Let's pick back up with the woodworking section: The husband has figured out how to turn the whorl of the spindle. First, it's in the chuck on a little neck, so it can be held in.
Then he needed to flip it around to turn off the neck, but then, how to
hold the piece in the chuck? He solved this problem by making a jig that
holds it on one side
Some sanding....
Yup, the drop spindle is fully functional and beautiful to boot!
I looked around on the omniscient internets to find resources on how to do this stuff. I liked this blog post about turning a spindle. For carding, I watched this and this.
I ended up finding the second method with switching carders to be more
successful than the methods that transfer the wool from side to side. I was able to produce rolags, sort of.
For spinning with a drop spindle from hand-carded rolags, this was the most helpful link to me.
In hindsight I wished I hadn't washed all the fleece already because I came across one piece of it that for some reason wasn't washed as much, still had a bit of lanolin in it, and the fibers were straighter/less matted. That section carded and spun so much nicer! Next time... oh yes, there will be a next time. This stuff is addicting.
Next stop dyeing, and picking a knitting project! The husband made the very cool observation that this project involved every single person in our family. What could I knit that would be representative of that?
Just found you on Wildcrafting Wednesday. I think a small blanket for the couch or a chair is something everyone in the family can use.
ReplyDeleteI'm signing up to receive your posts and going to read the older ones.Looking forward to it!
Yay! Thanks for visiting!
DeleteI used to love working on a lathe with my father before he passed away. We made some really nice tall candle holders and also some table legs. I would love to learn how to spin - there are several cotton fields where we live and after they harvest there is a white cloud of cotton floating all over the place. Maybe this year I will gather some of that up and try my hand at spinning it into yarn! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteLet me know how that goes, I think cotton is different yet again. So much fun!
DeleteDas nenne ich TeamWork. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteMan gewoehnt sich an alles :-)
DeleteSpinning in the grease (without a full wash so it has lanolin in it still) is so much easier for me. I have two or three fleeces floating around that were only about half skirted and washed and sometimes I work on them just so I can spin greased wool.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda glad my first try was a worthless piece of junk fleece, because I'm learning so much! Thanks for the visit!
DeleteVery cool! I am just learning to spin. Your husband did a lovely job on the drop spindle. I am learning with the use of a trindle.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The husband took the spindle to his wood turning club and was told it was too heavy. So I'm trying to get him to make me another :-) I hope you're having as much fun with it as I am!
DeleteWhat a fun family project!!
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog today, love it!
Added you to my blog reading list :)
Aw thank you, that totally makes my day!
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