Completed booties

I have completed my booties now. 

My first finished project with my own, handspun yarn.  I confess I am quite pleased with myself.

Now I just need to package these up and send them to my friend.

In the mean time I am spinning like fury to create more yarn for more projects.

My handspun booties

As promised .... here are the booties I am making for my friend.

So far I have just finished the body of the booties.



I still need to sew up the fronts so that they sit in the correct position, add the piping, flower and fastening.



You can see in the background my little ball of handspun yarn.  In the end I did have enough to finish my project - and even a little to spare :)



I think that, although I actually spun this in the wrong way - clockwise for the singles and anti-clockwise for the ply.  I think it turned out pretty well. 

The consistency is not bad, and it worked up quite nicely into the booties.

Finally making something with my yarn

I finally got round to starting a project with some of my hand spun yarn.

My friend as recently had a new baby daughter so I thought I'd have a go at crocheting these from a pattern selection I got from Annies Attic called Beautiful Baby shoes

I got a selection of merino fibres from forestfibres

I have plyed the pink and pinky-grey colours together to make a 2 ply yarn and have started my little project.  I'm not sure I'll have enough yarn to finish so I have another one of these selection packs on order in case I need to spin up another batch.

I'll post the results of my endeavour when I get a chance to take some photos.

My first attempts at spining

I have had my spinning wheel for almost 1 month and now that I have worked out how to setup it up I am starting to get into actually spinning some yarn.

 One of my first attempts is this generic wool top.



Its pretty inconsistent and lumpy .....



You can see some of the areas look like actual yarn, but others are pretty fluffy!

But I don't like to give up so I kept on going and spun this from some Grey Suffolk wool tops.



I think I am getting a little better with my consistency



Don't get me wrong, I know its a long way from perfect and I still have a LOT to learn about plying but I feel like I am making some progress - what do you think?

I'll keep posting with further progress or if I actually make anything with this yarn I am creating :)

Second frame coin purse

As promised, here is my second frame coin purse.  Using the same Sirdar Baby bamboo yarn, but this time using  both strands together rather than in stripes.



I kept the base the same, as a circle



But I altered the shaping of the purse a little so it came out more squat and puffy.



I think I prefer the shape and colour of this one.

My new Niddy Noddy

Now that I am becoming (will become - eventually) a seasoned yarn spinner I need to gradually build up my kit ... so I have purchased my first Niddy Noddy.

Firstly - what a great name !!! Niddy Noddy :) I love it

I put a bit of thought into this purchase.  Originally I was going to get an Ashford niddy noddy (that name again!) but they come in 2 sizes and are not adjustable, so I wasn't sure if I should get the small one now - because my capacity for creating yarn is pretty small right now - or if I would "out grow" that one and then have to just go and get the large one.

So I did a little research and found the Louët Niddy Noddy (below) which is adjustable - it can either be a 90cm or 180cm length.  So I get both sizes with one device, happy days.

It comes in 4 sections, the two end pieces and two middle sections that can be fitted together to adjust from the smaller to larger size.

I got mine from the lovely people at ForestFibres.

I am looking forward to joyfully niddying and indeed noddying with my newly created yarns :) 

Learning about my spinning wheel

I've been trying really hard to learn how to use my new spinning wheel - don't let the folks at the craft shows fool you, its not nearly as easy as they make it look!

First off I had my wheel set up completely wrong - I have a double treadle, double drive wheel.  The wheel comes with a scotch break, so I was confused about what I was supposed to do with it.  I have subsequently learned that I have a piece of my wheel I don't need to use - the scotch break

The picture below shows the WRONG setup.  I was using the scotch break and putting the drive bands around the flyer whorl. 

What I should have done was remove the scotch break completely, put one drive band round the other end of the bobbin and one drive band round the flyer whorl.

What I have also recently found is article in eHow which discusses changing the tension with an Ashford traveller double drive.  Now I understand why the wheel came with a scotch break at all!!

I think I am managing to get a little better with my spinning - I don't think I have my technique quite sorted out yet.  I am still struggling with drafting and not letting the twist get back into the bulk of the fibre,  I am having to control the twist by slowly letting it travel down the drafted fibre until I meet the bulk by just slightly releasing my pinch on the drafted fibres and sliding my fingers back along the fibres until I meet the bulk.  Then I pinch hard to stop the twist completely and then draft out the next little piece of fibre.  I know its not a classic or indeed correct approach but I don't think I have sufficient control of the speed and density of twist yet to just let it fly.

I decided that I would try to make things easier for myself by getting some pencil roving - the theory being if I don't have to draft then that I removing one complication, I  just have to control the twist.

Well as they say "the best laid plans of mice and men" .... the fibre is lovely, its 100% pure wool and very finely drafted from Cornish Wools. But sadly my talent is not up to the job.  When I tried to spin it, it just breaks immediately - I simply cannot get any twist into it - I have absolutely no idea what I am doing wrong and the experiment has just proved how much I have to learn.

In an effort to not waste such lovely fibre I decided to try spinning two thicknesses of the fibre together.  I have no idea if this was smart or not - but after a few false starts it "seems" to be working.... for now ... we'll see.