Colour change - in spinning

Anyone who has been a knitter or spinner in the last few years can hardly fail to have noticed the popularity of multicoloured yarns, and fibres. From subtle shading to vibrant contrasts, there's a wealth of variegation out there! Deliciously colourful skeins of yarn or tops and batts ready for spinning are very tempting, and the changes of colour add another layer of interest while we're working with the yarn or fibre, but the finished results are usually very different from the 'package' that tempted us so much .

Another time I will write about knitting with variegated yarns, but in this post I want to explore what happens when we spin multi-coloured fibres. The actual colours of the fibres don't change in the spinning and plying processes, but their appearance certainly does. Here are three examples:



singles

 A hand-dyed top where the colour is in bands across the top (this is Choc Choc Cherry merino & nylon from easyknits.co.uk). This kind of top is sometimes made into a braid when it is sold. 


2-ply

In the two-ply yarn there is a lot of 'barber's pole' where two different colours are plied together.

navajo-plied

In the navajo-plied sample there are more lengths of more-or-less solid colour  - by manipulating the length of the chain loops while plying it is possible to keep the colours more distinct.

In the second top the colours are blended along the length of the top - it is a mixture of merino and silk (from Ashfords I think!). You can see that (on the bobbins) in the singles yarn the colour is already more evenly blended



Once the yarn has been plied and knitted the colour is fairly homogenous while retaining some subtle variegation and occasional highlights of silk (ignore the 2-colour knitting in the top left of the photo)

The third example is a hand-blended drum-carded batt - a mixture of various black and white wools (with a little sparkle, on the envelope, still to be added). So again the streaks of colour are along the length of the batt, built up in layers.



singles



The black and white yarn was intended for use as singles, to avoid further mixing of the colours. Any 'barber's pole' areas are where two colors of fibre are spun together without being blended. In order to 'set' the active twist the yarn had to be steamed and then dried under tension. The cowl that it was knitted into was worked in the round so that any remining singles slant, which will probably re-assert itself after washing, will have less effect.

Spinning technique

All three yarns were spun in semi-worsted style - in the same direction as the fibres were lying in the top/batt. I broke the tops into 20 - 30 cm lengths, slightly extended each one lengthwise to straighten the fibres, and then started spinning from the end. I didn't split the tops down their length or predraft as I find both of these techniques are usually not helpful, but doing so might have affected the way in which the colours were mixed. I did divide the batt lengthwise into a number of strips before spinning from the end of the strip. 

Spinning 'from the fold' - effectively dafting at right angles to the fibre length while holding the fibres folded over the index finger - would have mixed up the colours more, especially in the case of the carded batt.

The effect of plying

The merino-blend yarns were 2- plied, which further mixed the colours and where there was a lot of colour variation in the singles (the pink yarn) this led to a lot of 'barber's pole' areas.   Plying a variagated single with a solid colour single can give more distinct colour variations in the finished yarn especially if the shade of the solid colour single is close to one of the shades in the varigated one. Alternatively if a completely different colour is chosen, a 'barber's pole' with one colour varying is the result                                                     :

This is black cashmere plied with silk which has very long colour changes - it was spun fom hand-dyed silk hankies, predrafted to preserve the colour variation.





The Woolshed and The Wool School - November 2011

Just November and December to catch up with now!

November saw me heading north one dark and wintry night to Aberdeenshire, to deliver workshops at The Woolshed, Oyne. The Woolshed is a mecca for knitters in the north-east of Scotland, crammed full of gorgeous yarns including their own range of locally sourced wool in fabulous colours. There are patterns, needles and 'notions' galore, and loads to inspire whether you want to knit fine lace or chunky woollies - or anything inbetween.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos during the two days of spinning workshops there. We worked mainly in the Woolshed's conservatory but at times spilled out into the main shop area. With seven 'learners' each day plus, on Saturday, a large Leicester x Cheviot hogg fleece, and on Sunday seven spinning wheels, we really needed quite a lot of space!

On Saturday we spent a bit of time getting to know the aforementioned fleece, learning how to sort it into different qualities of wool - it was great to have sheep farmers Linda and Sarah there to add more information about keeping sheep and shearing them! (And look out at the end of this post for news about Fleece on the Hoof, an exciting idea which has grown out of that conversation!!!)

Once we had cleared the floor of the fleece (its amazing how much they spread when you unroll them!) we got down to carding and combing, discussing the differences between woollen and worsted yarns, and how it all starts with the method of preparation. We looked at other kinds of fibres - alpaca, mohair and silk for example - practiced blending on handcarders and preparing silk from cocoons and hankies. We also tried out different forms of commercially prepared wool.

After a delicious lunch of soup next door in Touched by Scotland we started spinning with drop-spindles. And once two small balls of singles were spun, we went on to plying.  By the end of the afternoon everyone had produced at least a few yards of hand-spun two-ply yarn, to take home, wash and proudly display.

On Sunday we turned our attention to spinning wheels. My four Ashfords (two Kiwis and two Traditionals) were supplemented by another Trad, a Traveller and a locally hand-made wheel. I was very impressed by the double-treadle Traveller, it is a huge improvement on the single-treadle one I got back in the early 80s, and I would have to concede that it is prettier than the Kiwi, although I really like the stability and robustness of the Kiwi.
We spun singles all morning, fortified by a delicious cake (thank you Patricia! What is it about cake and wool that makes such a perfect combination?!!!) and sampled the various fibres and blends that we had prepard the day before. After lunch at Touched by Scotland the singles were plied, and skeined, and we discussed washing and finishing the yarn, as well as how to measure thickness to determine knitting needle size or for comparison with commercial yarns. Again, everyone had at least one skein to take home, and plans were being made to meet up and spin together ....
Thanks to Barbara and the Woolshed staff for cups of tea and for hosting us for a very enjoyable weekend.

I was staying nearby with friends, so after packing up, Karen and I headed back for a delicious dinner - and just when I thought I couldn't stay awake any longer, Arne pulled out a box containing his grandmother's spinning wheel from the family's cabin in Norway. We tentatively tried to fit the various pieces together and after a few mistakes managed to figure it out - its not so easy when there are no instructions and you've never seen it in one piece!! Arne thinks that it was made by his great grandfather around 1870, from wood grown on the family farm, as in those days nothing was bought from outside that you could supply and make yourself. He is planning to restore it to working order - I would love to spin on it when he does!!

Having driven up in the dark and on the main roads, I drove home on the Monday morning via Braemar and Glenshee. Although the weather wasn't great, it was a nice journey through some really beautiful scenery. Shame I forgot my camera!!

When I got home I straight away had to start re-packing, as two days later I was off on my spinning travels again, this time to north-western Italy, to do two days of workshops as a guest tutor of the Wool School, see here organised by Biella The Wool Company.
BTWC is a consortium of wool processers  working to add value to wool - their products are completely traceable, using local breeds and producers all within a 10km radius. The Wool Box is their online shop, and the Wool School was devised to offer a series of courses delivered by practitioners who are very experienced in the various hand-crafts using wool. As well as my two days of spinning workshops there were courses on knitting and pattern design, felting, weaving and tapestry.

The courses complemented and ran alongside a fantastic exhibition called Wools of Europe, which has been touring major textile areas and was back at its 'home' in Miagliano from October to December. Over 100 european sheep breeds are featured, with a bag of raw fleece from each one, information about the origin and use of the breed, and examples of products made from the wool. A huge amount of work went in to putting the exhibition together and it is well worth seeing - hopefully it will continue to tour. The exhibition 'catalogue' is a fantastic reference book on european wool and sheep breeds in its own right

I arrived at Malpensa on Wednesday evening (no flight on Thursday, Friday's one too late for setting up) and was met by Emilio Langhi, one of the partners in BTWC, who had organised everything for my workshops. Emilio had also arranged a B&B for me in the little village of Pettinengo. It was of course completely dark as he drove me to Pettinengo, so I had no idea until I awoke the next morning that I was in such a pretty place!

Dawn over Biella, from m window in Pettinengo

My B&B was called Uva Fragola - strawberry grape - and they were gowing right there on my balcony, and made into jam on my breakfast table.

Pettinengo in daylight

I had the morning to explore Pettinengo before going to set up for the workshops.  It is a small village in the hills which evenually become the Alps to the north. It was very peaceful, not at all touristy and I really liked it.

The snowy alps

After a lovely lunch in a restaurant where I think we were the only ones speaking Italian - everyone else was speaking Piedmontese, Emilio took me over to Miagliano, where BTWC has its headquarters in an enormous woollen mill. The comune is one of the smallest in Italy, and really grew around the wool processing industry, sadly now all but lost. The big mill lay disused for about 20 years before the BTWC consortuium took it over, and there are workers houses, a school and infirmary all built to serve the workers and their families.

Emilio took me in to the big wool sorting shed - almost empty now as most of the wool for that year has been processed - and to select the fleeces for use during the workshop. I chose a whole Biellese fleece to show the variation in quality of the wool over the fleece,  but Biellese wool is a bit coarse for hand-spinning, so I chose some Sambucana and black Moretta d'Abruzzo for us to spin.

Biellese fleece

My workshop space was at one end of the big exhibition hall, so once I had re-built my Kiwi and organised the rest of my equipment I was able to have a good long look at the Wools of Europe exhibition.

On Friday I again spent the morning exploring, and also chatting with Corrado, who runs the B&B with his wife Alessia. Corrado first showed me a spinning wheel that he was repairing for someone - I think he said it had come from Sardinia, and the style was very similar to the one Anna had shown me in San Sperate, with a brake on the flyer and the drive band on the bobbin. Next he showed me a weel he had made himself, very similar to the Louet S10. In both cases I was able to suggest some minor improvements to help the wheels run more smoothly. Finally Corrado reached in to the wood store for the stove and produced a spindle he had turned, based on a local traitional design. He said it hadn't turned out well and he was going to burn it, so I could have it if I could spin on it!!

Corrado's hand-turned spindle

 Needless to say it has joined my collection of spindles, although more for curiosity value than practical use! With the weight centred so close to the shaft I find it hard to get it spinning and doesn't spin for long, but I'm sure with practice you could get used to it. I wonder whether this style was used for spinning canapa (hemp) which was the main non-wool fibre in the area.

In the afternoon Emilio took me to La Piccola Fata, a project based in a very old house in the village kitted out with antique school equipment, where children go after school to learn traditional crafts, the piedmontese language and traditions. First we visited the girls - about thirty of them aged from about 6 to 12, all wearing white pinafores and crammed on tiny chairs into a room with a hot woodburning stove. They were doing the traditional embroidery of the area, and singing. One girl showed me how she had learned to spin sardinian wool on her grandmother's (sardinian) spindle and short distaff. I had taken one of Murray's Scottish spindles and some Shetland tops so I did a little demonstration, and Emilio's daughter Emma told the other children about the Wools of Europe exhibition and the wool school. Next we went downstairs to where a similar number of boys were making woden christmas decorations. The volunteers showed me the woven samplers that the children make - a folder of 8 or 9 different weaves by the age of 9, moving from very simple frames to four shaft looms, and the traditional baskets and recycled wool fabric footwear that they make. The childen were all very focused on what they were doing, lively but very well behaved. I was very impressed!

The Saturday and Sunday workshops went really well, following a similar pattern to most of my weekend workshops with fleece and fibre preparation and drop spindle spinning on Saturday, and spinning wheel spinning on Sunday.

As always, everyone had different levels of experience and different wool and spinning stories, and we had some really interesting conversations. Also, throughout the workshops, visitors to the exibition came to see what we were doing, and Emilio explained the purpose behind the Wool School.

On Saturday night Rita was staying in the B&B - it was nice to have her company, as I was the only guest for the rest of my stay. She spent a couple of hours practicing her drop-spindle spinning while I knitted, and in the morning we had home made crema di castagna for breakfast as a special treat (instead of home made cake - different every day and also a treat!!).
On Sunday there were several spinning wheels to use and compare - but my Kiwi ended up going home to Brescia with Maria - where it will hopefully soon meet up with the Kiwi that belongs to one of my Lucca students, Rosaria, who also lives in that area.

This very ornate wheel is dated 1885

Again, the wheels were all of the flyer brake type - and again all needed some adjustments and plenty of oil to get them running smoothly, apart from the almost new Ashford that Laura brought with her.
On both workshop days we had lunch in the trattoria in Miagliano,

and a brief look around the village before going back to our spinning. I was amazed to see, opposite the mill, a Tennant's pub!!!

Monday morning arrived too soon and with it my flight back to Edinburgh. On the drive to Malpensa Emilio spoke of his hopes to continue and expand the Wool School - I certainly hope I can be involved in that!!

In December I did not hold any workshops, but it did see me picking up the conversation about fleeces that had started at the Woolshed. I called in to see Linda and her husband Colin (who only live about 5 miles from me) and between us we came up with an idea to let spinners choose their fleeces - while they are still on the sheep.

one of 2011's Texel cross fleeces to whet your appetite!

 We are calling this Fleece on the Hoof, and we plan to have a special day on the farm in June. I will post more details soon but places will be limited so if you are interested in learning more about it, let me know as soon as possible, by e-mailing deborah.gray7@btinternet.com.

Catching up with the travelling spinner [1]

I've been so busy lately that I've been neglecting this blog, so here's a quick round-up of what I've been up to - on the spinning front any way!

In October I had a fantastic trip to Italy. First of all I was in Lucca, which has to be way up on my list of favourite places.

Donna and Antonio picked me up at the airport and after a slight adventure on the way, I checked in to B&B La Torre - well, a trip to Italy wouldn't be complete for me without some of Lina and Alfredo's hospitality!!

I got such a warm welcome from Lina in the morning - it felt great to be back. I was happy that several of my spinning 'students' and a couple of friends from home had taken my recommendation to stay at La Torre too. You couldn't beat it for value and location - in the heart of the old city but only 5 minutes walk from the station, the rooms are simple but the real highlights are breakfast - a truely unique experience - and the feeling of being 'in famiglia'.
Check it out here if you're thinking of visiting Lucca.

 The fleeces I had chosen in July for my Lucca workshops - a gorgeous moorit and a silvery grey, both top quality Shetland wool -  and arranged to be posted from Shetland had failed to arrive but luckily I knew that before I left home and had taken an alternative, also Irene, one of the 'students', had brought some fleece given to her by a neighbour - in Slovenia! (The Shetland fleeces eventually made their way back to Shetland (after a trip to Germany and two weeks in a depot somewhere in Italy - figure that one out!!) and my good friends at Jamieson & Smith (the Shetland Wool Brokers) sent them on to me in Auchterarder.)

At my beginners' spinning workshop on Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting Roberta. Irene had stayed at La Torre so we had met at breakfast. Donna was with us as well.

All day we carded, combed, chatted and of course spun in the fabulous surroundings of the weaving workshops in the Palazzo Mansi textile museum.

Irene and Donna outside Palazzo Mansi

Organising this great venue was quite a coup for Donna, I know she had put a lot of work into the arrangements.

I had planned only to use drop-spindles - including the lovely hand-made ones created by my friend Murray Dunan more details here - for this workshop, but without a fleece to sort there was time for Irene and Roberta to try out spinning wheels as well. Both got on really well - when Roberta sat at the Ashford Kiwi (wearing her very first skein of handspun yarn as a necklace) she looked as if she was falling in love!!

 I was very happy to see their evident sense of achievement at the end of the day.

On Sunday it was time to reconnect with old friends - in fact some of us managed to get together for dinner on Saturday evening. Silvia had come all the way from Salerno for the third time; Rosaria from Brescia, Annalisa from Genova, Serena from Cecina as well as Antonella and Lucia from Lucca were all at their second spinning workshop (Donna and I have lost count of how many she has attended!!).

Between the chat and laughter we addressed a few spinning difficulties that they had encountered and tried out some different fibres, making our own blends. 

After a break for lunch there was the oppotunity to have a go at some of the more complicated yarn constructions such as navajo plying (a magical way to transform a single (one-ply) yarn into a three ply), corkscrew, bullion and a more complex three ply curled loop boucle yarn. Our fun day of spinning was over all too quickly - till the next time!!

That evening two good friends arrive from Scotland - the timing of their trip was entirely co-incidental but it was great to be able to spend time with them and show them around Lucca for a while, before Donna and I headed off to Sardinia.

On arrival at Cagliari we were met first by the heat, and then by a warm welcome from Cristina and Simone. Cristina had done all the local organisation, finding a fabulous venue for the workshops and a B&B, in the same house, in San Sperate. Our rooms were light, airy and immaculately clean and the hostess couldn't have been more welcoming. The house surrounded a courtyard and was decorated with traditional baskets, kitchen implements and lots of tiny handmade chairs.

Cristina had planned a wonderful programme for the few days before the workshops. On Wednesday she took us in to Cagliari, for a walk round the atmospheric narrow streets and belvederes of the old town,

 then a fantastic lunch before a visit to the basilica and finally the beach.  

On Thursday Cristina and Simone took us inland, driving for an hour or more through the contryside to Barumini to visit one of Sardinia's famous nuraghe.

Countryside near Barumini

These ancient stone towers reminded me very much of the brochs found mainly in the north west of Scotland. Then we went to the nearby Casa Zapata, where there is an ethnographic museum which includes an interesting display about spinning and dyeing

In the mansion house itself there was a cleverly engineered display of the remains of a nuraghe that had ben discovered just under the floors - literally used as the foundations of the eightenth-century house! Finally, we visited the little church next to the mansion. It was a most unexpected and interesting day out.

Friday saw Donna and me wandering around the sleepy streets of San Sperate looking at the murals for which the little town is famous.

 In the afternoon Cristina and Simone arrived - with the fleeces I had had sent to Cristina from Shetland, (that parcel arrived in a week, presumably without detours!!) - and we prepared the workshop space, a long room usually used for private parties and local feste. We put the long trestle tables to good use.

Saturday arrived with the real purpose of my trip to Sardina - the spinning workshops! Over the two workshop days there were ten 'students' with very varied interests - felt makers, weavers, soap makers, artists, and we had a lot of  interesting conversations.

Anna had brought an old spinning wheel - her grandmother's I think, which I was fascinated to see.

 She also brought some sardinian fleece, and it was interesting to compare it with the Shetland fleeces. Sardinian wool is quite coarse, but with a softer undercoat.
On Saturday we sorted fleeces, carded and combed, discussing the differences between woollen and worsted. We had a lovely lunch in the courtyard - everyone had brought something, it was a real feast! After lunch it was back to the combs and carders, blending wool with alpaca, mohair or sari silk, blending colours, and creating a good supply of prepared fibre ready for spinning on Sunday.

On sunday the spindles came out and everyone was busy creating yarn,

some concentrating on technique and even-ness,

others (especially exuberant artist Lilly) on colour and texture.

We had another glorious lunch in the courtyard, and then spent the afternoon plying and skeining yarns. Everybody created at least one skein of plied yarn, and all professed themelves pleased with what they had achieved. Later on a few local friends called by to see what we had been doing and enjoy a glass of wine.

Sissal Mitts by Jamieson & Smith

The pattern for these lovely mitts was made available by Jamieson & Smith, the Shetland Wool Brokers as a free download for Love Wool UK in September -a celebration of what is so special about British wool.

I have knitted three pairs, in the colours photographed above. The J&S Shetland Jumper Weight and Shetland Supreme Jumper Weight yarns are ideal for stranded colour knitting. I am sure that the mitts will mould themselves to the wearers' hands and be really cozy as we battle through the approaching winter.
I enjoyed knitting them, I love the way the 'pirie' pattern on the palm carries the colours across that make up the bigger motif on the back of the hand. The 'afterthought' thumb is a nice simple method too.

I found a few mistakes in the pattern that I downloaded. I think J&S are working to correct the pattern now, but for anyone who has already downloaded and printed it, here are my corrections:

ERRATA in pattern:
Note: The pattern specifies dpns (excuse the abbreviation - a set of four (or five) double-pointed needles) but distribution of stitches on needles is (mostly) given for 2 needles e.g. for magic loop. I actually used a long 2mm circular needle for the rib, worked using the magic loop technique, and changed to 4 x 2.25mm dpns for the rest. You could use magic loop throughout or dpns throughout.
Increase row: After increasing you need a total of 60 stitches, not 54 as stated, to be able to work the two charts
Using dpns I had all the stitches for the back-of-hand chart on one needle, and the stitches for the palm shared between the other two
After changing needle size, it should read Follow chart A and Chart B …. there is something a bit confused in this section of the instructions but you basically need to work row 1 of chart A followed by row 1 of chart B. This will bring you round to the beginning of the row, then you do row 2 of A followed by row 2 of B, and so on....
Decrease row: I decreased 12 so back to 48 sts

If I've just confused you more than ever, get in touch! Happy knitting!!

Wool School in Biella

I am very excited to have been invited to take part in the Wool School hosted by Biella the Wool Company!! Have a look at the Biella the Wool Company website - it is a really interesting site with a cute video of sheep herding (look out for a still of Scottish blackface sheep with a shepherd in full kilt outfit - his blue boiler suit must have been in the wash that day!!) Clock on the link to the online shop to get to the Wool Box site which is also very interesting.

The Wool School is a very interesting initiative - for three months from 10th October the exhibition 'Wools of Europe' will be open, and  series of inspirational workshops on the artisan crafts that use wool are planned featuring renowned tutors in knitting, tapestry weaving, felt making and (this is where I come in) spinning.
On 19th November I will be running a workshop on spinning for beginners - all about fibres, preparation (carding and combing), and spinning with a drop spindle. BTWC will provide a lovely Sambucana fleece for us to spin
On 20th November the workshop will be for those who have already learned the basics of spinning (with spindle or spinning wheel). The content of this workshop will be built around the needs of the participants. We will do some trouble-shooting, sorting out common spinning problems,  and try out some new fibres and techniques.
Materials and equipment will be provided.
For further information go to http://thewoolbox.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/the-wool-school/ or e-mail info@thewoolbox.it and ask for the programma massima
I'm really looking forward to visiting a part of Italy I havent been to before, to seeing the exhibition and the mill, and most of all to meeting and spinning with new friends!!