| Archive for the dropped spindle An online meeting place for spinners, weavers, dyers and felters. |
| natalie |
Plans for the weekend?So what are you all up to this weekend?I had ordered some Hot Pink dye, to add to my collection. The red I have is really a tomato red, and I have found it hard to get pink in my yarn, as opposed to pale red, so I capitulated and ordered the pink... but it hasn't come in the post this morning, so I'm going to have to find something else to do. Bit muggy today too, we need a good thunderstorm to clear the air. natalie |
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| sally |
been raining here all day, really has helped clear the air. I finished knitting a couple of hats, but mostly have been doing housework. Need to get some madder dye on tomorrow but thats about it on the creative textile side this weekend | ||
| acrylik |
Just spent the afternoon (drop) spinning up some Wensleydale Longwool tops that were pre-dyed, I bought them when I visited the Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop in May. It took me a while to get a handle on the long staple, but now I'm well on my way  There's been a lovely breeze and a bit of rain here today, so it's cleared away that mugginess thank goodness.
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| spinningsue |
I've started spinning thin for a Shetland style shawl I want to design and knit. The tops are a merino/alpaca/silk blend from an Aussie Ebay shop and only took a week to get here. There'll be pics on my blog tomorrow once I've made some progress that you can actually see! Spinning fine certainly takes a long time to fill the bobbins!
I also had a major online shopping oops! today. I've order 3 books on weaving, an inkle loom and some yarn. Can't wait for it to arrive. I was going to be soooo good this month and rein in my fibre-y spending... oops! 
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| natalie |
spinningsue, you can't just say that!
Which books did you buy? Kathy is an inkle loomer. She made some amazing scarves last winter. They were flattish in the middle with frilly edges. Acrylik, I love the idea of a Sheepshop, I have visions of coming home with a sheep! sally I have just woken up to the fact that you have an open source software shop. Was it hard to set up? Without divulging that you are about to decant to a private island with a yacht, has it been successful? I am sitting in a vinegary kitchen (must get some citric acid) waiting for a skein to steam. I am trying to dye yarns on purpose instead of having happy accidents, so this one is an attempt to get a blended green yarn, rather than one with sections in a single colour, which I can do fairly easily now, So this one is a sprayed yarn to get the blending, and I used very dilute dyes to build up the colour gradually and then poured very dilute yellow over it once it was in the pot to mop up any blue which was left. I want it to be the colour of grass just before a thunderstorm, that bright yellowy green which you don't get at any other time. All will be revealed in the next ten minutes. natalie |
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| spinningsue |
LOL Natalie I should have divulged the titles shouldn't I?
Okay, I bought Inkle Weaving by Helene Bress http://tinyurl.com/s64mh, Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving by B Davenport http://tinyurl.com/pc4gk and Learning To Weave by Deborah Chandler http://tinyurl.com/mynn8. I haven't got a rigid heddle loom yet but there is one in the very near future! Hope the links work. I think I might have bought the last copy of the inkle weaving book. |
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| natalie |
They work.
I haven't seen these. They look very interesting, especially the Deborah Chandler one. I have the Ashford heddle loom book which has been fine for getting me started. I read somewhere today that weaving uses yarn x 1, knitting uses yarn x 2 and crochet uses yarn x 3 . So we can tell ourselves that by buying a loom and all the accoutrements, we are making our yarn go further which is a green and environmentally thing to do. Green yarn is now drying. Looks interesting so far, not too mono-coloured, but not too contrasty either. I'm trying to dye yarn which can be paired with the spacedyed yarn, so it could form cuffs, heels and toes, or cuffs and fingers. So if someone buys 2 skeins they have enough to do socks, gloves/ mittens and a hat, instead of ending up with leftovers which aren't enough to do anything with. I won't be able to tell if the plan has worked until tomorrow, the colours are always lighter when they dry. Photos will have to wait until Monday when OH returns from his adventure. natalie |
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| sally |
 It wasn't particularly hard to set up, but I had to get used to working with a whole new type of software and I did tear my hair out over about a week whilst I got the hang of it. It helped immensley using a website host that installed the software free for me (I'd tried to do it myself but got in a real knot, the nice helpdesk people on my new server did it as standard, highly recommended if ever you need a new webhost)
Anyway, ist the oscommerce one and I've used the default shop design, havent played around much at all beyond changing a few logos, and its working fine. Orders are very slow, but thats expected at this time of year and for the type of stuff we make, I'm hoping it will pick up towards Christmas 
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| Kathy |
I love my inkle loom and also have the Deborah Chandler book, it's excellent.
This is the frondy scarf I made on the inkle, it's meant to be worn around the neck! I've also made head bands, guitar strap, dog lead and strap for bag. 
I'll only leave this photo on briefly, for obvious reasons.
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| spinningsue |
I wouldn't have though of using eyelash yarn. Mind you the loom hasn't arrrived yet! WHo knows what it will be subjected to once its here.
Was it difficult to weave the eyelash? I know I hate knitting with it! |
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| Kathy |
I warped the loom up with plain blue cotton, then wove 1 strand of eyelash yarn every second weft, using the same plain blue cotton for the weft (if you know what I mean). The cotton trapped the eyelash yarn in place and it made a pretty sturdy scarf. I used the method for making the heddles for making the strands of eyelash yarn. Once I got into a rythym it was very relaxing. It was very warm too, my daughter wore it all winter down in Wales!
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