnishing tool atop the carder as it was going (a PG supercarder) to temper the batt a bit -- push it into the teeth so you can get more in -- and also to help keep the drum carder's teeth sharp (burnished, thus the name). There's a brush-type attachment I've seen on some drum carders, but mine is definitely more a hand-card looking type of thing, from Patrick Green, it came with my PG Super Carder.

(posted by me this day on livejournal\spinningfiber)