Tomorrow my vacation is officially over and I have to drive back down to Oregon and get ready to go back to class on Monday morning. Where on earth did the past month go?
Despite my end-of-vacation laziness, I have actually managed to get some things done.
This is the second yarn I've spun on my new spinning wheel. You can see I have some swirly kinky coils in there, and that seems to be the biggest problem that I have while spinning. However, finishing the yarn did help a lot with balancing it out. I have tried several different ways of drafting trying to get something fast enough that I can let the yarn go before it starts to kink up. I've also noticed that moving the yarn towards the orifice too fast tends to cause these swirly kinks too, so I've been struggling to find a happy medium. I've been consuming "how to spin" videos like a beast and poring over the beginner book I've purchased, but I'm still having issues. I'm thinking this is one of those things I just have to keep practicing until I get it right.
I've also got two bobbins that I intend to ply sometime after I get home. There are fewer coils in these than the one hanging in the picture above, so it is possible that they'll straighten out when I finish the yarn.
I've also managed to complete my last Christmas gift project: my Mom's entrelac cowl. It started off as the traveling roses lace scarf. However, after finishing the lace shawl I wasn't really in the mood for more lace, so I switched it to an entrelac shawl. Problem: I still had the lace weight yarn that I was using, and soon noticed that it was taking a very long time to knit up. Impatience then transformed the scarf into a cowl, which I think looks delightfully cozy with the entrelac patchwork pattern.
I've also got a really big project that I'm waiting to start when I get home. More on that later!
Meanwhile, I've got a closing question for other spinners out there:
What am I supposed to do with the end of the fiber when I'm done spinning the yarn I am working on? Up until now, I've been tying a little knot to try and prevent the fiber from untwisting itself and fluffing out but this only works to a certain degree.
Ah I'm in awe of your ability to spin on a wheel, those just move too quickly for me to keep up, I'll stick to my slow little spindle. Your end product looks wonderful, I too struggle with too much twist in some of the thinner sections. I'm sure that you will surprise yourself with your improvement on the next skein. I sort of spit-felt (I know, icky) the ends of the fiber I spin and it helps a little, ask Google? Keep up the wonderful work, I look forward to hearing about the big project!
ReplyDeleteHey, I just tie a knot too. I'm no professional though . Lovely cowl, wow !
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