After the disappointments recounted yesterday, I want to end the review of our little spin weekend on a high note. Yarn with beads in it is mega cool stuff, almost universally expensive, and gorgeous nigh unto irrisistability. Tilli Thomas and Art Yarns are among the most mainstream producers of such goodies, and they are on … More Spin Retreat ’12: Bead Away
What would a weekend of experimentation be if we didn’t have any let-downs? I already told you about my least favorite, the color combo turning my first tailspun yarn into a bucket of weird. Mom had a doozie too. It started with a felted, unlikeable top. It had come with her wheel when she bought … More Spin Retreat ’12 – Success, Failure, and Compensation
Even though I’m taking forever to wash the silver fleece, both Mom and I opted for the speedy route when it came to washing our Cormo cross. And during our spinning retreat, Mom showed me up close and personal how she uses her new combs to process this fine, short-stapled fiber into perfectly spinnable top. … More Spin Retreat ’12: Cormolicious Combing
When Mom washed and dyed her half of the silver fleece a few weeks ago, she was unsatisfied with the still-very-grey wool that came out of the dyebath. But, having dyed grey fleece with black beans myself, quite a while ago, I knew that her silver locks had turned bluer than she realized. Of course, … More Spin Retreat ’12: Proof and Progress
So on Thursday, I wrote a bit about core spinning. An even more basic way to core spin is to just hold some fiber perpendicular to your core, and as it spins, it will grab ahold of it and create a wonderful light fuzzy something of a yarn. You can also do this with locks. … More Spin Retreat ’12: Locked on Target
So while we’re on the subject of ridiculous yarns, let’s get even weirder. I received these bags of hand-dyed locks as a destash gift from the incomparably lovely B.W., and every now and then I would run into them and wonder what to do with them. One could always just card and spin them up … More Spin Retreat ’12: Locks in a Tailspin
From the sublime to the ridiculous, my silk hankie thread was next followed by my first-ever intentional novelty yarn. Core spun yarn, that is; specifically core spun singles. The singles in question were 1.6 oz. of “fine wool,” a takeaway from 2011’s spin in. And, I thought, very nearly Kirby colored. I wish to picture … More Spin Retreat ’12: Softcore – or soft, with a core.
Yikes! How is it Wednesday? Taking a June term means sitting in class all day, and it’s wiped me out harder than I could have anticipated. I still have a ton of spinning posts in the pipeline for you, but for today, there’s one ready-made. The internet is a weird place, full of pixels and … More Guest Post from Coast to Coast
Mummy, Bethany, Kirby and I had a fabulous weekend. We tried new spinning techniques, we experimented, we used up a bunch of fiber that was just taking up space, and turned some real gems into truly special stuff. Despite a dog-related scare that sent us to the vet briefly, it was one of many little … More Spin Retreat ’12: On Silk Hankies
My turn for a spinning post, while Mom and I are spinning our arms off here in the yellow brick house hidden behind a terrace of day lilies. Mine is one last story from Maryland Sheep and Wool 2012 that’s taken a long time to share because… well, it’s a long story. How do things … More From Noil to Neck
Osborn Fiber Studio 