The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: colliewoman on September 30, 2011, 06:09:38 pm
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with a wheel and everything! not perfect by a long way but i made yarn!!!
i'm always rubbish at delicate fiddly things but this was as much fun as the pole lathe ;D ;D
now just got to get me a wheel of my own :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Hi - when I first started I ended up with 'tow rope'. I thought it was wonderful - now that I have been at it for years I'm not so sure but I kept my piece of tow rope all the same. I never spin very fine wool to ply together as it takes too long to knit anything from it - thats my excuse - but I do like chunky wool anyway - gets the job done quickly. Took me a while to get the hang of plying but its sorted now. Best of luck with it all - it is really relaxing. Jan
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You're gonna be TOTALLY addicted now.......and its a brilliant de-stresser :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Well done Colliewoman - it's a great skill to have :trophy:
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I never spin very fine wool to ply together as it takes too long to knit anything from it - thats my excuse - but I do like chunky wool anyway - gets the job done quickly.
Have i got to knit it as well :o
they never mentioned that in the lesson ;D
knitting bores me to tears and i'm poo at it! :D :D :D
thankies all, cant wait to have another go!
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You could always weave the resultant yarn...or crochet I find that grows quickly and you can stop and start easier than you can with knitting...Its ages since I had a go with the spinning wheel but my OH bought one cheap from an auction last time he was in the UK. It only needs a new belt then I can start, cant wait!
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You could always weave the resultant yarn...or crochet I find that grows quickly and you can stop and start easier than you can with knitting...Its ages since I had a go with the spinning wheel but my OH bought one cheap from an auction last time he was in the UK. It only needs a new belt then I can start, cant wait!
You only need fine kitchen string for a drive band, so no excuses :D
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I never spin very fine wool to ply together as it takes too long to knit anything from it - thats my excuse - but I do like chunky wool anyway - gets the job done quickly.
Have i got to knit it as well :o
they never mentioned that in the lesson ;D
knitting bores me to tears and i'm poo at it! :D :D :D
thankies all, cant wait to have another go!
I was pretty much like you then when I started to spin - I could knit but not very well. Then I found a wonderful book which showed me how to knit jumpers in the round ie no seams, and also how to design them myself - nothing posh, but handspun yarn doesn't conform to commercial sizing so it's hard to find a pattern to suit unless you make it up yourself. You can knit in the round without really having to pay attention, so you just do it when you are doing something else, like talking or waiting in a queue. It gets less boring though when you produce your first handspun, hand knitted jumper from your own sheeps fleece and having used your own brain to design it :) :)
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thanks fleecewife, i will look into that a little further down the line ;)
first mission is to find a wheel i can actually afford to buy! if you know anyone selling one please please let me know :-*
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We-e-ell......my aunt has an older Ashford Traditional which she is never going to use again so I could ask if she would sell that if you would be interested. It is the old kind which still uses a leather connector bit at the bottom of the con-rod. The wheel is here with me in southern Scotland - whereabouts are you?
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er....
sunny somerset!
but heck if i can afford to buy it my hubby travels all over the country with his work so i'll bribe him to come get it ;D so yes please do ask her :thumbsup: thank you so much :-* :-*
It is the old kind which still uses a leather connector bit at the bottom of the con-rod.
you do know that none of this means anything to me? :D :dunce: :D ;) ;D
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er....
sunny somerset!
but heck if i can afford to buy it my hubby travels all over the country with his work so i'll bribe him to come get it ;D so yes please do ask her :thumbsup: thank you so much :-* :-*
It is the old kind which still uses a leather connector bit at the bottom of the con-rod.
you do know that none of this means anything to me? :D :dunce: :D ;) ;D
:D :D :D The most important thing with a spinning wheel is to oil it regularly - it makes the most amazing difference to your spinning.
I'll check it out first. I know it needs some attention, but nothing drastic. I'll get a pic tomorrow.
I'm quarter of an hour from Junction 13 of the M74 - could meet your husband there, or he could come here... if she will sell it that is.
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My Ashford is the same as your aunt's, Fleecewife. The leather connector was really badly cracked when I first got it and it was the first thing to break; I bought a new leather one on-line for something silly like £2.50! The band was also worn, but a bit of pink baler twine works perfectly!
Colliewoman - you will become a mad spinner like the rest of us within no time. When I'm sat watching TV or reading a book, apparently I treadle with my right foot...oh dear...
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Hi Colliewoman
My aunt is willing to sell her wheel but I see there is one closer to you on the other thread in marketplace. I will pm you later.
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got your pm, thanks! will spend a day investigating all options now ;D
got to go to real work for 3 days now so wont be around :( but will catch you after that as i'm going to need to pick brains ;D thankies
donna
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
one of my lovely volunteers at the shop has just heard i am looking for a wheel and said......
come round and have the one that's been sitting at my place for years
when asked how much she replied nothing!!
so i said i'd clear her nettles etc for her :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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That's excellent news - right on your doorstep :) What make is it? Remember to check it over and give it a thorough oiling before you try to use it.
I will put my aunt's one on e-bay once I've checked it over.
Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
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no make on it but looks just like my friends ashford traditional jobbie.
what sort of oil would i use? do i have to get special spinning wheel oil?
thankies ;D
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Interesting question ;D I use almond oil from the chemist as it looks so clear and lovely but I think that it goes a bit horrible on the wheel after a while, so I am thinking of changing, maybe to the proper spinning wheel oil. It needs to be a very light oil, not the sort of stuff you would use in an engine. Before I found the almond oil I used neatsfoot oil but it is a bit thick.
What does everyone else use?
I apply the oil with a syringe and needle, so I only get a single drop or two at each place, and if the wheel has been standing for more than 3 days then I oil before I start. On the odd occasion I forget I really notice the difference.
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righty, i have collected her and what a wreck she looked :o :o
however after carefully cleaning, polishing and oiling everything has gone together smoothly (half the bits i had no clue about so rebuilt her next to my friends wheel and simply copied!)
all she needs is a tension spring, the con-rod whatsit and a new bit of string!
found out her history, she was donated to a charity shop in pieces so they though she was broken (one tiny bit of the treadle was damaged but has now been mended) so they THREW HER OUT IN THE SKIP :o :o :o :o
my mate found her and brought her to live in her conservatory, and now she's been given to me ;D
i thought i should name her and only one name would do, so i now have a spinning wheel called ..... stig of the dump :thumbsup:
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Have fun. I used to run a spinning and weaving workshop with my ex (before he was my ex) but we sold my spinning wheel and he get all the weaving equipment when we split up. Quite fancy giving it another go.
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Colliewoman it sounds as if you have done a wonderful rescue and resuscitation :thumbsup: Brilliant name for your wheel - Stig o the Dump - love it ;D
One day when you are getting something else at a spinning shop, treat yourself to one of those clear plasticky drive bands as they are much better than string, although string works ok.
Goatwoman - do give it a second go 8) There are a few of us on TAS who spin. I also have a couple of looms but will need advice when I go to warp up for the first time in ages.