Spinning and Yoga
With a title like that, I expect to get more than a few hits from people looking for exercise information. Move along, nothing to see here. We're talking fiber, and I don't mean dietary fiber. . .
Cold weather, snow and ice have meant much spinning time in front of the warm fire lately. These are three yarns I've been spinning: pile weft, rug warp, and band warp. The pile wefts are Karakul and English Leicester. The grey Karakul I bought this past month at a new spinning store Stick and Stone Fiberarts, in Van Nuys. This is all there was of this fiber, and only a rug weaver could love it: full of kemp, it was abrasive enough to exfoliate. I also spun up some dark Karakul from Black Pines (thanks Cathy for the heads-up). It was very nice to spin, not as abrasive as the grey, but definitely a rug yarn. The white is the English Leicester, from Brindle Hill Farm in PA. Very nice stuff, all of it, and now I have a pile of pile yarn.
The rug warp is 3 ply, only a portion of what I will need. I think there are 250 yds. here and I'll need about 1400. But it is coming out nicely:
This is two commercial warp yarns on the outside edges used as standards, with the handspun in the center. The fiber is a wool/mohair blend, from neighbor Sue's (former) goats. I have plenty and plenty of the blend to spin up, so I will persevere. I once read a lengthy online missive from an inexperienced spinner about spinning coarse wools into fine yarns: she was opposed to it on some logical grounds, the extended explanation of which I have forgotten. My thought at the time: too much thinking, not enough experience. She'd been spinning for some twenty years, but had limited experience with traditional weaving. Some things are counter-intuitive: coarse wool makes fabulous firm fine rug yarn, and has for centuries.
Here are all three types of yarns: two ply band warp, three ply rug warp (both from the same fiber blend) and the pile yarns. It is fun to be able to flip back and forth spinning a variety of yarn types: it makes a big project seem less daunting when taken in small bites.
I have some dyeing to do now, and the weather has been improving enough to imagine working (outside) in my dye *room*.
The yoga mentioned in the title? That would be Mojo:
He practised his Bikram yoga during the storms, on the rug in front of the fire.
Cold weather, snow and ice have meant much spinning time in front of the warm fire lately. These are three yarns I've been spinning: pile weft, rug warp, and band warp. The pile wefts are Karakul and English Leicester. The grey Karakul I bought this past month at a new spinning store Stick and Stone Fiberarts, in Van Nuys. This is all there was of this fiber, and only a rug weaver could love it: full of kemp, it was abrasive enough to exfoliate. I also spun up some dark Karakul from Black Pines (thanks Cathy for the heads-up). It was very nice to spin, not as abrasive as the grey, but definitely a rug yarn. The white is the English Leicester, from Brindle Hill Farm in PA. Very nice stuff, all of it, and now I have a pile of pile yarn.
The rug warp is 3 ply, only a portion of what I will need. I think there are 250 yds. here and I'll need about 1400. But it is coming out nicely:
This is two commercial warp yarns on the outside edges used as standards, with the handspun in the center. The fiber is a wool/mohair blend, from neighbor Sue's (former) goats. I have plenty and plenty of the blend to spin up, so I will persevere. I once read a lengthy online missive from an inexperienced spinner about spinning coarse wools into fine yarns: she was opposed to it on some logical grounds, the extended explanation of which I have forgotten. My thought at the time: too much thinking, not enough experience. She'd been spinning for some twenty years, but had limited experience with traditional weaving. Some things are counter-intuitive: coarse wool makes fabulous firm fine rug yarn, and has for centuries.
Here are all three types of yarns: two ply band warp, three ply rug warp (both from the same fiber blend) and the pile yarns. It is fun to be able to flip back and forth spinning a variety of yarn types: it makes a big project seem less daunting when taken in small bites.
I have some dyeing to do now, and the weather has been improving enough to imagine working (outside) in my dye *room*.
The yoga mentioned in the title? That would be Mojo:
He practised his Bikram yoga during the storms, on the rug in front of the fire.
posted by Sara at 10:17 AM
6 Comments:
Interesting. I'm curious, since I'm not a weaver (yet), what do you look for in spinning a yarn suitable for weaving? Although that may be too broad a question.
It registered with me when I saw pictures of Lawrence Sanders and Barbara Michaels on book jackets, photographed with their cats, that book people tend to be cat people. And now in blogs, I'm seeing the fiber people are also cat people. Ian has become a cat people because our cat refuses to end his day unless he can sit on Ian's lap. Ian doesn't fiber but he reads. I'm looking for the connection - paper used to be made out of cotton. Am I reaching?????
Smart cat.
I'm impressed with your long term goals!
Any chance of a photo of the author in the same pose as Mojo? :D
Wonderful to be using commercial yarns as your models. I'm definitley shooting for accuracy in that area.
Lovely, wonderful, bravo !!!
The yarn is nice too.
Funny how cold weather does that-I am spinning up some roving I got from Twistin Sandy a few years back. I think it was the 2 inches of snow last week that started it.
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