I've been so involved lately in projects that have little to do with hope chests, so I haven't had much material to post about for some time. But, this last weekend, I took Miss Abigail on our local fiber farm tour and I acquired some alpaca roving blended with Merino wool. It was just so soft that I wanted to spin it immediately! Since I have another project already on our spinning wheel, I just put this on a spindle and spent some waiting time in pure heaven, spinning out the door of our truck. The fiber is lovely--very soft and easy to spin. I haven't spun any fiber other than the wool from sheep, so it is interesting to see how much I liked this alpaca wool.
These dainty alpacas have been very recently shorn of their lovely fleece.
Miss Abigail is helping my handsome grandson Erik watch a spinning demonstration. Erik is feeling a little disappointed that he couldn't help spin the wheel, but he had lots of fun with several other activities, including a dust bath like the chickens.We had a great time visiting Cynthia Daly at Milagro Moon Ranch.
This makes me want to dig out my drop spindle and have at it again, Kathleen. It was how I taught myself to spin and I loved its slow, peaceful activity. Michael bought me a spinning wheel which I grew to love for its speed and rhythm, but always, my favorite way to spin is with a drop spindle. I've never spun alpaca. I think I have some in a bag from an alpaca fair Brenna and I attended a year or so ago. It's very soft and clean.
ReplyDeleteNancy, I think of you often when I spin - or do anything with wool. Learning to weave is next on my fiber list.
DeleteThat is one thing that is on my to-learn list for both me and my daughter - spinning. We're actually hoping to get wool sheep next spring. I'm really excited about that. I LOVE alpaca yarn. I've used it in several projects and it's absolutely wonderfully soft and so nice to work with. Anyway, I've been looking a bit for a nice drop spindle to try.
ReplyDeleteAmber, I do hope you'll give spindles a try. Some think it is too hard to get the hang of, but if you are patient with yourself, I'm sure you'll pick it up and learn to love it. The spindle in the picture is a VERY simple one. I made 16 of them for a spinning project with our 4H kids. Just a 12-inch length of 3/8-inch dowel rod with a 3-inch wooden wheel (make sure the dowel will fit into the hole in the wheel) and a small cup hook on the top of the dowel to focus the spin. I sanded everything as smooth as possible, ending with #4 sandpaper. Each spindle cost only about $3.00. There is a kit for a similar spindle on Amazon.com
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