Challenges anyone?

sally · Challenges anyone?

Havent been about much lately, shows, work, banquets, kittens, delinquent stepsons etc etc etc, but I'm back now, for the moment at least! Also off work today with a rotating mix of twisted ankle, sniffles and slight tummy upset, so I'm mostly fully functional just a bit slow.

Anyway, I digress. Gareth spent two days this week putting all my fabric in one pile, all my wool and fibres in anoter, all the costume in a third and so on. The various mountains are enourmous!

I need to do a bit of a tidy round the mountains then start a divide and conquer, but I need to do it in small stages so I don't end up with several smaller mountains that take up all the available space and undo all the good work he's done.

So, anyone up for small challenges of a vaguely fibery nature this afternoon?

wellington womble

It's not quite the afternoon, but himself is in a bit of a state with a stiff neck, and I have had a hell of a day with difficult patients, so we are treating ourselves to a takeaway, which lets me off cooking. That means I have a spare or two, so I am going file a rough nail and ge the drop spindle out and have another go. Despite lots of pictures, I have so far completely failed to get the knack. After dinner, I shall then collapse onto the sofa with a book and boozy hot chocolate - I'm beat!

wellington womble

Oh I can't bloody get the hang of this! If I hold the fleece above the starter string, then the fleece breaks, or the starter string becomes detatched. If I hold the starter string below the fleece, my fingers stop the twist running up into the fleece. And its wool, so I'm getting all greasy. will start again with Sally's spindle, instead of the one that came in the kit, and some alpaca tops I happen to have lying around (that's three separate lots of fibre I've got, and I can't even spin yet!)

Humph. If I can't get the hang of it in the next ten minutes, I'm skipping to the hot chocolate and the book!

wellington womble

I give up! My sppindle is well and truly dropped - is this some kind of initiation rite? Laughing

Dinner, hot chocolate, book and bedtime for me - you lot can enlighten me later!

sally

wellington womble

Yes, but I can't get going! If I could just get the thing started, I think I'd be OK!. I might tie a knot in it (I keep dropping the spindle. The irony has not escaped me!)

Spinning Fishwife

Twist a bit of the end of the fibres with your fingers then tie it onto your leader/starter string. No, it`s not the "right" way, but who cares? It should work. You can polish up your technique later.

Also have you tried the "park and draft" method? It seperates out the spindle twirling from the drafting bit, and can be a lot easier for beginners.

http://www.icanspin.com/parkdraft.htm[/url]

sally

thats pretty much what my destructions have- she can do it, I know she can Smile

wellington womble

Well, I sort of can. I wouldn't want to knit with it (let alone wear it!) But I can see that the important bit is the teasing, not the spinning (why is it always the way that the bit you thought was important, turns out not to be!)

I think I'm putting too much twist into too thick bits of fleece - I need to less twist in less fleece, and that should make smoother yarn (well, as passable yarn, any rate!)

How do you stop it coming all undone again? or if you wind it round, does that just 'set' it a bit.

Thanks guys - I'll keep working on it (I did tie a knot in it! I don't what I'll do when I finish this bit of fleece - tie another one, I spose!) I also think I don't really get on with wool. I don't wear it or knit with it, so why would I be happy spinning it! I'll dig out some alpaca tops, and have a go with those)

Thanks guys - and especially Sally!

wellington womble

OK - I can now see A) Exactly why its called a drop spindle, and B) Precisely why the spinning wheel was invented! I need two hands to draw the fleece out, and it would be so much easier if the tension was away from me and I could draw against it.

It's much easier with the alpaca, I suspect because the sheeps wool is pretty rough to begin with, and has been hand carded into small bits, whereas I suspect the alpaca has been machine carded into a long thin sort of shape. I must buy a book on spinning, and learn what these things are all called.

On the whole, though, a pleasing mini acheivement for a Sunday morning. Now I have to go and hoover. Harumph!

jam_mam

hooray, well, done for persisting. I felt for you as I read this thread, I'm there too. Oh why can't I do it, it should be easier than this, i will not be beaten.

the drafting, the drafting it's all in the drafting Laughing

Off to practice drafting some more Laughing

wellington womble

I got on fine after that - it was just fixing the wool into an already finished starter string that was the most difficut bit. Attatching the next bit of fleece is OK, as I just do it into the unspun bit at the end. I suppose I can always save a bit of the last spinning to start the next bit now.

Not sure I'd want to be knitting with it though - lots of thin bits and thick bits. Do you ply it together by spinning two lots on a drop spindle, or do i need another gadget for that?

First attempt with sheep wool (fairly disaterous, I admit!) was found by the dogs this afternoon, who have just had half an hour of great fun unspinning it. No loss, and highly entertaining! Laughing

jam_mam

so long as it's not doggy habit forming Shocked

when you do spin the perfect skein you don't want them unravelling that Very Happy

wellington womble

They fished it out of the bin - I'd be a lot more carfeul, if it were any good!

They are on the whole, quite good - although I did deliberately buy work baskets with lids, just in case!