If you’ve spent more than five minutes in the yarn spinning community, you’ve probably heard of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson. It is a wonderful resource not only for spinners but also knitters, weavers, crafters, and anyone else who isRead More
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Sheep Fleece to Sock Yarn: Challenges and Results
Little did I know when my husband and I headed off to pick up eggs at our friend’s farm, that I was about to begin a raw sheep fleece to sock yarn project! Before he started working from home in 2020, my husband would pick up fresh farm eggs from his coworker at their officeRead More
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The Scotch Tension System – Is it Scottish?
I have had a question about the scotch tension system on my spinning wheels for a while now. Because it is often mentioned in the same context as Irish tension, I always wondered if scotch tension had something to do with Scotland like Scotch whisky...Read More
Spinning
Distaff Day: Fun and Fire?
Distaff day falls on January 7th each year. It is the day after 12th night, also known as Epiphany. Traditionally, it was the day when the festivities of Christmas were over and women went back to their distaves and resumed the regular daily duties of spinning. I have some questions about the folklore of this holiday, but I still think it is worth celebrating. Here's what I do for Distaff day each year...Read More
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Restoring a Vintage Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel
I purchased a neglected vintage Ashford Traditional spinning wheel so that I could bring her back to her former glory. You can read more about how I came across this wheel, and some things I discovered about its past in my, “I Found a Vintage Ashford Traditional” post. Now it is time to get toRead More
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Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Yarn Spinners Under $20
I love stocking stuffers! Those fun goodies to dig out of a stocking on Christmas morning always bring out the kid in me. I rounded up a list of stocking stuffers for yarn spinners under $20 that yarn spinners can (ahem) share with Santa!Read More
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Best Spinning Fibers For Beginners
I'm often asked what I think the best spinning fibers for beginners are. Drawing from my own experience as a beginner, to some new discoveries along the way, these are great fibers for beginners and why I love them.Read More
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The Best Spinning Wheel for Spinning Art Yarn
Let's talk about important features that a spinning wheel should have if your goal is to spin bulky, textured art yarn. This is a list of my favorite wheels designed to spin the fluffiest of textured yarns.Read More
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How I Avoid Running Out of Yarn by Using Math
When I got close to the end of the Arboreal sweater project that I knit entirely out of handspun yarn, I knew It would be a close call. Would I run out of yarn? I didn't want to play yarn chicken with my handspun and I had already spun the entire bump of roving, so there was no way to get more yarn for this project. This is what I did to make sure I could finish my project without running out or having too much yarn leftover.Read More
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The 5 Books that Taught Me How to Spin Yarn
There are so many excellent spinning books out there, it was hard for me to choose my favorites. But, as I started to narrow it down, I realized that my favorite beginner books were the books that taught me how to spin yarn! While several of these books are no longer in print, they are available in Kindle format, and of course you can always find them second hand if you are on the look out. So here they are, my top 5 books that taught me how to spin yarn.Read More