Little progress on the Jirachi sweater and another hank of the super soft yarn finished. It's quite a bit thinner than the previous one, so good to take into account when selecting a pattern.
#WIPWednesday #knitting #HandSpinning

The other morning I was thinking about the possibility of making supported spindles out of metal (instead of wood or 3D printed polymer) - machining them I guess? I imagine a nicely shaped shaft, and a disc of some sort for the bottom weight, possible threaded on the shaft and on the disc to allow the discs to be changed out as desired. That’s the simple version, before adding cool features. #spinning #handspinning #metalwork @LilPecan @JamesK

I have gotten good enough with a supported spindle now that I can spin under the desk while on a teams call with the camera on. If you work with me (you know who you are) please don’t tell anyone ! I won’t do it often because I still need to be able to take notes and present and talk but it’s nice to know I can. Really helps the ADHD. #spinning #FiberArts #HandSpinning

I’m so glad there is material to read/watch while learning to spin - books, magazines (Ply), websites/blogposts, YouTube, etc. I was reading something about learning to spin woolen and do long draw and the person specifically said not to worry if the yarn doesn’t look as smooth as your usual, because woolen yarns *aren’t* smooth, and suddenly I felt freed from expectations (or blessed with a new set of expectations). It’s supposed to be this way! Phew!!!! #spinning #handspinning #fiberArts

I've been using my limited hobby time for exercising the #spinningwheel instead of mini painting. I'm going to finish this alpaca that's been sitting in stash for years so that I can move on to the super cool orange mohair/alpaca/firestar that magicked its way into my hands.

Yesterday, I posted a picture of the single strand of my yarn wound into a cake for plying. Today, here's the finished yarn, washed and air-dried, and caked again for knitting. Looks a little like a cut red cabbage, huh? Except gray instead of purple. A noir cabbage. #handspinning #handmade

Every new #spinning method I have learned has helped me become a better spinner overall. Years ago i never got the hang of a drop spindle. But after getting an EEW 6.1 - I learned the basics of drafting. Spinning on a wheel taught me even more. Finally I learned enough to understand finally how to really use a drop spindle (my choice is Turkish). and now using the supported spindle I understand so much more about long draw, woolen versus worsted, and fiber prep. #HandSpinning #fiberArts

I completed a 3rd handspun hexiflat (top middle). It’s a little larger due to thicker yarn but by the time I have 500 more and sew them up I’m sure that’ll block right out”. Plus I’ll have lots of slightly different sizes to mix and match. I wonder if I’ll remember the provenance of each of my hexiflats. Maybe the handspun ones, if I take notes. Bottom middle, a hexiflat made from regular fingering sock yarn (not handspun). #knitting #handspun #handspinning #spinning #FiberArts #BeekeepersQuilt

This is one stage of #spinning yarn, the plying. After making one long strand, called a single, I wind it into a fat cake so I can put my finger through thru the center to wind both ends together at the same time, making a 2 ply yarn. This is more yarn for my ongoing blanket I'm making with fur from my kitties. See alt text for more details. I'll post another progress pic in a few days. #handspinning #handmade #handcraft

Nothing beats spinning in the sun on an early spring day. #HandSpinning #ClimateDiary

First day of 2025 daring to dry yarn outside. #HandSpinning

Too many hobbies and too many projects! I took some time away from my supported spindles to get back to my WIP on my Jane, my Ladybug. I finished the bobbin holding the first 1/3 of a braid I’m planning to 3-ply. Really happy with how these singles are coming together. Can’t wait to get the other 2 bobbins done and see how this plies up. #spinning #handSpinning #FiberArts

My other current spindle spin. We had 3 braids of this old stock laying around from when Fibre2Fabric used to be Blue Moon Studio. I was spinning the Turkish spindle while working markets so it's a bit of a mess haha

Some progress on knitting and some on spinning more of that commercial luxury combed top. Slowly getting more comfortable with spinning long draw from the fold. Spinning in the sun is a real treat. #WIPWednesday #knitting #HandSpinning

#supportedSpindle #spinning Day 12: my yarn is done drying, skeined up, and wound into a ball, and I have made my first hexiflat out of handspun for my beekeeper’s quilt. Took about 3 gms of yarn. This is really more a sport weight yarn and the other Hexiflats are fingering so it’s a little puffier and bigger than the rest but by the time I have enough of these to make a quilt I’m sure I’ll have lots of variation TBH. #Handspinning #FiberArts

My first true skein of yarn from my supported spindles is done! It does seem fluffier and airier than yarn I’ve made previously. And concerns about unevenness and slubs seem to have been mostly addressed by the plying and setting. Plan is to cake it and make a hexiflat and then keep the rest as a sample. In the meantime, I have more rolags I can start spinning on the supported spindles plus I need to get back to the WIP on my wheel. #supportedSpindle #spinning #HandSpinning #Fiberarts

#supportedSpindle #spinning Day 11: my spinning of the two rolags is completed. Next up is plying which I’m probably going to do either in my EEW 6.1 or my Ladybug wheel. Excited to see how these are going to ply up. This is just a tiny bit of fiber I got for free so not sure it will be enough to make anything out of it but maybe a hexiflat for my quilt? #Handspinning #FiberArts

I have a strong inkling that if woodturning were one of my skill sets I would now be trying to figure out how to become a maker of support spindles. Because they are beautiful and functional and lovely. But the last time I did any woodworking I was in 7th/8th grade (I grew up in a place where it was mandatory in public school curriculum). Instead of learning to make my own I will just get better at using them, and then make more and more yarn. #fiberArts #spinning #HandSpinning #supportedSpindle