Handmade spun wool yarn examples

Are You a Handmade Yarn Spinner? 

my tales of spinning wool and a look at my spun tidbits

There was a time that I loved to practice with my drop spindle to make tidbits of yarn. I did it in the house and even on-the-go during car rides. My efforts usually only produced mini skeins. Those little strips like in the photo above were used in my wet felted wool hats & scarves. I never had ambitions to be a hardcore producer of large amounts of wool yarn - more just liked to play around with a drop spindle and kick spindle. I even took a class on using a spinning wheel and produced one skein of "interesting" yarn that I still have. 

Handspun Yarns and Handmade "Fulled" Crochet Flowers in the Works!

I know it must seem like I dropped off the face of the earth.  Well, I haven't!  I'm alive and well.  It has just shaped up to be a very busy summer so far.

I have been able to do a few fiber-filled things though.  I've found that wet felting is a little too time consuming right now, and needle felting, although easy to pick up and put down, is not very baby-friendly with those super sharp, barbed edge needles.  Therefore, I have settled on spinning and crocheting for a while.  I have found that it is easier to pick up and put down a drop spindle or crochet hook out of harm's way while periodically chasing after my baby girl.  I prefer to full, or shrink, my crocheted items because I like the final effect - a texture sort of like traditional wet felting which I adore!  The crochet process is much, much different though.

Most of the handspun yarn that I've made has been done on my Kundert drop spindle with one in the photo (the lime green skein) done on my new mother marion style kick spindle.  Each skein is anywhere from around 30 - 60 yards and made of various combination of wool, mohair, and tussah silk.  Although the kick spindle is much quicker at cranking out yarn, I have found it to be a bit awkward to use, and it appeals a little too much to my baby girl.  I think that she sees it as one of her toys because she heads right for it when I try to use it around her.  I guess that, for now, I will be sticking mainly to the drop spindle for its ease of use and the lesser attention that it draws from my baby girl. Even though I like to use the kick spindle for the bigger skeins it can produce more quickly, it just isn't practical for me most of the time.  I have even thought of selling it, but can't quite decide on that because I do like it.

As for crocheting, I think of myself as a complete novice.  I learned how to crochet in an elementary art class, but have only practiced it off and on casually in the past.  I can't read a pattern very well and usually resort to small free-form objects like the flowers.  I am taking a crochet class at the upcoming MOPACA Fiber "U" event though so I am hoping to learn to read a pattern and venture into making some larger things.  If anyone has any ideas for small (easy!) crochet items that I could make, I would appreciate knowing.  Although I like doing the flowers, variety is the spice of life!

As for traditional feltmaking, I actually do have a few felt art objects in the works, but it is slow going right now with all the summer plans.  I gradually get time to work on them and hopefully will have some photos to post later in the summer.  I still feel somewhat like I'm in a creative dry spell, but I'm trying to focus on just a couple of things at a time to not get overwhelmed and discouraged.  On the bright side, I have the opportunity to teach felting at the Fancy kitty Missouri Fiber Jamboree on September 25th.  Although I've taught a lot of other subjects on design in the past, I haven't ever taught felting hands on so I'm pretty excited about it!  If any of my fellow feltmakers out there has any teaching tips or online sources, I would sincerely appreciate the information.  I'm a bit nervous about teaching.  I have always wanted to though.

(And, some of you probably noticed that I referred to my Crochet items as fulled rather than felted.  I guess that I'm somewhat of a stickler for this terminology.  By definition from what I have always understood, felted items are non-woven; therefore, a shrunken crocheted piece would actually be considered fulled rather than felted.  I know that opinions on this subject vary widely so to each their own.  It seems that often times anything that is shrunken, no matter what process or fiber it is made by, is referred to as felted.)

For wool roving, spinning fiber and equipment, hand spun yarns, and classes in the Kansas City area, check out the Woolgathering in Lexington, Missouri

Even though I live near Kansas City, it is still difficult to find local sources of wool roving, spinning equipment, and fiber classes.  There are several yarn shops and chain hobby stores that carry a wide variety of ready-made yarns, but there are very, very few places to find actual wool roving and spinning supplies as well as classes.

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 On facebook the other day, I happened upon just such a shop in Lexington, Missouri, called Woolgathering.  My husband was very sweet to take me and the baby girl for a little Saturday afternoon drive to check it out.  I was extremely happy with what I found.  It is an awesome fiber shop!  The shop carries all kinds of fiber arts supplies and equipment and even offers classes on spinning, knitting, and crochet.   It also has very reasonable prices.  I left there with a bag full of roving and know that I'll be back for more.  Also, Lexington is really a sweet little town with oodles of charm.  I could see making a day trip of it to explore the downtown area and eat there.  (Although, it isn't too far for a quick trip for supplies either.)  When you get the chance, I highly recommend that you go check out Woolgathering for yourself.  If you are a fiber artist or fiber junkie of any kind local to the Kansas City area, I think it is well worth your drive time.

Some more additons to my fiber equipment - a Mother Marion Kick Spindle and a Lazy Kate

Although I consider myself primarily a traditional feltmaker and always will, I have decided that I'd like to become a more well-rounded fiber artist.  Part of this endeavor is to learn to spin yarn.  I had a spinning class a little while ago and realized how much I enjoyed the process of making hand spun yarn.  Unfortunately, I can't afford a spinning wheel right now.  I just invested in a beautiful Fancy Kitty drum carder and must wait a while to purchase a wheel.  In the mean time, I am making some smaller investments on fiber equipment including a kick spindle and a lazy kate.

I have used my drop spindle off and on, but I feel a bit uncoordinated on it so I decided to invest in a Mother Marion style kick spindle from Heavenly Hand Spinning.   I bought their Little Meggie in Oak kick spindle.  I've only used it a few times now and am still adjusting to how it feels.  It is faster than my drop spindle and allows both of my hands to be free for spinning so that I can practice drafting as you would on a spinning wheel.  I personally like to use it standing up and kick the spindle with my right foot.  It is a bit of a balancing act at times, but undoubtedly a great workout too.  Overall, I like my experience with the spindle so far.  It is quite heavy though and a bit clunkier feeling than using a drop spindle.  It will slide around if you don't brace it well.  I put plastic furniture tabs on the bottom of mine to keep it in place on my hardwood floors as I use it.   It also has a tendency to tip and slip out of its ball bearing.  These, in my opinion, are very minor design flaws considering the overall craftsmanship and beauty of the piece.  I think the base could be wider to avoid the instability.  I may end up attaching it to a wider board myself eventually.  For now, I am satisfied with my kick spindle.  It is a happy medium between using a drop spindle and a spinning wheel.  The truth is that I'd prefer to just have my own spinning wheel right now.  Eventually, I will, but there is some saving of funds to do first.  If you are in the market to buy a kick spindle, I recommend checking out this blog post by Knitting Dragonflies.  It has information on different kick spindle brands as well as a good review of how one works.

The other piece of equipment that I purchased is a handmade lazy kate from a little shop on Etsy called bigfam15.  It is made out of recycled oak from a church pew.  (I just love that!)  It was also significantly less expensive than comparable name brand lazy kates on the market.  I must say that it doesn't sacrifice any quality though.  It far exceeded my expectations in its craftsmanship, functionality, and overall beauty.  It also shipped very quickly and was well packaged with a sweet hand written thank you note.  This lazy kate was completely worth the money and an absolute little gem of a find if you ask me.  I have tinkered with it a bit and really look forward to using it with my hand spun yarns.

The Fruit of My First Spinning Class... A Sweet 2-ply Hand Spun Yarn!

Today I had my first spinning class and learned to make hand spun yarn on a wheel.  In the photo above is the fruit of my labor.  The yarn that I made today is 42 yards of 2-ply with wool and silk fibers mixed.   The six hour class was somewhat exhausting both physically and mentally, but I learned quite a lot.  Overall, I was satisfied with my learning experience.  My only wish is that I had gotten to spin on more than one kind of wheel.  I was only able to use a Kromski Minstrel wheel.  I liked it, but I haven't ever used anything else and would really like to get a feel for other wheels before getting one of my own.  At least I have begun the journey of spinning though.  With many other things preoccupying my time right now, I am uncertain if I will be taking the plunge and purchasing a spinning wheel of my own anytime soon, but it certainly could be in my future.