Handspun for Helen

I have been having a great time lately dyeing roving and spinning – here are my latest creations:

Both yarns are quite similar – they started out as undyed polwarth which I bought at Birkeland Brothers Wool here in Vancouver.  I dyed them both in using Jacquard acid dyes, by putting my big dye-pot into the oven on 150-200 degrees for 1-2 hours.  The purple roving required more heat and time than the multi-coloured one did – I believe this is because the magenta dye has a higher strike point.

The purple yarn is a much belated christmas gift to my knitting friend Helen – I hope she likes it!  The multi is for me,  but I’m not sure whether I will use it for a hat… though it’s likely not enough… or I could use it in this crocheted afghan that I’ve started, and which is my current obsession!

 

Spindster part 2

OK, just to explain, I say ‘spindster’ because I’m spinning with a spinDle, not a wheel (well, not yet, anyways). I want to learn on the spindle, then graduate to the wheel my mom gave me (she bought it as a kit and put it together back before I was born).

So after my outing to the wool shop, the next day I went to Home Depot, which is, most conveniently, just across the street from where I work. There I found bits and pieces of things that I thought might combine to become a drop spindle. This adventure was inspired by another Emily of the web, author of ‘Not Another Knitblog!’, who has made some beautiful drop spindles from found objects.

So a little dowelling and hardware later, I had a couple of spindles. The first, made with big heavy washers, is not as effective as the second, made of what I think was a cabinet door pull. But I used them both in the creation of my first yarns!