Posts Tagged ‘hand spun yarn’

Jan 31

Spinning the Spotted Fleece

In:Breed Specific & Rare Breed Wools, Fiber, Knitting Projects, Spinning Yarns

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Choosing a fleece with contrasting colours. This one has just black and white in what seems to be equal parts – that’s very dark brown and cream, of course

The testing and planning for this project may just be the most fun part. I have now washed, carded or combed, spun and knit swatches (or small projects) from 4 of my stashed fleeces. I’ve been working with the multi coloured fleeces this time because I wanted some colour texture in my sweater. This one is a Jacob from Great Britain. It’s for Earl. I considered my choices for working with the stark contrast of the colours in this fleece. I could do a relatively homogeneous blending for a smooth mottled look, I could keep the colour separate and ply a white with a black for a ragg look, or I could try to keep the colours separate and use them to form some kind of colour pattern. I decided on the later and choose a random colour pattern as I felt it would be closest to the true nature of the fleece as it appeared on the sheep’s back. There are lots of grey fleeces out there, why make this one look like them?  In order to keep the colours separate they had to be plyed by the Navajo method. This produces a 3 ply yarn. I made mine a worsted weight (4 Medium) about 35 yards/ ounce and about 9-10 WPI. Although I love to card or comb by hand, I do use my roving carder for larger project where I really want to get on with the task of knitting it so that is how I’ve been preparing this one for spinning. I knew I had to be careful with any stark white areas as they would pop out visually so most of the white has some degree of black mixed in. Each time I load the carder it has some of each colour. It is in the carding, to a degree, but more so in the separating and arranging of the bats for spinning that the “painting” of the colour pattern takes place. I’ve been knitting each ball as it comes from the spinning wheel so that I have a feel for how I want the next colour pattern to work out. Updates Here

Jan 29

Alpaca Avenue – Alpaca Fiber arrived today

In:Fiber, Spinning Yarns

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Woot! My Alpaca arrived today and I’m in heaven.

I ordered a few bags to start with just to see how I liked it and I will definitely be going back again. This is beautiful fiber from ladyolivia Alpaca Avenue  by Kerstin Kerr on Etsy. So soft and clean and very fine. It was easy to spin into a fingering weight yarn as 2 ply so I’m sure I could do lace or DK with ease even if I had to go to a 3 ply for Worsted weight.

Now, I just have to decide what to knit with it. Mittens or fingerless gloves maybe? ideas?

handspun and handknit merino silk top down hoodie

Sep 28

Handspun Yarns are on the Site

In:Fiber, Knitting Projects, Setting Up Business, Spinning Yarns

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Still working on the patterns. I`ve got a bit knit on the Adult Hoodie and it`s going to be amazing.

The Patterns are posted to the Nancy Elizabeth Designs web site and Etsy and Craftsy. I am just getting my Ravelry `Yarnies“ account set up. When that is ready I`ll put the handspun on Ravelry.

This is the chart that I reference for spinning custom orders for handspun yarns

The thing I`ve been really working hard at this week is getting a chart made for the handspun yarns. I`m going to try something different. I want to spin the yarn to order Custom Made Handspun Yarn. I need to know, first, what all of the specs are for each yarn weight like yards per oz or pound as well as WPI or wraps per inch and suggested gauge and needle size according the the Craft Yarn Council and Ravelry which I consider the 2 greatest authorities on Yarn and knitting worldwide. I have come up with this chart as the standard for my yarns.

I have also developed formulas for the handspinning so that I can come up with the correct weights and measures for the requested yarn. However, I do plan to be in close contact with my customers so that I can truely make this a custom experience and spin the yarn for each individuals needs.  This is very exciting.  Here is my philosophy for why I am offering the yarns that I choose to spin.

Back to Basics – Simple and Elegant

I love clean and simple lines in a design and a classic traditional look. I believe it adds an elegance that cannot be acheived otherwise. Although I adore colour and use it often I can also see great value in using the colours of our natural fibers as they appear in nature. I find this to be expecially true with handspun yarn. If the design is right the handspun yarn will really “sing” in your project as it will be the focus itself with it’s lovely subtle variations and textures.The eye will not be distracted and confused by the multitude of colours often found in handspun yarns.

I’ve been trying to decide what to offer in handspun yarn. I notice an abundance of stunning multicolored handspun yarns that honestly look good enough to eat and I want them all. However, there are time when I also want something other than colour from a yarn. I decided to offer some natual colour, and hand dyed solid coloured yarns. Even though a photo of an individual skein may not be as eye catching as one of a delighful multicolored yarn, there are certainly times when they are preferable in my knitting projects. I use my natural or hand dyed solids when I want my design to show. When I want to showcase the style, the line, the drape of the design as well as the lovely organic texture of the handspun yarn. If the stitch pattern or shaping of your beautiful knitting is the focus of the piece then you may not want all of the confusion of colour to interfere.

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