The past few weeks have been filled with trying new things. New projects, new skills, new fibers, and new purchases. I am going to try posting every other week to make sure that I have enough things to say and/or finished or started. I sat down last week to write the post and didn’t really have enough of an update.

Socks!

First new project that also involved several new skills. I decided to spin and knit for a pair of socks. I am using a superwash merino and nylon blend by Jillian Eve in the Dappled Autumn Colorway. I did a sample of this fiber on the drop spindle and used a chain ply with it. I wanted to continue with that and try to chain ply with the wheel. It was definitely a learning experience. I learned that I need to add a tiny bit of extra twist if I plan on chain plying. I kept having the singles just pull apart which was annoying and frustrating. But I got it done and the finished product is gorgeous!

I then started to knit the socks. This is my first time knitting socks and I wasn’t entirely sure how many stitches to cast on or anything at all really about knitting socks. So I found out after getting a bit past the heel that I didn’t cast on enough and the top of the sock wouldn’t fit past my heel diagonally. So I started again, and again, and again. I think I have restarted this one sock about 20 times now. In my attempts to get it to fit correctly. But good news! I think I finally have it… hopefully! The 2nd try is what I currently have so fingers crossed next post will have at least one finished sock.

Linen

Next new project is with linen. Specifically spinning flax into linen. I am participating in a make-along that is going from spinning a plant fiber all the way into having a finished project with said yarn. I chose to use flax and chose to spin it on my drop spindle. I chose to spin this on my drop spindle for a few reasons. One, flax spun by itself is typically spun wet. Meaning that as I spin I am dipping my fingers into water as I go to help the flax soften and become a little bit more pliable. Despite the fact that my wheel is technically a flax wheel I don’t want to get my new flyer and bobbins wet, nor do I want to wait for them to dry before I can spin something else. Two, I feel like spinning on the drop spindle gives me a better understanding of how the fiber behaves and how to draft it.

I got the flax roving from Feltingartandfun on Etsy and it is gorgeous! I had some fun and frustrations with trying to figure out how to use the drop spindle and draft the flax at the same time. First, I tried just leaving it as roving a drafting like I would with wool. But I had trouble drafting it evenly and it felt like the fibers just wanted to stick together. Next, I tried spreading it out thinly in about one length of flax at a time and using a distaff. I had a similar problem with the fibers feeling like they were sticking together and the added difficulty of also holding onto the distaff. Lastly, I tried spinning from the fold. Spinning from the fold is a technique where you fold one staple length over your finger and draft from the folded edge. This worked the best for me. The fibers still seemed a little sticky but it was easier to manage it. I think when I try with the rest of the flax I may try combing it a bit first to fluff it up a bit. But I am really pleased with the results from the sample bit.

Other Stuff

Fiber Festival

I also had a new experience this past week and went to my first fiber festival. We went to the New England Farm and Fiber Festival in Boston. It was really fun but also ended up being a bit overwhelming for me due to the sheer number of people that came. They had free needle felting which the girls and Ben had a blast doing while I supervised and helped. Gwen wants to turn her creation into a stuffed animal by adding a backing and stuffing. I also got a GORGEOUS batt of fiber from Fern Bridge Farm. It is 75% Shetland and 25% Alpaca and even has a little bit of lanolin left on the wool. I picked it up because it was soft and because I haven’t spun either fiber yet and thought it would be fun.

Fleeces

I also got some new fibers to play with! My lovely dad sent me several new things to process and play around with. He sent about 3 pounds of an Icelandic fleece, about 2 pounds of mohair, and 8 ounces of alpaca that all needs washed and processed. So those will be a lot of fun to wash and process. He also sent some pink merino roving because I mentioned wanting to make some socks and mittens for the girls.

Miscellaneous

I also had the fun new experience of switching out my drive band on the spinning wheel because the one I started with started to fray and loosen up. I also tried supported long draw, a new to me drafting technique, for spinning woolen yarn. Woolen spinning is magical there are no other words for it because you get to watch it transform from wool to yarn in front of your eyeballs.

I think that is all for this update. Next one will be in two weeks and will hopefully have at least one sock and hopefully some more linen and maybe even some finished Pip yarn.

Thanks for joining our adventure!

Lots of Love,

The McMullins