Happy Monday everyone! We're one step closer to spring! Ahhh...
Today's cool site of the week is a site for spinners. Nope, its not a site with a wealth of spinning info or forums or product reviews. Uh uh, this isn't that kind of site. This site, is about one of the greatest tools for spinners ever! Noooo, not the drum carder. This site is for the Woolee Winder! I know, there are people scratching their heads right now trying to figure out what the heck I'm talking about... but wait a sec, lemme tell ya.
If you're a spinner, you know that spinning involves stopping periodically to move the yarn from one hook to the next so that it spins onto the bobbin evenly. If you have hooks on your flyer (a part of the spinning wheel that spins and holds the hooks) you know that you sometimes end up with little "hills and valleys" as the yarn builds up beneath the hooks. If you have a sliding hook you can do a better job of preventing "hills and valleys" since you aren't limited to where you place the yarn. Your hook slides to any position so you can prevent or fill in any low areas on the bobbin. Even with the sliding hook set up you still have to stop spinning periodically to slide the hook. I don't know about you, but I get into a zone when I spin. I become so engrossed in spinning that its almost like mediatation. I can look up and have a full bobbin and not remember the time it took to fill it. I like that - the uninterrupted mediation of spinning. This is why I am so in love with the Woolee Winder! The Woolee Winder takes care of moving the yarn up and down the bobbin so that it winds on evenly. Its a patented invention that is available only through Nathan at http://www.thewooleewinder.com/.
Woolee winders are a flyer and bobbin set up that contains gears that mesh together and control the hook movement. When you spin on your wheel, the rotation turns the gears which then drive the hook up and down the flyer track. The result? A consistent, even bobbin of yarn without the start / stop involved in changing hooks. It may not seem very glam, but to see one in action or better yet, use one for yourself, is fiber-life changing! My Woolee Winder has made me a better spinner - I'm certain of it.
circular sock machines, spinning, knitting, quilting, sewing, fleece carding, wool dyeing, weaving, rollerskating, all the while being V.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Cool site of the week - 2/23/09
Oops. Late again, dang! Sorry folks. Here's my pick for Cool Site Of The Week... its the new website launch of one of my favorite magazines, Spin Off. Its http://www.spinoffmagazine.com/
Their newly launched site is just chock-o-goodies! Sign up and enjoy the benefit of articles, free patterns and downloads, a great online community of spinners and lots more. I'm glad Spin Off finally launched their own site, outside of their horrible co-existence on their parent company's site (Interwewave Press). You don't have to subscribe to the magazine to belong to the site.
Their newly launched site is just chock-o-goodies! Sign up and enjoy the benefit of articles, free patterns and downloads, a great online community of spinners and lots more. I'm glad Spin Off finally launched their own site, outside of their horrible co-existence on their parent company's site (Interwewave Press). You don't have to subscribe to the magazine to belong to the site.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Is it wrong to love your hand carders?
I recently posted about getting a new wheel with a few added goodies thrown in, namely a pair of Clemes & Clemes cotton hand carders. My other carders are antiques and in poor condition. I've simply assumed they were working properly because I had nothing else to compare them to in terms of how a hand carder should feel, work and what the finished product should look like. Ha! boy was I ever wrong... The rolags I've been making with these new Clemes & Clemes carders are like nothing I've ever achieved on my antiques. I'm thinking these antique cards are about to take a permanent retirement.
Here are a few pics of my blended merino rolags, fresh off my new Clemes carders:
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Pimp my Traddy
I got a new wheel! Yes, yet another wonderful wheel! This one is a vintage Ashford Traditional, just like the one pictured here. It was a sweet deal on Craigslist and came with some very nice Clemes & Clemes hand carders, a navajo spindle (30" tall - so you can spin it off your thigh!), 4 bobbins, an upright kate, a vintage and highly collectible spiral bound copy of "The Essentials of 
Yarn Design for Handspinners" by Mabel Ross and 4 giant bundles of pre-drafted roving - all for a very good price. Too bad I had to trash the fiber. Not only did it stink of cigarette smoke, but there were remnants of critter contamination - that's right, moths! No way was I going to put my own fiber stash in jeopardy. I tossed all the fiber toute suite... (very fast) Even the fiber spun onto the bobbins had been compromised by those little buggers. The wheel was built between 1975 and 1981 and the fiber looked like it had been sitting on those bobbins ever since.
Yarn Design for Handspinners" by Mabel Ross and 4 giant bundles of pre-drafted roving - all for a very good price. Too bad I had to trash the fiber. Not only did it stink of cigarette smoke, but there were remnants of critter contamination - that's right, moths! No way was I going to put my own fiber stash in jeopardy. I tossed all the fiber toute suite... (very fast) Even the fiber spun onto the bobbins had been compromised by those little buggers. The wheel was built between 1975 and 1981 and the fiber looked like it had been sitting on those bobbins ever since. So, now I'm sure you want to know how I plan to "Pimp my Traddy" (the nickname affectionately given to Ashford Traditional wheels). Well, I've been lucking out left and right in finding low cost accessories. I never realized Ashford wheels could be upgraded and configured so easily.
Here's my "Pimp" plan already in effect:
- New Jumbo flyer with 4 jumbo bobbins
- Three speed flyer (for regular bobbins - gives the old wheel an added speed ratio
- New stretchy drive band (I hate cotton bands - you can feel the knot hitting the flyer)
- New leather connector for the single treadle footman
- And the pièce de résistance, a double treadle upgrade kit!
Cool site of the week - 2/16/09
Oops! I forgot to post a cool site of the week yesterday. Shame on me... I hope you haven't been waiting by the computer all night :)
Here it is, a little late but better than never:
The Joy of Handspinning.
Without a doubt, this site is the most informative and comprehensive site for handspinning online. Not only will you find information on everything from spinning wheels, spindles and fiber prep, but there are video tutorials! Even info on how to care for your Angora rabbits. Come on now folks, where else are you going to get all that information in one place??? The navigation is quick and easy so you'll find exactly what you're looking for. You can even do some shopping on if you're in the market for books, wheels, spindles, etc.
The Joy of Handspinning site is (IMHO) the single most important handspinning site there is, and therefore gets the cool site of the week award, hands down!
Here it is, a little late but better than never:
The Joy of Handspinning.
Without a doubt, this site is the most informative and comprehensive site for handspinning online. Not only will you find information on everything from spinning wheels, spindles and fiber prep, but there are video tutorials! Even info on how to care for your Angora rabbits. Come on now folks, where else are you going to get all that information in one place??? The navigation is quick and easy so you'll find exactly what you're looking for. You can even do some shopping on if you're in the market for books, wheels, spindles, etc.
The Joy of Handspinning site is (IMHO) the single most important handspinning site there is, and therefore gets the cool site of the week award, hands down!
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