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Spinning!

Started by silverstah, May 27, 2008, 02:33:43 PM

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silverstah


Recently, I bought one of these - yes, that's a spinning wheel - a la Sleeping Beauty. Or Rumpelstiltskin. Or... whatever. And, yes, it's made of PVC piping. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it does a darn good job at spinning. :)



It's LOADS of fun, and totally addictive.  Honestly, I am not much of a knitter and I totally do NOT weave, but I'm SO addicted to making yarn.  And dyeing.

A few weeks ago I bought a bunch of undyed roving (the fluffy stuff you spin), and I spent all weekend making it pretty with food coloring.

My hands are dyed pink, my fingernails are an icky shade of purple, but I have a big ole' pile of Brown Sheep mill end roving in amazing, bright colors ready to spin. Smiley

This is my first time dyeing - so it was a lot of "hmm, let's try this!" and "let's see how THIS works!". *grin* The dyes all acted much differently than I thought they would - but I ended up with some amazing colors, so I'm really not complaining. Smiley

For those who are curious, I used Star's method here:

http://keeponknittinginthefreeworld.blogspot.com/2006/11/wiltons-icing-gel-dying-tutorial.html

And I got THIS:


The best part - I've recently figured out that I can spin by feel and read at the same time - so I can study and spin!  YAY!  It makes studying so much more bearable. ;)

So - any more spinners out there?


Catarina Caravello - Mistress of the Bobbins
\"Arrrgh.  Feed Dogs.  Arrrgh.\"  -The Pirate, sewing

Spinster

um... Look at my nick, me dear.  ;)

You want to talk about spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, dyeing, prepping roving from raw unwashed wool, etc. just speak up.

I recently sold one of my spinning wheels, but still have two, along with a number of drop spindles made from everything from AOL cd's to toy wheels to rare woods. The fiber stash includes bison hair, dog hair, wool (of course), alpaca, and mohair - off the top of my head.
I've been turned into a cow. May I be excused?

silverstah

HEE!  Glad I'm not the only crazyhead around here.  The sad thing is that I enjoy spinning much more than I enjoy knitting or crochet - so now I have all this lovely yarn stacking up around the house. ;)

What wheels do you have?  Right now I just have the Babe - but I'm totally in love with the Schacht Ladybug, and I'd like to get a more classic looking wheel like the Ashford Traditional. 
Catarina Caravello - Mistress of the Bobbins
\"Arrrgh.  Feed Dogs.  Arrrgh.\"  -The Pirate, sewing

Spinster

I have a Traditional - the first one I got - and an antique homemade one from a second hand store.

The traditional is my painted floozy.  ;D I got tired of it looking just like everybody else's, so the acrylics came out and she got COLOR!!! Since she has eight spokes, and I celebrate eight holidays a year, each spoke is painted with a color combination for each holiday, and there are symbols in silver around the outer edge of the wheel. People know whose it is.

I would highly recommend an ashford when it comes time to get a wooden wheel. All of them I've personally worked on have run smoothly, the balance is good, there's little to no wobble in the wheel or the maiden (if it's been put together correctly), and they're sturdy. This one's been tossed in the back of a pickup and schlepped across half the state and back a few times before, with little more than a few scuffs to show for it. There are a few people over the years that have told stories of - or have brought to spin-ins or events - ashfords that are 20 or more years old and still in near perfect condition. Hindsight being 20/20, though, it would have probably been better for me to get one of them that folds down to almost nothing instead of the traditional. Traveller, they're called? I think? But only for the sheer amount of... well... travel this one's done.

Schachts are also well made, but don't have as good a balance to them. They're right up there in craftsmanship and sturdiness except for that little bit of a wobble in the wheel you get on occasion. I haven't worked on a Ladybug just yet, so can't really say for sure, but as a general rule they're pretty decent.

Magicrafts are just smeggin awesome, too! I was truly torn between one of those and the traditional. Ended up with this one because the dealer lived within driving distance, and at that point it was cheaper to drive than to pay shipping.

Avoid Kromskis. They're absolutely GORGEOUS, but are rather pricey and do not treadle well at all. Babes, ashfords, magicrafts, and schachts are all easy treadling. If anything, it's more a chore to stop them once you get started than it is to keep the wheel going. You know? But kromskis are hard to get started and kind of a chore to keep going. It's as if they want to stop more than go. It's also a little more difficult to get replacement parts, and all the people I've talked to that have one have said that certain parts need replacing or adjusting fairly often.

And no fussing about the growing yarn stash. Magister's still not happy with me. Every time we move, he's the one that has to get my yarn stash. There are at least 5 boxes that literally weigh more than I do, and three or four smaller ones. Not to mention the stuff that made it out of the garage and into the house... lol...
I've been turned into a cow. May I be excused?