It has been some time since I've posted and that is primarily because I've been spinning more than knitting. I admit that I can become easily distracted and the spinning took up a lot more time over the last month or so that I had anticipated. The little wheel I got from New Zealand has been given away since it just did not spin fast enough for me. I loved how it looked and if I had been a more patient person I could have just made lace weight singles very very slowly on it. Grass grows faster! So off it went. In the mean time, I picked up some Wensleydale X and Teeswater X fleece from Lowder Colours Farm . The grey fleece is the Wensleydale and the sheep was named Madonna. The White fleece is the Teeswater X and that sheep's name as Tal. I don't know why it matters to me that I know their names but it actually adds a little something to the spinning experience :-) That's not all the fleece I've got lately but I'll show them as I actually get to using them. I used a flick carder on the locks and spun from the tips for a nice two ply lace weight. As an experiment I'm making a doily pattern on US 1 needles and I can already tell that twisted stitches don't stand up with this as they might with thread which is more rigid. The detail on the flowers is lost. If I make a shawl with this yarn I will change the twisted stitches and perhaps replace them with a cable cross so they stand out more. The pattern is from an old Anna magazine from August 1996 and is referred to only as "Mitteldecke" I've also been spinning a nice lace weight from batts of "Goblin Market" that I bought from Enchanted Knowl Farm that has Merino, Angelina, Silk and bits of Sari silk. I have continued to buy spindles at a frightening rate but I just can't help myself. I purchased the first two from Spunky Eclectic. The first is a spindle by True Creations in Chakte-Koh the next a Jenkins Turkish in Ambonya. Next we have two IST spindles. The first is Oak burl with brass shavings in the cracks in the wood and the second is Ambonya, The next three are by Brandywine Woodworking and are labeled. The last one is a Spalted Tamarind Turkish Delight purchased from The Wheel Thing. Whew!
As you may have noticed, I have done a little housekeeping. I have given up on the Princess Shawl for now and also trashed the Dragon of Happiness shawl that I was going to make for my niece. I just could not get interested in either so my niece will be getting a version of Aeolian instead. I'm still working on Goldregen but have a long way to go on those US 000 needles. I'm going to try to force myself to stop with the spinning and weaving so I can get a little more lace done!
16 comments:
Yummm, lovely collection of spindles! I've found my knitting has gone way down since I started spinning. It's kind of scary, actually, considering how much yarn I have sitting around waiting patiently.
Dear Dave,
I know what you mean! The spinning and even the fiber prep is very addicting.I won't even think about how big my yarn and fiber stashes are. I am taking time to knit on three projects now and I'm going to limit my spinning to only 2 or 3 days in the week. After all, the blog is called lacefreak, not spin freak :-)
A compromise: Lace-Spinning
Freak :)
Your spindles are sumtuous. I bought one of the IST spindles too--they are lovely. I took a charka lesson from Eileen Hallman a few weeks ago and am besotted. Roy promised me a Bosworth charka for my birthday.
Like I need more diversion.
The lace is lovely, as always. And I can understand your trashing the Dragon----just too much or something. And I hated the fact that she didn't bother reversing the purl rows of the background. I frogged mine too.
A hybrid blog. Good idea! Those Bosworth charkas are utterly fabulous. I'm going to give Russian spindles a try but I don't know if I'm going to be able to draft with only one hand. If I can manage that I may give charka spinning a try too. You may as well add "master of spinning" to your already sizable resume :-) I'm glad I'm not the only one who couldn't get into the Dragon shawl. I have lots of other things to knit that I enjoy working on.
Lovely post and beautiful spindles... I've not been doing much knitting either hence being blogless for so long... at the moment crochet seems to be capturing my heart but at the end of the day this is our spare time so we might as well do what we want to do ;o)
The spindles are lovely. Yes, spinning and weaving can take up a lot of time...but worth it yes! Love the fiber on your pictures! What wheel are you using?
Where does one purchase a tool such as the one you are using to measure wraps per inch? It is a work of art! I admire your knitting and spinning talents. I have been a fan for some time now through your blog.
Dear LittleBerry,
Thanks! I have gone a bit spindle crazy I'm afraid. I am also interested in crochet but have not yet gotten the knack of it so I'm impressed that you are working with it. I agree we might as well do what we want hence the ruthless elimination of projects I don't enjoy lately. Still, I hope to finish some lace to show soon. Post a little crochet on your blog even if you are not knitting :-)
Dear Laritiza,
Knew you would like the spindles since you like nice tools :-) My fiber stash is really pretty large now and makes a great back-drop for spindle photos. So much nicer than a tea towel. I'm using the Majacraft Rose because it is so fast on the smallest whorl 40.1 ratio is what was advertized. Very fast.
Dear Anonymous,
Nice to hear from you! The Inch Gage is made of Rosewood and was purchased from Asciano Fiber Arts and Tools when I was at Stitches West. They have a website here-
http://www.ascianofiberartstools.com/
I have 4 inch gages ranging from a flat wood with an inch gap cut into it to this very elaborate gage that has both an inch area and a half inch area (in cases you are tired of trying to wind on a full inch of lace weight yarn). I love pretty wood so I could not resist. I have a few crochet hooks from this company as well which I also enjoy using.
Do you have the lace attachment for Rose? and what about the fast flyer?
Those two are different, I have the lace attachment with the wood bobbins but not the fast head flyer. I've always wondered if it is worth it.
Dear Laritiza,
I have the lace flyer with the fat core bobbins and I have the fast whorl that I use rather than the standard whorl. The flyer for the fat core bobbins is smaller than the one that comes with the standard wheel. The lace flyer that I have has the ceramic inserts so the singles have nothing to snag on. I have both the wooden bobbins and the newer ones that have a plastic core as the all wood ones are getting more difficult to come by. I have to say that I hated trying to spin lace weight singles on the standard flyer and bobbins and having switched to the lace flyer and bobbins I now love it almost as much as the Schacht.
oh i'm so sorry the new zealand wheel didn't work out for you. it was so lovely.
those spindles are beautiful!
Dear Opal,
It was really pretty but I would kill myself if I had to keep spinning that slow LOL! It found a good home so I'm happy. I love those spindles too and I am still looking at more of the. Very addicting :-)
Wow - I haven't visited you in a bit and have missed out a little. What gorgeous tools! Such temptation! I feel a dangerous urge to check my budget.....
Thanks for sharing :-).
Dear larascreations,
I have not been blogging as frequently as I have in the past so there has not been much to miss LOL! I do also love tools and understand the temptation well. I'm glad you are enjoying the posts that I do manage to get out!
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