But by the end, with lots of practice, the singles were flowing well. I found that tight punis worked best
[edited to add a picture of the total yarn, balled]
Samoyed dog fur - finished spinning
Longdraw is like magic when it works well. This was difficult to spin because there's absolutely no length to the fibres (some was fluffy and very short, some was a little longer and coarser, I assume this is soft undercoat and coarser outer coat)
But by the end, with lots of practice, the singles were flowing well. I found that tight punis worked best
This is just a part of the total, I now have seven skeins altogether, maybe 5-600 yards. I understand that this came from just one brushing!
[edited to add a picture of the total yarn, balled]
But by the end, with lots of practice, the singles were flowing well. I found that tight punis worked best
[edited to add a picture of the total yarn, balled]
Appleton Alpaca Back to Back in print
How good to see my recent trip to Yorkshire for the Appleton Alpaca Back to Back Challenge featured over 3 pages in the latest Yarnmaker magazine
Challenges seems to be a theme in this issue, there are two 'back to back' stories, plus an article about Katie's 'longest thread' challenge.
Challenges seems to be a theme in this issue, there are two 'back to back' stories, plus an article about Katie's 'longest thread' challenge.
casting on!
I've now made three colours from some almost-forgotten fleeces and my new wool combs. The fleeces are an unidentified family pet sheep (white) and a zwartbles (black). I've used the combs to blend the two for the grey which I'm delighted with.
All three are incredibly bouncy, the skeins are light and really squish down to nothing in your hand. They're so even too. After combing, the wool almost spins itself into very neat and even yarn.
Just a short while in Ravelry's pattern search turned this up. (Check Slouch from Interweave) It only gives one size and calls for slightly thicker yarn than I've made but it should be an easy pattern to adjust. It'll also bring in new skills for me, it'll be the first 'double knitting' that I've done. One colour per round, lots of slipping. Gagging to get started on this one.
Just a short while in Ravelry's pattern search turned this up. (Check Slouch from Interweave) It only gives one size and calls for slightly thicker yarn than I've made but it should be an easy pattern to adjust. It'll also bring in new skills for me, it'll be the first 'double knitting' that I've done. One colour per round, lots of slipping. Gagging to get started on this one.
Spinning Samoyed dog fur into yarn
I've been asked about spinning some dog fur.
The Samoyed fur is really soft. Like most dog & cat fur it has a very short staple. It feels like alpaca or angora (rabbit) in that it makes a yarn which has a good halo but isn't bouncy or elastic like sheep's wool.
I made a few short samples using different methods. A short draw produced the most smooth and even yarn, but this was a firmer yarn that wanted to be quite fine, a lacey 2-ply or 3 plies for something a bit more substantial. As with downy fibres a long draw worked well and produced the softest yarn.
Heres a sample of knitted fabric. It's very fuzzy and like the dog is gonna shed a bit!
full drop spindle?
I started spinning this 'Monet's Pond' from picperfic with enthusiasm, but recently that's waned and I've been spending the time on a different project. Why?
After a couple of weeks of non-production, I worked it out this morning. I'd decided to split the fibre and spin half on one spindle, half on another and then ply from the two cops.
But with half of the first half done, the spindle is getting very heavy (the one on the right). I've seen people using much fuller spindles than this, but really, it wasn't fun. I'm spinning fairly fine, so it's taking more care to prevent the work from breaking, plus it takes more effort to twist the spindle and get it spinning.
So I've started another spindle and will have four before I ply. That'll mean a bit of joining but that's worthwhile in return for starting again on a nice light spindle which only takes a little flick to get it whizzing around.
But with half of the first half done, the spindle is getting very heavy (the one on the right). I've seen people using much fuller spindles than this, but really, it wasn't fun. I'm spinning fairly fine, so it's taking more care to prevent the work from breaking, plus it takes more effort to twist the spindle and get it spinning.
So I've started another spindle and will have four before I ply. That'll mean a bit of joining but that's worthwhile in return for starting again on a nice light spindle which only takes a little flick to get it whizzing around.