My First Spinning Wheel, and a Bit About Drive Ratios

My first spinning wheel is an old Ashford traditional. Let's discuss drive ratios and different types of wheels, and you can see my first wheel-spun yarn.

I’m so happy with my new Ashford traditional spinning wheel! New to me, that is. The beautiful wheel is older than I am. After referring to Ashford’s timeline for the traditional wheel (which is an interesting read in and of itself), I think it was made in 1975 or shortly after. Well-loved in its early life, it has… read more

A Beginner’s Adventures in Handspinning

Join me as I take on a new fiber hobby to complement my crochet: handspinning my own yarn. Part 4 includes my further progress as a new spinner.

Part 4 I feel like I’m making progress as a new spinner and things are going pretty well. I’m starting to move beyond the park-and-draft method of having to stop the spindle to catch up with the drafting. I’ve been trying to spin a little every day, as suggested for beginners to really get the rhythm down. I’m still… read more

A Beginner’s Adventures in Handspinning

Join me as I take on a new fiber hobby to complement my crochet: handspinning my own yarn. Part 3 includes my first finished two-ply yarn.

Part 3 I’ve finished spinning my first 2-ply yarn. Spinning the dyed combed top with my light drop spindle, I got the singles as thin and uniform as I could. It’s still taking me some time to get the rhythm and consistency down. I spun two singles and wound them into balls. I love the way the singles turned out, and… read more

A Beginner’s Adventures in Handspinning

Join me as I take on a new fiber hobby to complement my crochet: handspinning my own yarn. Part 2 includes my first attempt at spinning a single.

Part 2 I’ve finally embarked on my journey in handspinning yarn. Here it is: my first single! Becoming familiar with working with fibers and manipulating them into yarn has been a slow, but quite interesting, learning process. There are so many factors that affect the character of the spun yarn. Getting everything to come together as… read more

A Beginner’s Adventures in Handspinning

Join me as I take on a new fiber hobby to complement my crochet: handspinning my own yarn. Part 1 includes an introduction and resources.

Part 1 I’ve been itching to try handspinning my own yarns. My fiber addiction finally got the best of me. For too long I’ve drooled over others’ handspun yarns. I’ve fondled wool fleeces, fantasized about color combinations. It was time to try it for myself. My man made me a small and simple drop spindle, a bottom… read more