LLAMA, SILK & WOOL BLEND & LOGWOOD

Whilst on hols in Norfolk I spun my pre-prepared rolags of llama, silk & wool blend fibre - this was the stuff that went into the accidental dye bath - the one where I brewed up my bag of madder (to over-dye something else in red) only to find that the solution was the wrong colour - logwood not madder - "um" thought I "what now?" - well I dyed some alpaca (from Charlie the alpaca) which came up a pretty lilac (not the purple I was hoping for - disappointing as I don't wear lilac and wanted a tank top). So, in went the llama blend...... hoorah a good purple. Anyway, long story short, I spun this on hols and it came up in a very pleasing way - much like a linen yarn but with extra sheen from the silk.

Next I knitted up a couple of tension squares, inspired by an article I'd read in Smallholder Magazine. I knitted one on size 11 needles (3mm) this I did 30 stitches by 30 rows, then I did another on size 12 needles (2.75mm) 20 by 20 - I'm having difficulty deciding which is better - maybe once I have a pattern in mind it will become clear - the larger swatch is definitely nicer to handle but the other seems to have more boing. Either way it's become clear that there's not enough for a tank top - unless it's a very small one! So yet another rethink is in order. Time to trawl Ravelry (not that I need much excuse here)

FLEECE TO GARMENT DAY AT GRANGE BARN

Last Saturday the Mid Essex Guild held a fleece to garment day at Grange Barn near Coggeshall - the same event had been held last year and was a great success. It was a cold and miserable morning when I left to make my way there and I had that sinking feeling you get when it's an event open to the public and the weather has turned on you.

Upon arrival it was clear that fewer people were there than at the previous year's event and then Leslie - their Chairman - announced that the Lavenham guild had been called upon by the National Trust to demonstrate at another event so we were a team down as well. The upshot of all this was that a decision was made that due to lack of numbers we wouldn't attempt the scarves that we'd done the previous year - instead we were all to make 9" squares for a project by Oxfam to make a huge patchwork blanket to be sent to the government as a patchwork petition - as a protest against the number of women who die unnecessarily in childbirth every year -


see http://www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy/blog/2008/04/patchwork-protest.html-



These would later be broken up and sold in Oxfam stores to raise money. We were all up for this as it's such a worthy project so off we went in our little teams and started spinning the beautiful dyed fuzz that was available for us - all provided and prepared by one of Mid Essex's members.

Grange Barn is an amazing building and it has a wonderfully calm atmosphere - it's a great place to spin, especially with like minded people with whom to chat while working. There are a couple of old carts and some weird and wonderful farm equipment as well as various displays about the history of the building and others that are similar.


The day gradually warmed up - the atmosphere was already very warm and welcoming - and as time went on more people arrived - some to join in and some to watch. It was nice to catch up with another guilds news and swap tips and stories. There were some fantastic displays that various members of the Mid Essex Guild had set out Jackie Crook had a table full of luscious samples of all her natural dyeing plus signed copies of her book for sale. Jill Goodwin was there with more naturally dyed samples. There was a truly fabulous selection of hand made items for sale at ridiculous prices - truly made for the love and not the money! I bought my first christmas pressy here - a beautiful little bag made with deliciously soft and silky angora - the fibre was also for sale. I also saw two items of clothing that I WANTED..... a grey angora sweater which turned out to be slightly too small and a wrap around serape thingumy in amazing reds (made by Lesley - see below, also her lovely blue woolly).

photo of serape by Lesley Ottewell


Becky Poynter of http://www.yarnsmith.co.uk/ was there and being very helpful with us novice knitters. Rather fortuitously she had a selection of bamboo knitting needles for sale - which we needed for the squares as they required a different gauge to the scarves that we had been preparing to knit. I actually borrowed Hazel's needles, she then borrowed Hillary's needles and Hillary went and bought some bamboo needles from Becky!

There was also a display from Melford Alpacas - the fleece in the middle of the table was the softest I'd ever felt - I just wanted to make a nest in it! There was quite a selection of yarns and fibres available from super super fine to moderately coarse for felting. We were told that alpaca fibre is non-allergenic which I didn't know previously.

Oh gosh there was lots more to see and so many people to talk to - it's amazing that we got any work done at all. We did though - in our little group only Hilary finished her square - through sheer bloody mindedness - she was still working whilst we were packing up around her! I've almost finished mine - I need to put a border on it as it's not quite 9". There were a few squares handed in towards the end of the day - by the quicker knitters (or maybe they spent less time nattering and more time focusing on the job at hand!) - well done to all those who finished.


It turned out, once again, to be a wonderful day - full of interest and we were made very welcome - bring on next year's fleece to garment day!

EQUIPMENT - DROP SPINDLES

There are many different styles of drop spindles and a warning should be issued here - once you've mastered drop spindling there will be a temptation to COLLECT lots of them! I said, when I started, that I wasn't going to do that - but I'm up to 4 and I've had my eye on a few seen in Spin.Off and on the internet - just yesterday I saw a couple of gorgeous ones on Etsy (Oh no I can feel another obsession coming on)!

A starting point if you've never spun and would like to have a go is to buy or make a CD spindle - these are very light so for a more experienced spinner are not so easy to use. However if it's too light some blu-tac or other maleable material could be pressed around the edge to give more weight here - having more weight at the edge makes a spindle spin for longer due to cetrifugal force (apparently). I will try to find a site with instructions or where these are sold.



My most recent addition is a (possibly) Saxon spindle whorl - which doesn't yet have a shaft - it's carved stone - very pretty and supprisingly heavy for it's wee size - it weighs 15 grammes (1/2 oz) I can't wait to spin with it - have to find a wood turner first.....

My favourite spindle was a fourtieth birthday pressy - it's a Golding Ring Spindle. It spins forever and is an absolute joy to work with - it's a top whorl spindle which I think is more stable and easier to spin with than a bottom whorl one. I'm currently spinning some lovely caramel Alpaca fibre that I bought in Norwich during the Norwich & Norfolk Artists Open Studios.



My first ever spindle was a simple wooden one (bottom whorl) made by one of our Guild members. I paid very little for it except that having bought it I was instantly volunteered to demonstrate at a show in Harlow - Gosh you learn quickly when people are expectantly watching & waiting for your words of wisdom! Truth to tell it was almost as much drop as spindle that day but I did spin a sizable quantity of Black Sheep fleece that I'd been given and I learned and even began to enjoy drop spinning.



My second spindle is made of polymer clay with cute little sheep on it - I found it at West Dean's Wholly Herbs Show (Our guild demonstrates natural dying there once a year and a fellow stall holder was selling them) It's small and light and fits in a pocket - great for spinning on the go.

Sites for drop spindles:


Golding
http://www.dropspindle.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=106

Etsy shop - butterfly girl designs
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5207884&section_id=5123666

glass drop spindles
http://www.glasspens.com/glass-spindles.htm

Woolly Designs - with lambs, alpacas, rabbits........

http://www.woollydesigns.com/spindles/fancy.htm

how to make your own
http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/make-dropspin.shtml

how to use a drop spindle
http://www.handspinning.com/lollipops/spininst.htm

video - spinning basics by Abby Franquemont
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drXid5cT0y8

A EULOGY ON ROLAGS

"THE ONLY NORMAL PEOPLE ARE THE ONES YOU DON'T KNOW VERY WELL" (Joe Ancis)



http://www.quotablecards.com/








I love rolags - I love the way they look and the way they feel - and, because I love them so much, I enjoy making them. In the eyes of the other members of our guild (East Herts & West Essex Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers) this makes me a very strange person indeed!





My husband & I have a little game (oh please - put your imagination away!) - I tell him to close his eyes and hold his hands out and then I drop a rolag from about a foot - it's amazing how he often can't feel the rolag land.





With the bamboo rolags that I prepared in Norfolk you could hold 30 in your hand and only feel a whisper of a fibre tickling your skin.





The bamboo rolags were deliciously tactile - soft to handle and with a delicate sheen which intensifies when they're spun.





I recently dyed a mix of Llama, silk and wool in my slow cooker - it came out of the pot in beautiful shades of sugar pink, peach, raspberry and lavender - the rolags from this were almost edible - looking at those I found it hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't just want to make rolags just to admire them in their own delightful right. (hey we all have our quirks - right?)





Of course it's quicker to spin from tops direct, even if you have to open the fibre out first, but no matter how pleasing little nests and balls of prepared tops are I have to say that, in the main, rolags win my heart.

TIME OUT



Well I've not posted anything new for a few days - My hubby & I went away for the weekend - We had a lovely peaceful time - he played lots of guitar and I prepared loads of fibre. I washed and carded some lovely black alpaca fibre into rolags and prepared the rest of the newly rediscovered bamboo fibre. I also prepared some commercially dyed and combed tops by pre-drafting them and winding them into balls. So I've lots of prepared fibre ready to start spinning.

Tomorrow I shall continue my series on animal fibres.

ANIMAL FIBRES (part 1)

ANIMAL FIBRES

This includes Silk produced by silk moths of various species - It differs from other animal fibres in that it isn't a type of hair and doesn't have scales. It's a smooth tube - hence the sheen - it's produced to create a safe cocoon in which the grub can transform into a moth.

ALPACA

There are two main Alpaca groups - the suri is the one I am most familiar with. I don't really know a lot about the differences between the two groups (except one looks cuter than the other!).

I've spun Alpaca in several different colours - Black, Grey, Caramel, White and Brown - interestingly they have all been different in texture. I'm sure this is not down to the colour but to individual breeding. Only one has been fairly coarse - the others have been varying degrees of lovely. Not the easiest fibre to spin but not too difficult either and well worth the effort of getting it right.

My first Alpaca was from a beast by the name of Lily living in Cambridgeshire (a really pretty grey). More recently I've been spinning the fuzz of Charlie who lives in a small herd in Essex - Charlie's was the dirtiest fuzz (and the smelliest) that I've ever encountered! However, once washed, it magically transformed into a pristine white that spins into a soft fluffy yarn - so nice - but I don't know what I want to do with it yet! when I find a project for it I will share it with you.

ANGORA

This is the fuzz from the Angora Rabbit - a pretty cloud of fluff with a face poking out at one end! (Angora goats provide us with Mohair).

Angora is wonderful - quite difficult to spin - but I manage by carefully carding on my fine cotton carders and then spinning with a slow draw (so it doesn't pull into the machine too quickly) and I put a fair amount of twist in. Once spun and washed it fluffs up with a halo - in fact if you want to knit or crochet it can be helpful not to wash until after working up, so that the halo doesn't get in the way of working - all a matter of preference.

Like Alpaca there are many different colours of Angora Rabbit - but you are most likely to be able to buy white only as this is most freely available. Quite often you will find Angora in a mix e.g. Alpaca, Silk and Angora.This is helpful as all the hard work in preparation is done for you and if you want to you can spin straight from the "top".

CAMEL

I'm sure anyone reading this doesn't need to be told what a camel looks like! Scruffy, lumpy, moody beasts. Their down is marvellous though and is the stuff of camel hair coats. In fact camel down comes in a variety of colours from almost white, through caramel to brown, but is most frequently only sold in typical camel colour - a sort of warm caramel. It's one of many fibres that has to have the guard hairs removed before spinning, though, like the others, the guard hairs can be spun in their own right to a coarse hairy thread or string.

I've spun camel - it was the first fibre that I practised long draw style spinning with and it was really lovely. I feel that it's really not suitable for a worsted style of spinning as the fibres are very short and downy. The results were very pleasing and I look forward to spinning camel fibre again in the future.

CASHMERE

The most expensive of fibres this one - I handled a small sample once but I've never spun it. It's harvested from Cashmere goats and I believe the expense has a lot to do with the time consuming removal of guard hairs.

Cashmere is very fine and soft and I hope one day to be able to afford to work with it to create a special project.

CAT

The fur from long coated cats e.g. Persians can be spun very effectively. Long coated cats need regular grooming and the fuzz that's collected in the comb or brush can be saved for spinning. It is very similar in texture to angora fur and spins up into a yarn with a similar halo. It's nicer to spin than dog fur as it doesn't smell at all.

DOG

Many species of dog have fur that can be spun. Probably the best is Samoyed, but I've seen wonderful results from German Shepherd which was also lovely warm colours (see pic below) - this was spun by one of our guild members who tells me that she's just finished spinning some Spanish Water Dog fur. I've only spun Poodle fur myself - it spun up quite easily and made a nice, if very slightly hairy yarn. It's biggest drawback for me is that it began to smell quite doggy when my hands got warm. I would still very much like to try a few other species to see what they are like.

The following picture is a little treasure bag made from poodle fur - spun into a singles yarn then crocheted & fulled.

LLAMA

These animals are closely related to Alpacas - the difference being that llamas are more frequently mainly pack animals and consequently their fleece contains more guard hairs which need to be removed for spinning. Like Alpacas they are members of the camelid family.

The fleece is not dissimilar to alpaca if a little coarser in the main. I have recently spun a mix containing llama, silk and wool - it was a little hairy but spun quite nicely - I'd dyed it prior to spinning with a mix of colours - using acid dyes and food colouring in my slow cooker. I then spun a dyed singles and an undyed singles which I plied together.

MOHAIR

This is another goat fibre - it not the hair of a Mo it is, in fact, the fuzz from the Angora Goat. It's quite different from cashmere in that it's not so fine - instead mohair is quite lustrous and is particularly known for the halo it gives a finished fabric.

I don't particularly like mohair garments and consequently haven't got around to trying it for spinning.

QUIVIUT

This is the fibre obtained from the musk ox and spinners who've worked with it rave about it - so I look forward one day to finding a source and buying some to play with. It is brown in colour and quite downy - once again it is one of those fibres that has guard hairs which need to be removed before spinning. The finished items made with quiviut are supposed to be very warm to wear.

WOOL

There are so many species of sheep that I plan to do a separate post with an overview of as many different varieties as I can find out about - so look out for that soon.

YAK

Yaks are members of the bovine family and are said to be quite bad tempered - I've never met one so I can't vouch for this! The wild ones are black in appearance with a long black outer coat of coarse guard hair and a rich brown downy undercoat. This undercoat is wonderful to spin - it behaves a lot like camel and other downy fibres. Once spun and washed it fluffs up nicely in a woolly way as opposed to, for instance, angora which is very fluffy.