In a way, this is a specious title, because if anything, I’m working hard to exert some control over my spinning, but it doesn’t always work as I expect. I was at the wheel the other day filling a bobbin with Southdown to produce a two-ply yarn. That was going well, and the singles seemed pretty consistent, but when I got to plying…well, that’s another story altogether. It didn’t feel like I was treadling all that quickly, but suddenly both of the bobbins flew off the Lazy Kate and unspooled across the floor, creating a perfect opportunity for the kittens to jump into action and create a fluffy mess.
Southdown ram, photograph by Frank Babbage, from the Encyclopædia Britannica, eleventh edition, 1911. The Southdown is the smallest of the English breeds with short staples (around 2″). Wikipedia notes that they are used in New Zealand and California in the vineyards to keep down weeds because they are too short to reach the grapes. They are listed as a Rare Breed by the UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
In the end, I did get a satisfactory skein, but still feel like I need plying lessons.
My current adventures in spinning are participation in a Breed Study online seminar with Sasha Torres from London, Canada. Each month she sends the group a nice bag of fleece from lesser-known or rare sheep to sample and spin. She provides background on the breed as well as sharing the methods she uses to learn how to handle the fleece and determine the best spinning method. She’s a great teacher, and I’ve learned a great deal just from watching how she manipulates the fleece using different drafting methods and spinning techniques to produce yarns with specific characteristics.
So far in this year’s seminar, we have also spun Whitefaced Woodland and Targhee.
Targhee sheep (right). They were developed in 1926 in Idaho to produce a sheep that would thrive on the ranges of the West and High Plains. They are a cross between Rambouillet rams and Corriedale and Lincoln/Rambouillet ewes. They produce a fine wool with long staples (around 4″).
While I’m certainly expanding my experience, I’ve reached a point in my spinning journey where I’m feeling the need to get to a new level. I recognize that to some degree, it’s all about practice, but I also need some guidance to improve my drafting and plying in order to make a yarn that wants to be knitted. There is only so far one can go with online teachers. I’m feeling the need for in-class instruction…something that remains in somewhat short supply these days. I did, however, sign up for a Zoom class for November with Fiona Ellis on deconstructing cables. I have a few photos from Sweden that feature interlacing designs that just beg to be cables.
Meanwhile…
The last farmer’s market of the season was yesterday (October 10) and it was kind of sad to say goodbye to the farmers, bakers, and other vendors I’ve gotten to know over the summer and early fall. These dahlias, one of the last of the fall flowers that will last until the first frost, come from Echo Farm in Woodstock, CT. I couldn’t miss their booth every Sunday because their flower selection was simply awesome, and drew the eye from across the Sturbridge Green.
The vase is wedged into a pot with hand towels to keep it from tipping over — Kitten Lyla is fond of pulling them over for a drink of water and so that she can carry a flower around in her mouth. At times the flowers have been sufficiently irresistible that we had to use bungee cords to tie the vase down. However, you best not turn your back on the kitties or they will find a way to make flower mischief.
On the needles
I have a few things on the needles, but nothing terribly exciting. I’m still swatching with Josefin’s Tabaktorp yarn, and I did cast on some stash yarn for a pair of socks just to have something for evenings and Wednesday knitting group. I have a partially worked sweater with Aran patterns in the yoke that needs some math to complete the armscye and neck (there are certain down sides to working a sweater as ideas occur to you and then trying to mash it into a design with proper sleeves and finishes). Last but not least, I have some lovely Romney mix from Deb A. that I’ll be using for a sweater for Bruce. I could actually swatch for that, but I’m holding off until I have a slightly better grasp of what it will be…other than a DNA cable up the back, I don’t know what other goodies I want to put into the design. I’m sort of waiting for my November cable class so that I can learn more about charting my own cable designs to make this a special sweater.
Settling into fall also means time in the kitchen. I’m thinking about an apple cake (and Bruce has asked for a carrot cake) and split pea soup. Now that the farmer’s market is over I have no excuse and will go back to baking my own bread. The conventional wisdom around the house is that baking has no impact on energy costs because it helps maintain the temperature in the house. Not that I needed an excuse!
Knit on and stay well.
Your hand spun is beautiful. Remember it is hand spun not mill spun. Don’t be so critical of yourself my friend. You do fantastic work whether it is spinning, knitting or anything else you do. Relax and enjoy he process. ❤️