Tour de Fleece Flax Progress!

Linen is a plant fiber, processed from the stem of the flax plant. It has been used for thousands of years; it is an extremely durable fiber with many endearing qualities.

However, it is very different from spinning animal fibers or cotton. This fiber is extra fine water retted flax from Louet. I love the color and the sheen, but the fibers are short in spots, so it is a challenging spin when coupled with the slipperiness of the flax. But well worth it! I am able to get an even enough single to suit me, and I am finding the spinning a leisurely paced pleasure.

Tour de Fleece Day Three!

Today is day four, but this is yesterday's spinning.

The shot with the spindle shows how much I had spun up before the Tour. I started spinning this more than a year and a half ago so it feels so good to finish it! I'm thankful for that bit of momentum that comes with a spin along.

SCF Koala, can't remember the fiber, and I don't know the yardage. But it is nice yarn, much softer than I had expected from the feel of the singles. And I love the subtle colorway.

The spindling project for today will be some lovely linen fiber that I have in a silvery color. Hopefully I'll have some progress to show you tomorrow!

Tour de Fleece Day One!

Tess Shawl

I finished this away back in March, I think, before we moved. It is from the Tess shawl pattern.

The yarn is that which is pictured in the spinning stage back in the "Nature's First Green" post, two different club offerings from Southern Cross Fibre plied into one yarn. Sadly, I didn't have enough yarn to make it as big as it should be, but I still like this shawl.
Garter stitch=cosy.

Studio!

We were blessed, as first time home buyers this spring, to be buying in a down market. Our house is roomy enough for the nine of us, has many horticultural delights, and a studio space all for me!

Can you see what I put on the wall? "Whatsoever things are lovely..."

The studio is for all of my different types of crafty stuff.... books, knitting needles, fabric, paints, spindles. I am storing my colored fiber here now, but most of my fiber is stored under the stairs. My wheel is upstairs where I am more apt to use it.

Here is a small sampling of the horticultural delights.

I know the gardens will keep me extra busy this summer as I get to know them and get the weeds under control.
But this year's Tour de Fleece approaches, and I will be sure to stop and sniff the fiber a little!

Respect the Spindle Review

I am so glad to finally have a copy of Abby's book, Respect the Spindle

I've taken a few classes with Abby, and have learned so much to help my spinning... she is a well of spinning knowledge, though, and always leaves me wanting to learn more.

This book fills some of that knowledge-hunger.

It is a book that covers a lot, from the basics of spindle spinning to spinning with "specialty" spindles like tahklis and Russian spindles, Turkish and Navajo. These sections are great... but the funny thing is, in my opinion, it is not where the real value of the book is found. After all, how to videos abound on the web and if you really want to learn to use a particular spindle, you can probably find out how without spending extra pennies.

No, the delightful chapter "The Science of Spindles" is my favorite so far. Maybe it is my inner geek peeking through, but truly, understanding the physics of spindles is helpful in so many ways. My little heart warms to discussions of torsion pendulums, as long as there is no math involved. And there isn't! Just a knowledge of the different factors that affect the behavior of spindles, and some concrete examples to which anybody can relate.

The rich chapter on getting more done... the detailed breakdown of what you need in a spindle repair kit...The wonderful sections on drafting for spindles and plying management. Full-color photos and a pleasing aesthetic. This is a book that I will read and re-read.

....the next time someone suggests that you are doing something very simple and old-fashioned, you can reply that you intuitively understand and work with mechanical engineering, advanced calculus, and rotational and fluid dynamics every time you pick up a spindle. ---Abby Franquemont, Respect the Spindle

It's all in the hands.

Nature's First Green

Nature's first green seems far off from us.

We are still engulfed in the purple blue shadows of winter

But spring will come and among the purples and blues of my spinning is a touch of gold and green.

Falkland in Huckleberry Train and another coordinating but unidentified club fiber from Southern Cross Fiber.

4 of 8 oz. spun

Journal entry in acrylic and gouache.