Spindlers is a group on Ravelry that is focused on spindle spinning. They have great information on spinning technique, showcase spindle spun finished objects and WIPs, and host a monthly Spin-a-Long (SAL). Each month has a theme and participants just have to use a spindle to spin, start to finish, 1 oz of fiber that is tied in some way to the theme. The themes are chosen by previous “winners” of the random drawing FO contest and offer a lot of latitude in how you tie your color, fiber content, finished yarn or intentions to the theme.
November’s theme was Take Flight. There were several sky inspired spins, some tied to birds and winged fantasy creatures but when I looked at my fiber and the theme I was drawn to a 1oz of Rambouillet I bought as part of a Fiber Chemistry Sampler set offered by Elemental Fiberworks in the colorway Helium. It had pale purples and peachy pinks in the braid and the way it looked made me think of balloons.
I love these SALs because with only 1 oz of fiber to ”lose” and the license to be creative I don’t have to be afraid of trying new ideas and failing. If it end’s up being unusable I’ve only lost a little time and fiber and so far I’ve been thrilled with the results of every experiment and have really expanded my boundaries. This month I decided to try out spinning thick and thin. While it was something that came naturally due to inexperience in my first spin it’s much harder to do deliberately now that I’ve learned how to control my drafting. It was a challenge at first but then I realized that the variations didn’t have to be perfectly even or consistent and I had a ton of fun just playing with the twist, seeing how thin I could go between the thick parts and varying the length of the segments. I used my red day of the dead Turtle Made 3-D printed spindle.
Once I had almost finished the single I was at a loss of how to finish it. I didn’t think it’d hold up to n-ply, it was too short in length to do much, and I’d lose the thick and thin I’d created anyway. Last month, someone finished their spin as a 2-thread cabled single which got me thinking about all the boucle I’d seen in The Spinners Book of Yarn Design. I tried spinning the last little bit as a thin single thinking I’d use it as the second ply but I really didn’t like the look. I.After flipping through the book to learn more about the technique and how it was done I went to my sewing box, pulled out some pale pink all-purpose sewing thread and decided to give thread plying a try.
I think it’d be a bit easier to control the way the single twisted around the thread (or vise versa) with more experience or on a wheel vs. a spindle but I got the hang of it after a while and was able to mostly get the look I was going for. I ended up with 80 yards of thread plied think and think yarn. The end result was really bouncy and soft. I did a bit of mild felting during the wash and I’m really happy with how this turned out. It was an extremely quick way to spin 1 oz of fiber and made for a very satisfying project but I’m not sure what to do with it now.
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