Lots of Spinning!

I'd definitely classify this as a "spinning week" - very little knitting was done. Wednesday could be classified as a "spinning marathon"! I think the only knitting I've done has been to make a little bit of progress (about 10 more rows) on the beaded scarf.

Monday
I plied a large skein of the white BFL I'd purchased at Misty Mountain Farm. I'd finished spinning all the BFL from my prior purchase last week, but hadn't had a chance to ply it. Thank goodness I was there a couple of weeks ago and picked up some more - I'd hate to run out of this lustrous wool!

Tuesday
I went to my spinning group in the evening and started spinning the red Merino. I didn't quite get the skein finish, so I continued spinning at home. I was on a mission to complete this skein as it's for someone else. I tried to spin it fairly thin, and I think I succeeded. Now, all I have to do is ply it and set the twist!

Wednesday
In the morning, I went to the Waterford Spinners and Weaver's spinning group. Before leaving, however, I had to quickly ply the brown BFL I'd finished spinning last week in order to free up a couple of bobbins! I had a fabulous time - there was quite a crowd! We spun in the morning, broke for lunch, and then spun for a while in the afternoon. I saw a couple of my fellow spinners that I hadn't seen for a while! It was so inspiring to see everyone's gorgeous hand spun!

Shirley hosted the get together. She has a fabulous weaving studio and is an avid spinner as well. Right now, I have severe studio envy - it's so organized and artistically laid out!

Colleen brought her first hand spun - it was GORGEOUS. The yarn had a very even gauge....and definitely did NOT look like someone's first hand spun! It was Icelandic wool spun on an Ashford Traveler. Bravo Colleen! Celeste was spinning some gorgeous multi-colored wool - I can't remember the studio she purchased it from.....hmmmmm. Liz has some absolutely gorgeous New Zealand wool that she was spinning - it was so soft - it was a very nice natural brown that looked very rich spun up....and spun like a dream!

Susan had a spinning wheel catastrophe earlier - when she brought her wheel in from the cold, she heard a loud "crack"....you guessed it - the wood split! Poor Susan! She decided she'd use her hand spindle instead. That worked well for a while....until it cracked when she dropped it! Poor dear! St. Distaff has certainly NOT been watching out for Susan!

There were several other people there....I just can't remember all of their names or what they were spinning! I should have taken some pictures! Duh!


I started spinning some "mystery wool" while I was at Shirley's. My friend, Kathleen, had given it to me last fall. She wasn't sure what all was in it and didn't remember where she'd purchased it. It's wool top and has a dark base with streaks of very bright top throughout in multiple colors. The colors include: bright pink, turquoise, green, white, silver, red, you name it! The resulting singles are gorgeous with multiple hues. The plied yarn will have a lot of depth and I love the luster of the spun wool. I'm trying to spin very thin. Perhaps some socks? I'm assuming that the "mystery" fibers will be nylon or polyester.....I still have to do the "burn test" to try to determine the fiber content.

Wednesday evening, I plied the red Merino and another skein of the white BFL. I really like how the red turned out - I think the recipient will be very pleased. She's also getting one of the white BFL skeins as well. To finish off the evening, I went back to spinning the "mystery wool" until I was ready to "call it a night".

Thursday
I continued spinning the "mystery wool". It's taking FOREVER to fill a bobbin because I'm spinning so thin! I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the bobbin now. I took this picture Wednesday evening, and I've done quite a bit since then!

Friday
More spinning on the "mystery wool"....I really like how it's turning out. I also set the twist on all 4 skeins that I'd plied this week - 2 white BFL, one brown BFL, and the red Merino. The Merino bled A LOT! I guess this is typical of both reds and blues....argh! It's annoying! I was so afraid I would "felt" it with the number of times I had to soak it! I may re-soak, but this time, use some Synthrapol to remove the excess dye as I'm afraid there's STILL a bit left!

Saturday
I volunteered at the VSA Spinning/Weaving day along with several other members of the Blue Ridge Spinners and Weavers Guild. We only had a few students, but this is the first time we tried this....and it allowed us to work out all the "kinks" before the next time. There were 3 stations:

Spinning - using handmade spindles (made from a dowel, a cup hook, several CDs and a couple of rubber bands) as well as spinning on a spinning wheel

Weaving - free-form using a variety of "found items", roving, pipe-cleaners, and feathers as well as on a table loom.

Felting - Nuno Felting (also known as laminated felting)

It was a lot of fun and I even got to learn a new skill! Ever since I saw Lauri's Nuno Felted scarf, I wanted to learn how to do it. Today, I got the chance! All the students as well as the volunteers made bookmarks with roving, silk fabric, embroidery floss tassels....and LOTS of "elbow grease"! I was amazed at how different every bookmark came out!




I found a good website that steps you through the process of making a Nuno Felted Scarf, so in case you interested, check out the Felt Scarf instructions. I also found a You-Tube demo of the process where they show how to make a Nuno Felted Purse....it's fascinating!