One of the fun things we did in last week’s class was use hand cards to blend fiber and make rolags, which we spun using the woolen method.
I want to get good at all of those things, so I ordered a set of hand cards today. I tried several different varieties last week, and the ones I liked the best were Clemes flat cards. So that’s what I ordered.
In the meantime, I made excellent progress towards my goal of being ready to ply this last hankie silk by Thursday evening.
Until tomorrow.
Those were the main veggies in my Pinckney’s box this week. Since I was out of town all last week, I didn’t cook last Sunday, so I had a LOT of squash! Zucchini, yellow summer squash, and eight-ball (which is like a round zucchini). Here’s what I did with them.
Turnips and Radishes
I decided to be very simple with the turnips and radishes. I cut them into chunks, tossed them together with some almond oil, salt, pepper, and turmeric, and roasted them at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. I stirred them a couple of times during the roasting process.
Turnips and Radishes roasted with turmeric
The Squash
I needed to be more creative with the squash. So I cut them up in appx. 1/2 inch cubes, and cut up a small onion. I sauteed the onion in a little almond oil for a few minutes, till it started to get transparent. Then I added the squash, and let it cook, stirring occasionally, until just soft but not too mushy. Then I added a tub of gorgonzola crumbles, and stirred until it melted and coated the squash. I added some salt and pepper – yum!
Squash with Gorgonzola
After spending most of the day in the kitchen (see today’s Real Food post), I finally got to sit down at my spinning wheel again. I’m spinning the last set of hankies, they are so lovely. BUT my hands are all rough from being in and out of water all day, so I had major snags going on. I did not let that stop me.
I have four more hankies to go, and past experience informs that I can easily get one done per day during the week. I really want to finish and get this batch plied by Thursday evening, so I’ll have to push that a little. That should be fine.
Until tomorrow.
I survived the drive home, got all unpacked, and yes, got my wheel set up and spun some silk. I’m so inspired now to finish this up and figure out what I’m going to spin with it all – the Tussah, the gold, the blue and gold, and this. I have a scarf design in mind, I just have to dig up the pattern and look at yardage. Or maybe a cowl. I have some great patterns for those too.
I’m sad to have left the wonderful atmosphere of John C Campbell, but as usual I’ve come home all inspired and ready to rock. I’m going next to find Sarah’s (the instructor) group on Ravelry.
Until tomorrow.
And tomorrow, that’s where I’m headed. We are all wrapped up here with this week’s classes. This morning Sarah, our instructor, gave us a little challenge. She had made some sample plies for us, and our task was to take the same wool and spin it to match the sample. Excellent exercise. Spinning and using the sample to compare to as I worked is a technique that will serve me well.
Then she gave us two little balls of fiber for us to do whatever we wanted with. I used one to make flame yarn and the other to make soft core. Those are in today’s picture.
At the end of the afternoon, we had the closing ceremony and each class had their week’s results on display. It was very inspiring to see it all.
All in all, I feel like I am a much better spinner than I was 5 days ago. This was a week well spent.
Until tomorrow.
Flame yarn (left) & Soft core yarn (right)
Today was really fun. This morning we learned how to make coils, wrapped coils, loops, beehives, and pigtails when plying yarn, and how to add beads to them.
We learned Navajo plying, which is a way to do 3-ply yarn off of a single bobbin of spun fiber. And how to add beads to that.
Last but not least, we made Bubble crepe yarn. That was a very good learning experience about diameter and twist, but A LOT of work.
This evening “after hours,” Sarah, the instructor, showed me a very useful tip that will help me spin my hankies more easily.
I’m really tired tonight, so that’s it for now. Until tomorrow.
Coils and beads
Navajo 3-ply with beads
Bubble Crepe
Today was excellent. We learned how to use hand cards to blend fibers and make rolags, than spin them using the long draw method. This was all brand new for me and very exciting. After that we used kid mohair locks to make cloud yarn, which is another type of soft core yarn.
My first rolag
Hand cards with wool & bamboo
Spun wool & bamboo
Cloud yarn
In the afternoon, we practiced spinning to different diameters, and spun mohair top to a fat diameter, then used that to make boucle.
Boucle in progress
Completed boucle
Last but not least, I was able to spin my two silk bobbins using the center-pull ball method. Yay!
Until tomorrow.
Today’s first project was soft core yarn. What did you think I meant? Get your mind out of the gutter! This is an extremely beautiful yarn that will be very easy once I get some practice in.
Next we made boucle, which is a multi-step process. I clearly have room for improvement, but that’s ok. I enjoyed it, and I like that yarn very much, so I’m happy to find out how to make it. We actually made two kinds of boucle, “regular” and spiral. The spiral one is on the right.
We also tried our hands at spinning cotton. Nope. Not happening for me, at least not now.
After hours, I decided to see if Andean plying would work on the silk I spun last week from the hankies. I tried it with the gold. It worked at first, but then started getting really tangled, so I eventually gave up. Tomorrow I’ll try something different.
Until tomorrow.
This morning we learned to make slub yarn, and how to ply it with a thin singles to make beautiful spiral thick and thin yarn. Here’s what I made this morning.
This afternoon, we used a similar “slub” technique to make a cable yarn. Beautiful!
Needless to say, everything we did today will take lots of practice. But it was fun. I think we’ll have the option to come back and work again after dinner. I don’t think I’ll do that, at least not today.
It’s a lovely morning in Brasstown, NC here at John C Campbell Folk School.
