spinning update

[horusporus]

I thought I'd share my process a little bit. Spinning lace for me is a combination of two main challenges: the weight of the spindle plus cop and the speed of the spindle. So, even though supported spindle is giving me really good fine singles, I don't ply as fast as I like on the ones I have, so I'm still using a bigger drop spindle (and one with a metal tip) for the plying (which, in the end, needs to be supported anyway so I don't break the yarn). On the other hand, I find it makes no sense for me to chase for bigger cops of singles at this gauge - inevitably there will be a snarl and later, waste. Which is why I've turned to chain-plying - I get to do manageably sized cops, and I get to join the singles by more spinning rather than splicing or spit-splicing.

I thought I share because I feel like I'm not exactly doing something commonly shared. :) what's your respective processes?

anyway, yarn porn:

updated photo of my current plying spindle. and you know, the more i look at it, the more i'm tempted to call it 'sweetcorn'.

over in my meatspace blog, i also wrote a small post on weaving traditions thanks to my visit to my country's national textile museum, if you're interested.

Comments

[horusporus]

Have you tried Andean plying for the last bits of single or is that too fiddly on the wheel? I used to divide the coloured top if it's gradient, if it's the one with streaks all through I just spin as is and weigh the spindle (back when I was 2-plying) - it tends to come out heathered or close to.

As for this one, I was basically handcarding the mix from various tops, as I went along. It was white angora mixes (merino and silk) and a yellow/orange/pink merino-silk, so the uneven distribution really showed because no mini rolag was quite the same, haha.

[silversandbea]

I've used it before, and it's definitely doable - my issue is that either I'm not doing a two ply, or I'm so ready to be done with spinning the thing that I don't have patience to re-teach myself on youtube and decide that I need more waste yarn for X project, anyway. Or practice chain plying with it, or use it for test yarn, or something.

Have you tried fractal spinning for multicolored non-gradient works? It's on my to-do list to do properly, the next time I do a multicolored roving that I'm not mixing with anything else.

Interesting about the pink and orange! I didn't see it on first go, but I can see it now.

[horusporus]

I like the idea of fractal spinning... I just don't like the results very much (but then again I avoid most gradient fibre for that reason unless it's a colour pattern I can either do long repeats or heathered effect)