In workshops I often observe students who attach the end of the singles to a piece of velcro while they take a pause in their spinning. This more often than not makes a bit of a mess in their singles and causes a “fluffy” spot. In my own practice, I… Read More »Spinning tip…
In my silk workshops I often meet spinners who have tried spinning silk at some point along the way but, after struggling with the fibre, they have written it off as being just too difficult. I did the same with cotton a few decades ago. In fact I was so… Read More »Revisiting a Fibre or Technique, Defining Moment #8
Shameless self-promotion……In May 2021 I had the pleasure of working with Felicia Lo and her team at the School of SweetGeorgia (SOS) The result is an online video where I share techniques and thoughts regarding how to spin a better yarn. https://www.schoolofsweetgeorgia.com/courses/nuances-to-spinning-better-yarns/ Some of the learning includes: the need to… Read More »Nuances to Spinning a Better Yarn
Fibre prep’d and ready to spin.
Because the yarn at the beginning and the end of my skeins were never quite as nice as the rest of the yarn, I used to discard the first and last few yards of yarn of each skein. Because I don’t like waste, a few years ago I started to… Read More »Plying Hint
Today I will be scouring fleece from three sheep breeds in preparation for the fleece and handspinning workshop I am teaching at Coniagas Textiles later this fall. I love scouring my own fleece. This first step provides me with pertinent information regarding the fibre I will be working with and… Read More »Coniagas Textiles Workshop
When I first began woolcombing I did not appreciate how much the act of dizzing would improve my spinning skills. Not only did dizzing reveal the best draft length for the fibre at hand, learning to draft out a consistent tape of fibre trained my hands in how to work… Read More »Skillful Dizzing, Defining Moment #7
Analyzing and Describing my Handspun Defining Moment #6 was when I took the time to learn how to analyze and describe my yarn in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Quantitative being those things I can measure and qualitative being what I can see or feel. Paying attention to my tpi,… Read More »Defining Moment #6
Further details and registration available on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/exploring-sumptuous-silk-blends-tickets-138021529109
Further details and registration for this workshop is available through Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/blending-alluring-silk-rolags-and-sliver-tickets-138020554193