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| Partial Spun 50g Merino Roving from Woolyknits in Lemon Popsicle |
When I first started spinning I knew there was no way that I could justify the expense of a wheel when I wasn't even sure I would like it as a hobby. While I now really enjoy it, it did take a while. This is one of those things that takes practise, however once I spent some time with my drop spindle I eventually became better but I'm still learning.
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| Full 50g Merino Roving from Woolyknit in Lemon Popsicle |
One of the big problems I have with spinning on a drop spindle is that I stand while using them, as that is how they work. This can get quite tiring after a while, as I'm sure you can imagine, so I tend to do a short period, then rest, then another short period. The second problem I have is that realistically I can only manage to get about 50g of roving spun before the weight on the spindle makes it too difficult to manage. I'm sure there are more experienced spinners out there laughing at that right now but that is what I have found to be the case for me. If you have any tips or tricks please do let me know. Now that I know this is something I have fun doing I will be looking to invest in a spinning wheel in the future but the spindles are still great for their portability and space saving.
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| Full Drop Spindle of Single Yarn with Woolyknit Roving Stash |
I got about 233yrds of single yarn out of this 50g piece of roving. The plan is to ply it on the spindle, which can be tricky but is doable. I have no idea what I will do with it once it's done though. I really like how it has turned out so far and love the blend of colours. I'm excited to see how it looks once plied. In the above pictures you can see some of the other colour rovings I bought, some aren't included here.
I will post this again once it is plied together. Are there any other spinners out there reading? I would love to hear you thoughts. Anyone who thinks they would like to give spinning a go to see what it like? Please do leave a comment below on what you guys think of this.
Bye for now!
I'm not a spinner yet, but hoping to become one in the near future! Long story short, my wife and I found an old, beat up Ashford traditional with a missing treadle in an antique store and fixed it up. It's beautiful now and works perfectly, I just need to practice with it! The most I've done so far is watch a Craftsy class and practice with the pedals a bit, but I need to watch it all again and it would probably be a good idea to take an in-person class or two. :)
ReplyDeleteYour spinning looks awesome! Such even thickness and it looks so finely spun too! How long did it take you to get this good? :)
Thanks so much for your comment. Well done on fixing up an old wheel, that's awesome. I would love an antique or older wheel, so super jealous :D I basically taught myself through you tube vids, books and practice. I found it quite frustrating at the start because I thought that I was just bad at it. I couldn't get the hang of drafting for ages. I nearly gave up a couple of times, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It only took about 20-30 hours or so to get the hang of it and I have continued to improve. Also I'm a bit of a perfectionist so the fact that the thickness wasn't even at the start bothered me but some people really like that aspect of hand spun so I would say don't get too hung up on it being uneven. I have only ever used drop spindles but if you have any questions, do drop me a message and I will definitely do my best to assist or direct you to a resource I found useful.
DeleteGorgeous colours in the Lemon Popsicle one! Hopefully there is an experienced spinner out there who can give you some tips/tricks... I think what you've done looks great though! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. I really like these colours as well and it was really interesting to see how they would spin together. I'm looking forward to working on the others I have in my stash now as well.
DeleteWow. It's amazing, i'd love to know how to do it myself, although I don't think I can take up yet another hobby any time soon, and the yarn is soooo amazing, i could totally see it as a lovely shawl or cowl :) big congrats and I do hope someone experience can help you out :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. Spinning is good fun and starting out with a drop spindle is a very affordable option if you ever do decide you would like to try it out :)
DeleteBeautiful! I had a friend that was a spinner - she had a walking wheel in her front room. I was always fascinated by the process.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment Susan. Spinning is very interesting, I love history so it's links to traditional crafts is especially fascinating for me. Also I find it is very relaxing.
DeleteGorgeous, my dear. I used to do both spindle and wheel spinning in the mid-70's - I remember it being a lot of fun and quite satisfying. Your yarn is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your lovely comment. Have you ever been tempted to get back to spinniing at all?
DeleteHow pretty! I haven't delved into the world of spinning (yet?) though I do find it interesting to see it done. Lemon Popsicle looks great but I'm loving that blue peeking out in the third picture.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. I do so enjoy spinning, it's lots of fun and quite relaxing. I have a few spun yarns at home now that I must put to some use.
DeleteLovely color indeed. I (can) only do cross stitch, so this will be interesting to watch. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. I started crafting with just cross stitch but over the years have tried lots of different things, all of which have been super fun.
DeleteI could never get to grips with a drop spindle but with a wheel that was a whole different matter :) I found that I couldn't use a walking treadle like my Dad does but the single treadle was fine for me ( my Dad can't use a single tho!) if you can pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time then you should be ok with a double (walking) treadle. Find out if you have a spinning guild near you, they are a goldmine of knowledge, first time my parents went to one they came home with a wheel on loan to try out.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment and your advice. I will be interested to see how different a wheel is to a drop spindle. I do like my spindle but it just gets tiring standing all the time.
DeleteWhat beautiful colors!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your comment. I love how this has spun and looking forward to plying it. I also got a few more beautiful roving so will be looking forward to getting to those as well.
DeleteYOur spinning looks amazing, the colors match so well. I actually have a drop spindle somewhere (I even have an idea where it is) but I haven't used it in ages, maybe I should pick it up again. I tried it some years ago, but I didn't do much spinning then, so I can't really help you =/ But I would like to hear more about your experiences with the drop spindle ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. I really enjoy spinning and will def share some more experiences, good & bad, of it on my blog. I would be interested to know if you decide to dig out that spindle again at some point.
DeleteBeautiful! I'm not a spinner but I think it's cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. Spinning is good fun and is easy to try out with just a drop spindle and some roving. Of course a wheel is a fairly big expense but the spindles are very reasonable and I have seem tutorials on making your own with a a CD!
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