Getting to grips with handspun

I've been spending quite a bit of time peddling away on my spinning wheel (Ashford Traveller), trying out various fibres and trying to get the hang of it.  I'm pretty sure I've not got a classic style or indeed spin "properly" but to be honest as long as I create something I'd be able to make something with then surely thats OK?

Here's some of my efforts, some more successful than others as you can see.  The big blue ball sitting on top is Merino/Silk blend and was lovely to spin - this is done 3 ply (as is the brown ball that its sitting on).

At the other end of the scale is the ball of silk (over on the left), that was really tricky to spin - if you have rough hands (as I do all winter!) the fibre sticks to your hands and the fluff gets everywhere.  Also I didn't realise just how much twist you need to put into silk.  For a first attempt I'm not too disappointed, its a little inconsistent and there are a fair few fluffy bits in the yarn - but overall its OK, and good enough for me to try making a little lacy scarf with it.  I'll post the results of that adventure when I get closer to finishing.

The others are camel - right at the front, merino in the middle, generic "wool" at the back and the black one at the right side is black shetland.

I'll post again with close up photos of the yarns when I get a moment.

New Spinning Wheel - Have I got it right?

Can any spinners out there help?

So I have my new Ashford Traveller Double treadle spinning wheel, but I confess I am not sure I have it setup right ....

The bit I don't understand is the Flyer, bobbin, drive band & break setup.  Here's how I started with it.

Here's the thing, my flyer & bobbin don't match those in the assembly instructions.

My flyer doesn't have the stepped end next to the oriface.  Its at the other end.

And my bobbin's have a stepped end, unlike the ones in the instructions

Now I originally had the break on the stepped end of the bobbin, but since the break thread length is 32cm between the springs that just didn't work.  I had to put the break on the other end - Is that right ???

Also in the instructions the drive band is at the other end of the flyer.

But the stepped "cap" I have doesn't have a hole in it so I can't put on the other end

An educated guess says I have this the right way round, the drive band on the right thing (the cap) and the break on the right end of the bobbin.

But, since I am a complete novice at this - does anyone know if I have this right or not??

Expanding my crafting empire ....

I've been toying with this idea for a long while, ever since I tried out a drop spindle.  I managed to get the hand of drop spinning "fairly" quickly, but was frustrated at the speed of progress.  Also I had the habit of dropping the spindle on my feet rather too often (OUCH!)

I love hand spun yarns, they are so much more interesting than most commercial yarns.  But with the slow progress in trying to spin with a drop spindle I thought that the only course of action to continue was to get a wheel.

I first enquired about a wheel back in May and got some really good and honest advice from Shiela Dixon at Handspinner.co.uk.  I wanted a compact wheel that I could store relatively easily and I wasn't sure if I should go for an Ashford Joy or an Ashford Traveller.



Ashford Joy

Ashford Traveller

After the some advice I have chosen the Traveller, which I finally plucked you the courage to buy over the weekend.  It is currently en route and I am like a 3 year old at Christmas waiting for it to arrive.  How I am going to explain what it is when it arrives at my office is any one's guess.  They already think I am quite eccentric :)

Check back here from time to time to see how I get on, perhaps I will be a one woman yarn factory before long :) having said that I would be thoroughly satisfied if I can successfully make enough yarn to keep my little projects moving.