Playing Rumplestiltskin
I haven't been sitting with idle hands in the spinning department, let me assure you! I simply couldn't resist relating my latest spinning batch to the age-old tale of the nasty little dwarf who could spin straw into gold....
This gorgeous illustration is by Paul O. Zelinsky oil on canvas, one of his works for the children's book titled (what else?) Rumplestiltskin. I couldn't help noticing that the little geezer must indeed be magic since he is running that spinning wheel at break-neck pace without a treadle of any sort! LOL!
The outcome of my latest spinning is not quite so spectacular! This is some superwash I bought from Pollywogs in the summer. I'm going to make my standard 2-ply with it. The color is Saffron and I absolutely love it's happy brightness, especially this time of year with the daylight being so short. I've filled 3 bobbins with singles and will fill another before I've finished this 2 lb lot. I have another 2 lbs that should be coming in the mail any day now. It's not a question of 'needing' more roving so much as it will all be the same color. I am beginning to catch on to the fact that if I want to have enough hand spun to make a project bigger than gloves or a neck sock I need to spin more than the token 4 oz that most vendors sell. As much as hand dyed rainbows dazzle the eyes I think I'm going to do some less dazzling single color lots for the next little while and use the smaller rainbow lots for color work and accents.
I have enjoyed reading Shannon's adventures with the Long Draw method on her blog Dreams of Yarn and I decided to read up on it. I admit I was somewhat interested in trying it so I got out my book Hands On Spinning by Lee Raven. I have discovered that there is quite a bit of fiber preparation required to be able to spin a consistent one-handed Long Draw single and at this point in my spinning adventures that sounds way too much like work to me! (I might as well be honest - my blog isn't called The Lazy Knitter for nuthin'!) I think since I have a stash of mostly commercial top I'll content myself with whittling away at that for now! LOL!
The other thing I learned from my reading is that the style of drafting I have settled into is in fact NOT the inch-worm draw. I have suspected this for some time now but never thought what I did was an actual drafting type since I've never had formal lessons or taken a class to learn. What I do, is in fact called the True Worsted Draw.
Here is a quote, describing the method: "Pinch the twist off with the hand near the orifice. With the fiber-supply hand, draft back two or three inches - about half the fiber length. Without releasing the pressure of the pinching fingers, slide those fingers up the drafted length so that the twist follows immediately behind them. The fibers are compacted and held together as your fingers slide over them, so that the twist catches them in that position before they are released. Thus all the fiber ends are caught in the twist instead of springing loose to form a "halo" along the yarn length. Draft another half-fiber length and slide your fingers along as the twist follows behind. ... Worsted spinning can be speeded up quite a bit with practice. You can use the worsted draft as a sort of modified push-pull technique by working right in front of yourself, winding on each short length as you draft the next (the fiber supply stays stationary). Or you can try it as a modified long draw by winding on an arm's length after you have spun it out to your side (fiber supply moves away from the wheel)."
My worsted draft is more the modified long draw as I tend to wind on an arm's length of singles. And the book is quite correct that you have to turn up your brake a bit to keep a good tension on your singles. Because this is the drafting method I always use I am (I think) fairly fast with it, although I have never been too concerned about spinning for speed. Spinning is still the most relaxing fiber hobby I have and for now I think I'll just glide along with the status quo ..... In that respect I guess I am spinning gold after all .... golden moments of stress relief! Cheers all!
This gorgeous illustration is by Paul O. Zelinsky oil on canvas, one of his works for the children's book titled (what else?) Rumplestiltskin. I couldn't help noticing that the little geezer must indeed be magic since he is running that spinning wheel at break-neck pace without a treadle of any sort! LOL!
The outcome of my latest spinning is not quite so spectacular! This is some superwash I bought from Pollywogs in the summer. I'm going to make my standard 2-ply with it. The color is Saffron and I absolutely love it's happy brightness, especially this time of year with the daylight being so short. I've filled 3 bobbins with singles and will fill another before I've finished this 2 lb lot. I have another 2 lbs that should be coming in the mail any day now. It's not a question of 'needing' more roving so much as it will all be the same color. I am beginning to catch on to the fact that if I want to have enough hand spun to make a project bigger than gloves or a neck sock I need to spin more than the token 4 oz that most vendors sell. As much as hand dyed rainbows dazzle the eyes I think I'm going to do some less dazzling single color lots for the next little while and use the smaller rainbow lots for color work and accents.
I have enjoyed reading Shannon's adventures with the Long Draw method on her blog Dreams of Yarn and I decided to read up on it. I admit I was somewhat interested in trying it so I got out my book Hands On Spinning by Lee Raven. I have discovered that there is quite a bit of fiber preparation required to be able to spin a consistent one-handed Long Draw single and at this point in my spinning adventures that sounds way too much like work to me! (I might as well be honest - my blog isn't called The Lazy Knitter for nuthin'!) I think since I have a stash of mostly commercial top I'll content myself with whittling away at that for now! LOL!
The other thing I learned from my reading is that the style of drafting I have settled into is in fact NOT the inch-worm draw. I have suspected this for some time now but never thought what I did was an actual drafting type since I've never had formal lessons or taken a class to learn. What I do, is in fact called the True Worsted Draw.
Here is a quote, describing the method: "Pinch the twist off with the hand near the orifice. With the fiber-supply hand, draft back two or three inches - about half the fiber length. Without releasing the pressure of the pinching fingers, slide those fingers up the drafted length so that the twist follows immediately behind them. The fibers are compacted and held together as your fingers slide over them, so that the twist catches them in that position before they are released. Thus all the fiber ends are caught in the twist instead of springing loose to form a "halo" along the yarn length. Draft another half-fiber length and slide your fingers along as the twist follows behind. ... Worsted spinning can be speeded up quite a bit with practice. You can use the worsted draft as a sort of modified push-pull technique by working right in front of yourself, winding on each short length as you draft the next (the fiber supply stays stationary). Or you can try it as a modified long draw by winding on an arm's length after you have spun it out to your side (fiber supply moves away from the wheel)."
My worsted draft is more the modified long draw as I tend to wind on an arm's length of singles. And the book is quite correct that you have to turn up your brake a bit to keep a good tension on your singles. Because this is the drafting method I always use I am (I think) fairly fast with it, although I have never been too concerned about spinning for speed. Spinning is still the most relaxing fiber hobby I have and for now I think I'll just glide along with the status quo ..... In that respect I guess I am spinning gold after all .... golden moments of stress relief! Cheers all!
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