Spinning?

[Teileag]

I started spinning with a spindle a few months ago and followed some written isntructions. I was chuffed, though, last weekend to meet a man who showed old fashioned ways of spinning, weaving and dying at an Open Air Museum and I learned a few more things... Unfortunately I don't have very much time but I keep going.

[Teileag]

... and just one thought about Sleeping Beauty:

have a look at these shepherd's sticks (??? Spinnrocken, they serve to hold the wool whilst spinning), they look quite pointy to me. I suppose this is where she must have pricked her finger...

[ShropshirePagan]

Yes, a distaff! Might well have been, particularly if they were pointy, unless her spindle wasn't well-crafted and she had a splinter or a split in it??

[cec235]

I have an old-fashioned drop spindle but have had absolutly no luck in figuring out how to use it... not so simple! Very pretty samples, above, though.

[skydove]

If any one would like my spinning wheel and carders please just let me know, I also have a machine that cards fleece but it needs someone who has patience to put it together again. I liked spinning but haven't got the time for it now so if anyone can give it a good home and can collect it you can have it for free.

[Corwen]

If any one would like my spinning wheel and carders please just let me know, I also have a machine that cards fleece but it needs someone who has patience to put it together again. I liked spinning but haven't got the time for it now so if anyone can give it a good home and can collect it you can have it for free.

That is very generous of you, I'll ask Kate to PM you when she gets home and see if there is anything among your things that she could use. Perhaps we could meet at the Mercian Gathering, if you are going?

[Corwen]

... and just one thought about Sleeping Beauty:

have a look at these shepherd's sticks (??? Spinnrocken, they serve to hold the wool whilst spinning), they look quite pointy to me. I suppose this is where she must have pricked her finger...

They are lucettes/lucets I think, a shepherd stick usually just has one fork at the top and are usually assymetrical.

[skydove]

Hi Corwen,
Another lady from the board has asked for the wheel and carders, but I still have the machine that does the carding. I'm not able to go to the Mercian this year but as we only live 6 miles away if you wanted the carding machine you could have it ( I know you would be able to figure out how to put it together again) we could easily drop it off or you could pick it up from us. I'll take a photo and post it here tomorrow.

[wyeuro]

i've been spinning and knitting or weaving for years, since i was a teenager. i was so keen i bought angora goats and still keep a fleecy goat or two on the farm. i also buy merino fleeces and cross-bred ones too, which have a softer handle and are easier to spin. i started on a large spinning wheel, then learnt to use a drop spindle when i had no room for the wheel. then i learnt the broomstick method, and discovered the one-stick method, rolled on the thigh, which is easier and quicker and you can take it anywhere. i've made all sorts of clothing and yarns, even spun nettle fibres from the nettles in our yard, and grown a row of cotton plants and flax, just to try. i'm looking for angora rabbits now, and a local supplier has alpaca for sale which i'm taking an interest in - when i've finished my current weaving project maybe!!!

[Aurora]

I am wanting to start spinning and weaving especially after visiting the craft fair recently and seeing the lovely ladies from the spinners and weavers guild who showed me how to do simple braid , will hopefully be able to get into it more when i come back from holidays

[kkieva]

I'm restarting my Bardic journey...in between my first attempt and now I've gotten involved in the whole "sheep to shawl" thing, purchasing raw wool, sorting, washing, carding/combing, spinning on a drop spindle, and knitting/weaving lace shawls. I'm still fairly new but I'm very excited, and I'm thinking about how I can incorporate this into my Bardic studies, making this fascination with fiber arts into a spiritual practice. What a joy it would be to "spiritualize" my efforts...

[nia-ceridwyn]

I spin, both on a wheel (Kromski Mazurka) and a drop spindle. I basically taught myself, though I learned the wheel from watching my husband learn over the course of a couple years.

On the right is my most recent spinning, just singles for now as I've not plied it yet. On the left is my first ever spinning, and why I am called a spinning prodigy.

DSCF1450.jpg (150.77 KiB) Viewed 154 times

[Crinia]

OK, I'll admit it. The rest of you most probably think I'm cheating because I use an electric spinner. It was originally designed for disabled people who are unable to use their legs. I can run mine off mains power or DC battery (solar charged).
Crinia

[nia-ceridwyn]

OK, I'll admit it. The rest of you most probably think I'm cheating because I use an electric spinner. It was originally designed for disabled people who are unable to use their legs. I can run mine off mains power or DC battery (solar charged).
Crinia

Why would that be cheating? Especially if you're spinning for quantity ... it can be time consuming if you have to mess with a wheel, or Light forbid a drop spindle. I sometimes with I had one, when I want to spin larger quantities.

That being said, what I really want is a double-treadle wheel. Like an Ashford Traveller, a Kromski Sonata, a Schacht Ladybug, or a Majacraft Rose (if I had a thousand dollars to spare).

[Crinia]

Thanks for the support Nia Ceridwyn.
Around here the electric spinners are frowned upon by the traditional spinners. They don't consider us "real spinners".
Crinia

[kkieva]

Can anyone show me what a "shepherd's stick" looks like? I cannot find any picture or description of it on the Internet. All I get are the "crooks" that shepherd's use.

[katie bridgewater]

Its just a stick with a fork in it at one end. I will take a picture for you when I get a chance but it really is just a stick. You can spin with a straight stick with no fork, but the fork just means there is something to turn against so you can roll it across your lap for speed. Mine is about 20cm long, with the fork at about 5cm from the end, but I've made and seen a few and there really is no 'right' kind of stick. 5 minutes experimentation should be enough to work out which stick works best and how to do it.

BTW did you all know the earliest evidence for spun fibres is 30,000 BP. Spun and dyed flax in the palaeolithic.

[Bracken]

Katie, I don't know if you've got the time, but if you could make a brief instructional video on how to spin with a shepherd's stick, we would be eternally grateful. Also, I would make a seminar thread for it in the Speaker's Corner.

In fact, how about making it a joint seminar? Reading through this thread it looks like there are shepherd's sticks, drop spindles, wheels and electric spinning machines, and I for one would love to see how they work. Do people have access to video cameras? Even on their phones or anything? The month of May might be too soon for you all, and June is taken, but there's July up for grabs? What do you think? Is anybody interested?

[kkieva]

I did know about the discovery of spun fiber 30,000 years ago and I was absolutely floored...I was also intrigued to learn that flax was spun before wool; how in the world did people figure that out?? Processing and spinning flax is a very complicated process. I'm thinking Jean Auel should include that in one of her books...

There are many Youtube videos on drop spindling and wheel spinning...can those be used to demonstrate the technique?

And I just took a look at some of the seminars in the Speaker's Corner...didn't know it was there, but wow...what a wealth of information and resources!

[Bracken]

And I just took a look at some of the seminars in the Speaker's Corner...didn't know it was there, but wow...what a wealth of information and resources!

And that's why I'm asking for contributions from you spinners rather than directing people to youtube.