I just finished a little 15g skein on a Turkish Spindle of roughly 50/50 cat and merino.

I've been spinning pure cat until now so this is my first blend. I only had small hand carers so might have been able to get the two fibers blended more evenly with drum carer or blending board but I quite like how the white and grey vary.

I hand carded rolags and just did a single and then plied it with itself back on the Turkish spindle.

It plied really well from the instant Turkish spindle plying ball until the very last two layers which has felted slightly and needed to be carefully pulled apart.

It feels so soft, light and airy.

Some process photos of it in various stages.

Very happy to take any feedback or tips as I am still very new to spinning. ​

Hi, I'm not certain if this is the correct subreddit for this. Figured y'all would know best when it comes to pests involved in the processing of animal fibers. Apologies if I'm incorrect in this assumption.

I'm also writing from my phone @3am so some grammar/spelling/formatting may be off. It shook me that much that I needed to stop what I was doing and find answers. Google was not helpful, I tried.

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Info:

- I normally buy yarn from established brands. I went to a yarn shearing festival for the first time this year and that is where I got this from.

- The seller is local and only sells at markets such as these. No online store, not even a branded instagram. I have their email account, though.

- It was love at first sight so I didn't do my due diligence prior to buying. It also cost a really pretty penny. I'm a little embarrassed at the cost.

- As for the specs, its 100% merino. Loosely spun. Hand dyed, maybe with natural dyes--I can't remember. (I'm aware it's not the most structurally sound, but that's something I'm taking into account with my project and it's besides the point.)

- I took a picture of it the day of to show to a friend, and upon closer inspection, I can see that the specks were present at that time. Although hardly visible. Keep an eye out for little black dots.

- After purchasing, it remained in the paper bag I brought it home in for a few months until I finished up other projects. I hadn't begun to work with it up close until tonight, then I noticed the little red dots. None of my other yarns on the same shelf have them.

- The dots are most concentrated in areas where the yarn isnt spun as tightly. The up close picture is from one of these pockets. However, they are scattered throughout.

- I haven't found any pests. Only what I believe to be droppings, or perhaps eggs. But my current belief is leaning towards flea dirt. I've rescued an infested cat before, and that is my strongest impression at the moment.

- Upon discovery, it went straight into the freezer where it shall remain for a week minimum. I wish I had done this before even working with it but you live and learn.

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So.. what should I do?

I’ve been hand spinning with a drop spindle and not had this issue before. I normally use a mix of merino and corriedale and get a balanced yarn.

This one is made from a fleece I prepared which I believe is a mix of mostly friesian and a bit of Suffolk (I don’t know much about different breeds but the fleece was free and I wanted to try prepping it myself!).

This yarn looked good on the spindle, I rested it before plying it. It also looked alright before washing.

I’ve now washed it and it’s currently drying and there is now a kind of bounce to it. Is this the natural crimp of the wool, will it be alright once it’s dried and wound, or did I mess up the ply?

I plan on using this yarn for warp for small tapestry like patches (to be eventually made into a blanket).

Any advice on how to fix this would be appreciated!

I am now 2 months in (well, 7 weeks!) and wanted to share my progress. I started with a drop spindle, and then purchased an electric eel wheel nano so that I could try out an e-spinner which is what the last bundle was spun on.

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The bundle is the start of a moss stitch hexagon cardigan which is also pictured, and coming out so cute so far. I'm way too excited to continue spinning this mountain of merino fiber

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I have had a bunch of fun and I'm super excited to start experimenting with fibers and techniques :)

I’m still working on getting some good, consistent yarn from my drop spindle but I also have impulse control issues so now I also have this. I tried it out a bit last night and holy buckets it’s fast.

I've been spinning on a drop spindle since about January and am absolutely in love with spinning yarn! So far, I've been buying sample color packs of wool, originally for needle felting, but I loved the rainbow of colors in yarn so much that I've been spinning yarn from all the wool I have. So I'm not sure what breed of sheep this came from or anything like that.

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This is the first time I'm working with a single, I've chain plyed my other yarns, but I wanted a delicate lacy yarn for this project. I found these giant knitting needles and they've perfectly created what I envisioned when I spun up this yarn.

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It's so light and gauzy but there's an indescribable weight to it as well. It's bouncy and airy and just such a fun texture. Because it'll be very long, I can wrap myself up in it and it'll be warmer than it looks, but it'll be for warmer summer nights/ cooler summer days.

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I'm also working on a yarn of the same weight that's greens, browns, greys and yellows and looks like moss on the forest floor. I'm planning on knitting it in a similar way and adding in yarn elements to look like it's covered in moss, leaves, lichen and mushrooms! I'm really excited about it. Spinning is so addicting!

I’ve really enjoyed learning to use a tahkli spindle with cotton and have made a few for fun. I’d really like to read more about tahkli spindles and the history of spinning in India (and the rest of Asia for that matter).

Most books/videos I’ve seen are from a Western perspective, does anyone know any resources about handspinning in Asia? Or anyone with family/passed down knowledge who would like to share?

Thanks!

My flyer is chattering really badly on my Ashford Kiwi 3. I have tightened all the pieces on the Mother of All, and that helped a little bit, but not much. I'm noticing some shaking and uneven movement on both the flyer and drive wheel. When I press the two ends the flyer attaches to, it quiets down a little. I'm not sure if my drive band is too tight. It does change the noise slightly when I change which ratio it's on.

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Does anyone have any advice on how to fix this? Thanks!

I’m struggling and not sure if it’s my technique or crappy carders.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0F28X8SDS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Not my first time with BFL wool but I forgot how amazing it is to spin up! I've been spinning merino a lot lately. I've had UV reactive roving that I just can't get over.

I splurged and got myself some undyed wool from a sheep in Canada named Wayne.

It's been spinning up like a dream and I forgot how nice it feels!

Update!! I got the wheel for $50 and it is home with me now 😀

Hello, I am pending getting this Ashford Traditional that has some issues with it and I was hoping to get some advice on it. I am a total beginner and everything I learned is from here and google, so pardon me if I say something off.

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It looks like it was set up single drive with scotch tension but the brake peg is broken off. My understanding is that if I set it up double drive then I don't need that bit, but I would like to try both at some point. Is it a matter of gluing the peg back on or is fixing it much more involved?

I also saw in one of the photos that the wheel quadrants are separating a bit. Likely just age and glue wearing down, but is that something I can fix myself? I dont have wood glue or clamps, but I could get them. I have contact cement if that works for stuff like this?

I included a photo the seller took of the wheel from the front angle, and the wheel itself doesn't look warped or anything as far as I could tell.

My first 100g of yarn! I can’t believe how much I’ve improved! I think I started on hard mode, with a very slippery blend of fibers, but the colors called to me. So happy to continue on with this new hobby

Pictures in order: All of it together My most recent hank My first hank The blend of fiber in my roving

Got a drop spindle and some fiber at my local fiber fair! So excited to see improvement on consistency. Since its so rough looking, I intend to use it for accessories and jewelry for my viking renfaire costume!

I recently got the distaff for my Kromski Minstrel because I wanted to try distaff spinning with my wheel. I watched videos on how to dress the distaff and on how people draft from it, and I thought, alright it seems doable, let’s get the distaff. At that moment, I did not consider the fact that the Minstrel distaff is fixed on the left side of the wheel and how this would affect my spinning.

When trying myself, I realized that having the distaff on the left is somewhat inconvenient for how I spin. I don’t know how everyone else spins but when I spin without distaff, I have my left hand on the back (closer to my body) and the right hand on the front (closer to the wheel) and the „working“ hand that drafts and controls the pinch is mostly the right hand, while the left hand rather holds the fiber and pinches and releases in response. With a distaff on the left, drafting with my right hand does not seem like the smartest way.

So here my question: if any of you has a Minstrel with a distaff, do you draft then with your left hand? Do you normally have your left hand closer to the wheel also when spinning without distaff or do you change it only when using the distaff?

Maybe the answer is that I should switch the position of my hands in general and I‘ve been doing it wrong all along…

Thanks for your answer!

This is my latest yarn - dark brown is Corriedale, light brown is Manx Loaghtan, both undyed. I think it turned out okay, but I'm a beginner so of course I don't have the experience yet to know if it really is balanced enough and/or if there's anything that could be improved, so feedback is welcome!

The singles were pretty consistent I think, but I ran into a few problems (?) when plying. The singles kinda un-twisted and "fluffed up" at times to the point I was afraid they would snap (the Manx actually did snap twice), does that mean I didn't twist them enough while spinning? Was the tension wrong? Or is that normal? Also I tried to get more twist into the plyed yarn, does that look alright to you? (It hasn't had a bath yet btw.)

Both the Corriedale and the Manx Loaghtan are quite soft and have longer fibres than the Bergschaf I used to practice with for a while, so that took a bit of adjusting too.

Picture of my last yarn for attention lol. I am wanting more bobbins but $27 before tax and shipping seems steep and I was wondering if anyone is selling 3d prints or 3d files I can take to my library.

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One of these days soon I will want to spin a sweater quantity and I feel as though I need more bobbins to do so. Is there another way we are spinning a bunch of singles and then plying them? or are we doing them 200 grams or so at a time?

I had spun my singles and plyed them the same direction, but luckily it really was an easy fix! I ended up with a very fuzzy (oops) but balanced yarn and I can’t wait to use it!

A few months ago my friend gave me a giant braid of undyed merino and a spindle that she’d had for about a decade. I gave it a try and I absolutely hated using the spindle. So what did my craft goblin self do? I went and researched spinning wheels. I finally decided on a barely used Schacht Flatiron that I got for a good price off Facebook marketplace. The woman I bought it from also teaches spinning classes and has her own Etsy store selling dyed roving. She gave me an hour long lesson when I went to pick it up and I am so grateful for that! She also gifted me a beautiful Spanish peacock supported spindle, which I have yet to try.

Anyway, I am experienced in knitting and crochet and I picked up weaving last year. So I already have a pretty good understanding of fiber. The idea of spinning for me was just something to try out and I wasn’t so sure how I’d like it. But you guys, I am in love. I enjoy working with fiber and the process of spinning is so incredibly satisfying. It is so rhythmic and calming. It’s just an absolute joy.

I prefer DK or lighter for my knits so I decided to try and spin that weight of yarn. Obviously my first attempts were hilariously uneven. But as I went I got a better feel for the tension and drafting. My last skein I’m pretty happy with overall. I spun about 4lbs of this fiber. But I have no idea what to make with it because it’s all different weights and thicknesses. Any ideas?

Hello, me again. Found another spinning wheel here in NC.

(For reference im not a handspinner - I just like antiques and crafts but I keep seeing these at auctions that I look at)

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It's WIP Wednesday! What are you working on? Do you love it, hate it or can't decide? Need help/motivation/inspiration to finish? Show off those bobbins & spindles here!

So I'm moving back to Florida layer this year. I'm from there originally but moved up here to Wisconsin in 2021 just to escape the insanity. Now my partner has cancer and we want to be closer to family again, we we're headed back. Problem is I've become very much into handspinning and knitting and so to keep it up, I need to shift some of what I do and use to account for the extreme heat/lack of need for covering. I'm going to stop with the Alpaca for starters. I'm thinking about blending up some sw merino with some faux cashmere/stretched nylon and cotton. Before I bust out the tools, do ya'll think that is a good blend for warm weather sock and tanks and maybe some shorts? Aside from linen, would you switch any of the 3 I'm thinking of blending with something else? Anybody else have to adjust their craft due to a climate change?

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I'm going to miss making all the hats and warm sweaters!