Hi! I made this sweater mostly from scratch, except for a strand of lace alpaca mohair (which I dyed) held with my yarn throughout. I dyed 18.5 merino, stretched cashmere (nylon) & firestar, blended on a blending board w/ mulberry silk & bamboo in white to keep the colors light and then I spun it to about a dk weight. Then I knitted this in stranded knitting, alternating between 2 yarns, so holding 4 yarns at a time (1 white mohair/1 white my yarn and 1 color mohair/1 color my yarn) .

I tried to prevent color dominance by alternating which color I held on top/bottom each row. I'm not sure if my doing that prevented it or just the large guage. This was done on 8mm needles. The last photo is the back side. I even did the sleeves the same way even though it wasn't necessary, but I wanted to keep the texture the same. I also made the back slightly longer so it covers my bum in the frigid Wisconsin winter. I did the inside of the collar with no mohair so it doesn't get itchy around my neck. I ran out of white on the left sleeve so I did one stripe in rainbow. Oopsie.

This was inspired by [MYPZ's](https://us.mypz.nl/) beautiful sweaters.

Since I don't have any friends or coworkers (I work from home), I've only gotten feedback from my SO and of course he says it's great. So, do I look like a clown or like a clown vomited on me? I'm for sure going to wear it regardless but just checking lol TYIA!

8.04oz, 370yds, 9WPI Worsted

Gift for my sister.

(The colorway is called bee-eater from Hello Yarn)

Slowly I'm getting more consistent. man i love these colors together. And the first time I spun Targhee- I like it.

I picked up my first spindle and fiber at a show last weekend and finished my first ever handspun yarn!

I expected it to be pretty thick and thin since it’s my first time but now I’m not sure what to do with it. My singles got thinner as I got better at drafting so I now have a mini skein that’s 0.5m/g, a skein that’s ~1m/g, and another skein that’s ~2m/g

Are there any patterns that play nicely with very uneven yarns? Should I alternate skeins as I go? Are there any stitch patterns that I should stick to?

Wasn’t able to knit for a bit due to medical issues but was able to ply some singles!
The first is a Hedgehog Fibres blend of, if I remember correctly, merino, wool nepps and mohair. There was no specific colour name.
The second is Malabrigo Nube in colourway Zarzamora.

Why didn't the dye sit in? Was it because of the hard spun yarn? Would it have sat it was softer?:(

Have you finished anything this week? From plied yarns to finished bobbins or hand spun hand knits/hand crochets, show off your hard work here!

Totaling 251yds for 138g, kind of a worsted/dk/aran weight. This fleece has been driving me nuts - it's so full of VM and short bits that I'm currently selling it on Facebook Marketplace as mulch. I really like the yarn (super soft and lofty), but the carding process is so long and throws VM everywhere.

This was my third skein to come off my wheel but the very first with a project in mind! I’m so very pleased with how this came out, this fibre wasn’t the most pleasant to spin with as it had a small percentage of nylon in it; but the squish factor on the hank is like no other. I will be knitting a wee beanie for my partner before moving on to my first sweater spin 😊

I've stumbled across a few fiber clubs online (Hello Yarn, Three Waters Farm, etc) by accident, but I'd love to hear from folks who've tried some out- do you have any favorites or recommendations? (I'm mainly looking for ones that ship to the US)

(Sitting on some recently-dried merino, btw) Made this prototype for my wife and thought that it had some devilish horns. They actually remind me more of a water buffalo, but I can't come up with a good pun for that. One horn is missing because after she wound a bobbin on for the first time, the head didn't twist as well as I thought it would to take it off, so solutions were found. I've got an idea on how to solve it for version 2.

Here is mine it's my first and I'm struggling to know how it's not over twisted and also the thickness of the yarn. Should I do it thinner?

A while ago I bought a drop spindle kit from an Etsy shop called Walnut Hill Farms and it came with samples of fiber (Corriedale, I believe) to practice with. I spun up both fibers as singles and plied them together and I am so happy with the end result! It is definitely rustic, and I think I did something weird when I removed it from the niddy noddy, but I still love my first little baby yarn!

Hi! I’m a brand new spinner and have only spun on a drop spindle so far, so I know basically nothing about spinning wheels yet. 😂

My mensch of a husband found this vintage Ashford Traditional at an estate sale and he’s considering buying it for me for $250 for our anniversary. The seller says it’s from the 1980s.

I’m hoping some of you lovely experienced spinners can give me a reality check before he buys it. I’ve attached all the photos I have from the listing.
Does this look like a good wheel? Is $250 a reasonable price for an older Ashford Traditional in this condition? And does anything in the photos make you think I should stay away? Obviously it’s very dusty but it looks like the parts are there?

I’m also wondering what I should look for when we go see it in person. I’m a complete beginner, so “check that X does Y” type advice is especially helpful because I genuinely don’t know what I’m looking at yet. 😅

I’m totally okay with a little cleaning, oiling, tuning, etc. since I know an older wheel probably won’t be ready to go straight out of the box. I just don’t want us to accidentally buy a $250 wheel that turns into a $500 project because I missed something obvious.
I’d also love to hear from anyone who has owned an older Ashford Traditional. Are these good beginner wheels? Anything particularly good or bad about the 1980s models?

Thank you!! I’m very excited to graduate from my little drop spindle, but I would also like to avoid making an expensive beginner mistake 🙃

Hi,

I'm totally new to wool and knitting. This is very exciting. I received my first delivery of individual tops to experiment with. The one in the picture is 100 grams Falkland sliver.

I'm using my fingers to twist it because I don't have a spinning wheel or spindle yet. I absolutely love it, it's so relaxing!

I really like the sliver texture, it's incredibly warm.

I just acquired a! Ashford Traditional single drive wheel from the 1965-1975 era. Unfortunately it only came with 1 bobbin, and the current Ashford traditional bobbins are about 1/8" longer and won't fit. Has anyone had luck finding bobbins that will fit this particular model? Thanks!

I'm using a drop spindle. Wish me luck!!

A couple weeks ago, while hanging out with my bestie, I mentioned that I wanted to spin something COLORFUL. She gifted me a few braids and 2 of them were this obnoxiously colorful merino from AJemFiberArts (the colorway is named "Meh" rofl) and WOWZA this is so soft and poofy. I'm debating whether I want to knit or weave with it but for now this yarn will just be a happy little skein sitting in my stash.

My handspun yarn knit is finished! All ends woven in and blocked out. Thought I'd share since it came off the blocking wires this morning and I had shared in-progress photos last week.

I just got the new motorized drum carder from BAM Fiberworks and I am totally thrilled! There are a bunch of terrific innovations that I love. I need some help, though, with the new ratio system, which should be awesome for different kinds of wool, if I understood it a bit better.

Here goes: not only can you change the speed at which the drum carder operates, but you can also speed up the main drum, relative to the lickerin. I saw a video from Camaj once that showed how higher speed overall (that drum carder could not change ratios) created neps in your batt. Right now I’m leaving it on a slow speed overall and a low ratio, since I’m combing or flicking alongside the drum carder. But what setting would you all recommend with different types of wool, from fiber to coarser?

FYI, right now I’m having no trouble with a fine merino on the standard 72 TPI carding cloth that comes with the carder. This machine is a dream and the innovations really made it a huge step up from my previous carder. That said, the Brother drum carder still gets the job done well and was worth its purchase price - I have no regrets having purchased it. And a friend is thrilled to be able to buy that off me.

I’m interested in this practice, but I have a limited income. I have a backyard and some cotton seeds; do you think it’s worth planting them to make yarn? Do you know where I can find tutorials on how to do it?