Table of contents for Fall 2019 in Spin-Off

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one fiber tool, what would it be? Soon after I first learned to spin, I moved into a tiny cabin on a farm in northern Vermont with my husband. In our 12' square unplumbed cabin, we made space for my most important possession: a new Ashford Traveller spinning wheel. I adored that wheel and still do; it’s the wheel that made me a spinner. In the Desert Island Tool issue, we asked what you just couldn’t do without or leave behind. Authors from around the world answered this question in many ways. Amy Tyler and Emily Wohlscheid both shared ways they are adapting their favorite blending tools to expand the fiber effects they can create. A beloved “tool”…

Interweave and Schacht Spindle Company share a long history. If you thumb through the very first issue of Spin Off, published over 40 years ago, you’ll find a Schacht ad featuring looms and spindles. Schacht’s co-owner Jane Patrick is a former Interweave staffer and editor of our sister magazine Handwoven. In light of the company’s 50th anniversary, we asked Barry Schacht and Jane Patrick to tell us about the festivities, and we had a couple of burning questions only a handspinner would ask. Spin Off (SO): Jane, in addition to being a weaver, do you also spin? Jane Patrick: I don’t call myself a spinner, but I can spin and always enjoying doing so. During The National Needlearts Association [TNNA] Spinning and Weaving Week every October, we encourage employees to…

VISIT YOUR NEAREST DEALER TO SPIN ON A LENDRUM Homespun Haven 4165 Round Prairie Rd. Armstrong, BC V0E 1B4 (250) 546-3224 Honeysuckle Fibre Arts 9600 Third St. Sidney, BC V8L 2Z9 (250) 656-4201 Fiber Factory 216 W. Main Mesa, AZ 85201 (480) 969-4346 fiberfactory.com Southwest Corner 8204 N. Frontier Rd. McNeal, AZ 85617 (520) 335-4113 cottonspinning.com Carolina Homespun 455 Lisbon St. San Francisco, CA 94112 (800) 450-7786 carolinahomespun.com Village Spinning & Weaving Shop 425-B Alisal Rd. Solvang, CA 93463 (888) 686-1192 villagespinweave.com Lambspun 1101 E. Lincoln Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80524 (800) 558-5262 lambspun.com Shuttles Spindles & Skeins 635 S. Broadway, Unit E Boulder, CO 80303 (303) 494-1071 Serendipity Farm 9501 Silver Lake Dr. Leesburg, FL 34788 (757)651-2632 fibertoolsonline.com The Fold 3316 Millstream Rd. Marengo, IL 60152 (815) 568-5730 thefoldatmc.net…

Twist direction can be used to highlight or strengthen a special technique. It can also be adapted to better suit the maker’s techniques, such as knitting with the yarn held in the right or left hand. As spinners, we can create a wide spectrum of qualities just by making changes in twist. Twist is a fundamental ingredient in the creation of most yarns. The idea is simple: as twist is added to fibers, it begins to lock them together and prevents them from coming apart. However, every handspinner knows that there is a more complicated story that lies behind this simple fact: twist can vary in degree and direction. High twist can give us strong and durable yarn; low twist can make a soft and warm yarn. Layers of twist…

I love spindle spinning, but many of my first attempts to ply singles off my spindles resulted in frustration. Over the years, I have tried a variety of approaches, some with more success than others. My favorite method uses a tensioned spindle kate that I make from a shoebox and a handful of other supplies. This type of kate works for a top-whorl suspended spindle with a hook at the tip, and it allows me to leave the singles in cop form on the spindle—no rewinding needed. However, this kate design does require that you own multiple spindles; I’ve not found this to be a hardship. What You’ll Need The key to this DIY spindle kate is fishing swivels. I use swivels to suspend the spindles, allowing them to spin…

Although common and glossy buckthorns are considered invasive plants in North America, in Europe and parts of Asia, they are native plants and have long historical use. In researching buckthorn dyes, I found that buckthorn berries were commonly used for making lake pigments used for paint or ink. Krista Vajanto’s scientific research on Iron Age archaeological samples from Finland has shown evidence of the presence of buckthorn-bark dyes giving red color. Subsequent articles show that buckthorn-bark dyes actually make the yarn stronger than undyed yarn (see Resources).…

Sweater I knitted this sweater a couple of years ago to illustrate the range of colors you can achieve from buckthorn. From top to bottom, the stripes are dyed from buckthorn bark (pink), buckthorn berry skins (blue), buckthorn berries (green), and buckthorn leaves (yellow). I used handspun Polled Dorset singles on a flatbed knitting machine. The sweater is machine-knitted from hem to armholes and then handknitted in the round from the armholes to the neck. Hat The hat is knitted from two shades of buckthorn-berry green, two shades of buckthorn-bark red, and white undyed wool. As with many natural dyes, buckthorn dyes and shades are difficult to repeat exactly. Berries in particular can give greens that range from olive green all the way to blue-greens and everything in between. The…

Raw Material: Working Wool in the West By Stephany Wilkes Sheep-shearing demonstrations always draw a crowd at local fiber festivals, but few fiber lovers attempt this backbreaking feat themselves, even if they entertain dreams of owning their own sheep. Meet Stephany Wilkes, a certified sheep shearer who left a career in the tech industry after completing a University of California Extension course in shearing. As Wilkes’s own story unfolds, she gives readers a peek into the American wool industry. Following the many steps that transform a shorn fleece into a sustainable skein on a local yarn shop shelf, she introduces us to a cast of characters, including unpredictable sheep, small-scale producers, ranchers, local mill operators, government bureaucrats, and many more. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press, 2018. Paperback, 312 pages,…

Akerworks offers the Butterfly Kate, a lightweight, versatile tool created with on-the-go spinners, knitters, and crocheters in mind. If you open the wings and add a full bobbin, it acts as a tensioned lazy kate for plying. Add a ball of yarn and thread the end through the yarn guide, and your yarn won’t go astray as you stitch. Shown in European beech; also available in American black cherry, maple, and black walnut. $61–67. Akerworks. www.akerworks.com. Made in Michigan, Indian Lake Artisans’ circular needles feature a patented hexagonal shape that allows the yarn to lie on the outer edges of the needle, which aids in keeping knitting tension even and helps you slip the tip of the needle into a stitch. The wooden needles smoothly connect to the cable with…

Along the western edge of the Sacramento Valley, in Solano County just north of Vacaville, lives a flock of more than 60 rare-breed Jacob sheep tended by shepherds Robin and Dan Lynde of Meridian Jacobs. For 10 years, one of the essential ingredients in the success of Meridian Jacobs has been its Farm Club. Robin says that members range in age from their early 20s to late 70s and have diverse back grounds, but share both “a common interest in learning about and supporting a local farm and the love of animals and fiber craft.” Many are handspinners and knitters, but some just come to learn more about the beautiful white and black spotted sheep. The income generated by the club’s dues help support all facets of farm life, and…

When I ride by bike to work during the winter in Stockholm, I need woolen handcoverings that are strong and durable but also keep my hands warm and dry. Twined knitting makes a sturdy fabric that will last forever, especially if you use a fiber that has an outercoat for strength and undercoat for softness and warmth. For my Heartwarming Mitts, I used lamb’s wool from Värmland sheep in a subtle mother-of-pearl shade with honey-dipped tips. Värmland, a Swedish landrace, has the strong outercoat and soft undercoat I wanted for twined handcoverings. A double-coated Shetland would also be a good choice, or you could blend fiber from two breeds for the same effect, such as Finn for warmth and softness and Lincoln for strength. Spinning for Twined Knitting Twined knitting,…

I often use berries collected during the summer that are frozen until I am ready to use them. Label stored berries so they are not consumed—buckthorn berries can have a strong laxative effect. For this recipe, I think the temperature of the dyebath when the fiber enters it plays a part in the color you get. My hypothesis is that a higher temperature will give colors toward the yellow end of the spectrum, and lower temperatures will give colors toward the blue end of the spectrum. Another interesting thing about this dye process is that as you pull the wool from the dyepot, it will look blue; as the liquid from the dyepot drains off the fiber or yarn, the color shifts to green. 1 First, weigh frozen berries and…

From the moment I saw the Mixlace Poncho as a new Interweave staffer in 2016, I knew it would look fabulous in handspun yarn. Originally published in Interweave Crochet Fall 2016, it is one of those projects that just sticks with you. Once I was ready with hook in hand and a pile of bouncy handspun Rambouillet singles, I decided to adapt the pattern to make a wrap, a style I find more wearable. Spinning Notes For my handspun version, I chose to spin a thick-and-thin, bulky-weight singles yarn out of a semisolid hand-dyed top in a deep, rich purple from Lisa Souza Dyeworks. Chatting with Lisa at Interweave Yarn Fest in Loveland, Colorado, I learned that the Marionberry colorway is one of her personal favorites, too. I adapted the…

I’m a fiber-centric spinner. My greatest joy in creating textiles, whether knitted, woven, or embroidered, is in learning about fibers and what they do best. I’m always on the lookout for projects that allow me to combine fibers and different yarn structures in an intentional way. Megi Burcl’s Beacon Shawl is made in separate sections rather than using an intarsia technique. This makes it easy to change to a different needle size, as I did, to accommodate a different yarn structure, fiber character, and grist. The bouncy combed-but-stillcrimpy Merino could then be a finer, more ephemeral yarn for drape, and the gradient border could be a denser, less-elastic yak/silk blend to add weight and luster to the finished edge. I can’t wait to remake this shawl again with another fiber…

USA ARIZONA Grandma’s Spinning Wheel 6544 E. Tanque Verde #150 Tucson, AZ 85715 Ph 520 290-3738 spinningramma@aol.com www.grandmasspinningwheel.com CALIFORNIA The Village Spinning & Weaving 425-B Alisal Rd Solvang, CA 93463 Ph 888 686-1192 Toll Free villagespinweave@mac.com www.villagespinweave.com COLORADO Bountiful 211 Green Mountain Dr Livermore, CO 80536 Ph 970 482-7746 Toll-free 877 586-9332 info@bountifulspinweave.com www.bountifulspinweave.com Blazing Star Ranch 3424 S. Broadway Englewood, CO 80113 Ph 303 514-8780 blazingstarranch@gmail.com www.blazingstarranch.com CONNECTICUT The Wheel Thing 454 Wells Hill Rd Lakeville, CT 06039 Ph 860 435-2626 jlynn4540@gmail.com www.the-wheel-thing.com IDAHO The Sheep Shed 76 N. Robinson Rd Nampa ID 83687 sheepshed@q.com Ph 2084664365 ILLINOIS The Fold 3316 Millstream Rd Marengo, IL60152 Ph 815 568-0165 thefold@mc.net www.thefoldatmc.net INDIANA The Trading Post for Fiber Arts 8833 S. 5O W. Pendleton, IN 46064 Ph 765 778-3642 tradingpostfiber@aol.com www.tradingpostfiber.com…

BETTER BY DESIGN Join us for our Fab 50 Anniversary Celebration! September 20th at the Schacht Spindle Factory Learn more and register to attend: schachtspindle.com/50years We introduced the Matchless Spinning Wheel in 1987 to wide acclaim for its solid construction, beauty, and responsiveness. Barry Schacht reimagined the traditional castle wheel with contemporary styling and state-of-the-art mechanics. Our first wheels were single treadles, which we still make today. In 1995, the double-treadle Matchless became a runaway best seller. Spinners love: the broad range of spinning ratios from 4:1 to 21:1, the perfectly balanced flyer, comfortable treadling, and three spinning modes (double drive, Scotch tension, and bobbin lead) 50th Anniversary Cherry Edition: Order our beautiful limited-edition wheel with our special 50th Anniversary insignia from your favorite dealer. TOOLS FOR THE CRAFTS WE…

Pattern and designer Classic Raglan Cardigan by Barbara G. Walker. The smocking stitch pattern is from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (Schoolhouse Press edition, 1998) by Barbara G. Walker, page 134. Fiber/preparation Six 4-ounce braids of fiber dyed by Hello Yarn. Each was a different breed: Rambouillet, Falkland, Bluefaced Leicester, Corriedale, Shetland, and South American blend. I folded each roving and broke it in half, then split each half into 8 strips so that I had 16 strips from each bag. I mixed all the fiber strips randomly into 16 “bundles.” Wheel system/spindle Kromski Minstrel, double drive Ratio 12:1 Drafting method Worsted Singles direction Z-twist Yarn 2-ply; 1,204 ypp; 13 wpi Yarn classification/weight Sportweight Total yardage 1,894 yards Yardage used 1,400 yards Needles U.S. size 4 (3.5 mm) Gauge 22…

You have found the perfect spinning wheel, but what about your chair? Sitting in a chair that does not allow for correct spinal and joint alignment can cause pain and overuse injuries over time. A poorly fitting chair that results in ill posture can also cause preexisting issues such as sciatica, back pain caused by herniated discs, shin splints, leg pain, or other ankle and foot issues to flare up. Most spinners don’t give their chairs a second thought, but if you have developed new pains while spinning or your old aches and pains are getting worse, don’t blame your wheel first; it could be your chair or posture. Let’s look at the chair you sit in most to spin. You may find that a few minor adjustments will help…