February Spinning: Merino on a High-Whorl Drop Spindle
Last October Carson and I took a halloween trip to Doe Bay on Orcas Island and on our vacation we made a quick stop at Warm Valley Orchard, a quaint farmhouse that advertised wool for sale. I'm a sucker for all things fiber, and their sheep in the meadows beckoned me. Well, I've now converted a beautiful merino top into what I imagine will end up as fingering-weight yarn. The singles were spun on the Little Si spindle from Cascade Spindles, a top-whorl spindle weighing about 1.5 oz.
Once the yarn could no longer support the spindle (the fiber would separate and I would drop the spindle), I wound it onto the nostepinne and plied on the same spindle from a center-pull ball. This is something I tried a bit with the leftovers from my last batch and really enjoyed improving my technique. I also sat atop the ledge of my loft which provided about 6 feet of space for spinning below.
To wrap up I wound the yarn around a niddy noddy to create a skein which was consequently soaked/washed and is now hanging to dry. The measurements seem to be 148 yards out of 2 oz fiber.
Sometime soon I'm hoping to expand into something beyond the basic 2-ply. I'd like to work my way into the navajo 3-ply and some other techniques in the near future. I'm just so slow at spinning on a spindle-- which reminds me, I made a trip to Madrona Fiber Arts (where I definitely want to spend an entire weekend next year) and tried a Pocket Wheel. What an awesome, compact gadget! I think I want something more traditional for my first wheel but i'll keep it in mind for somewhere down the road.
Once the yarn could no longer support the spindle (the fiber would separate and I would drop the spindle), I wound it onto the nostepinne and plied on the same spindle from a center-pull ball. This is something I tried a bit with the leftovers from my last batch and really enjoyed improving my technique. I also sat atop the ledge of my loft which provided about 6 feet of space for spinning below.
To wrap up I wound the yarn around a niddy noddy to create a skein which was consequently soaked/washed and is now hanging to dry. The measurements seem to be 148 yards out of 2 oz fiber.
Sometime soon I'm hoping to expand into something beyond the basic 2-ply. I'd like to work my way into the navajo 3-ply and some other techniques in the near future. I'm just so slow at spinning on a spindle-- which reminds me, I made a trip to Madrona Fiber Arts (where I definitely want to spend an entire weekend next year) and tried a Pocket Wheel. What an awesome, compact gadget! I think I want something more traditional for my first wheel but i'll keep it in mind for somewhere down the road.
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