It occurred to me that I haven’t welcomed you to the vlog
yet! So Welcome! This is the MoonBound Podcast Vlog and I am your host Julia. I
am the spinner, dyer, and Artisan behind MoonBound Artisanship and this is our
weeklyish vlog showing some of what is going on behind the scenes here at
MoonBound home. I have spent quite a bit of time getting settled into a
different computer to edit videos on and changing a few things around so this
vlog covers more than one week. I will not be trying to record in my car again!
The Audio quality is just too awful and nothing I have tried fixes it. We will
be taking some walks this week, so there may be wind affecting audio in the
future but if there is wind the view is likely better than inside a car too so
I hope that balances it out!
One of the things I did was spend some time writing at the
Steaming Cup. I usually sit in the front room but this time chose the back room
to write in and there is a totally different vibe! The front is jumping and
noisier, with people coming and going, it is vital and fun. The back room is
calmer, with more people plugged into work or having conversations in large
groups looking to catch up and stay awhile. Don’t get me wrong groups gather
and stay in the front too, but they are more boisterous and seem to change
members throughout the morning, in the back they stay. I am just beginning to
write out a story that has been kicking around in my head for a while now. It
has drama and struggle, uses my knowledge of material culture and of course
there is knitting! I am also working on a family history and a cookbook, but
this morning was fiction followed by a long chat with a friend who joined me.
Good coffee and a friend to chat with sometimes that is all you need.
I am spinning slowly – for me – in small bits of time as my
leg can only tolerate it in about thirty minute segments right now. I am trying
to build up that stamina. The fiber I am spinning is the guild potluck fiber
and despite my reservations it is spinning up quite well. A friend recently
asked if I could spin something bad or ugly. Her point was not really to
compliment me but about Artisans. Growing up my father drilled into my head the
old chestnut ‘It is a poor workman that blames his tools’ back then I took that
to mean, don’t make excuses do the best work you can today and do better
tomorrow. While that is certainly true, I think perhaps the larger point and
certainly my friend’s point was that a artisan can make something, in fact will
make something, lovely out of whatever material they have, even materials they
don’t particularly like will be made to be the best thing that can be made, by
that person, with them. It is not just the tool but the hands and mind of the
maker that make the thing. It is, of course, nicer to work with fibers that
bring joy, but I like how this is spinning up.
I often hear people ask what is the best wheel or fiber to
start with, the answer is the one you have access too, the one you can afford, and
the one you can make work. Try it. Keep trying. No one learned to walk in a
day. There are all sorts of technical things to learn, things that I firmly
believe are valuable to know and will improve your spinning, if you are just
starting out learn them later. Make yarn now. Will it be the best yarn you ever
make, nope, but I hope the yarn I make today is not the best yarn I ever make
either. Right now focus on turning fiber into yarn and you into a spinner. Read
about spinning, know that there is more to know, but focus on making yarn. When
you can do that, then focus on making better yarn, making exactly to yarn you
want, or knowing what kinds of projects the yarn you make is best for.
Having said that we are off to the technical!
I am spinning partially supported long draw, which is a
woolen spun yarn. Even with a lot of twist this yarn is soft. I think I will
end up doing a two ply lace weight yarn. In long draw you allow the twist to
travel back into the fiber supply and when it does you pull the fiber supply back
a bit. The yarn fairly makes itself, it looks a bit like magic really. Too much
fiber? add a bit more tension and more twist, ie pull back a bit more. In
supported long draw after the twist has taken some fiber and you have pulled
back a bit, you apply a bit of pressure to the yarn to partially stop the twist
and provide some support to pull against, this is very useful in removing any
slubs caused by the twist having grabbed too many fibers in the initial draft. Once
you stop the twist, gently pull back, smoothing the slub. You are treadling the
whole time. It is also slightly less nerve wracking that full on long draw as
your other hand is in the mix should you need it. This is a very quick method –
once you get the hang of it – with low strain on your body. Both hands should
be fairly relaxed, when you first learn this the fiber flies out of your hands
quite often, don’t tighten down, you will get this it just takes practice. When
I was first learning to spin lots of people said this method could not be done
on a double treadle wheel, it can be done. Twist your body a small amount
towards your back hand (I use my dominant hand, habitually, for my fiber
supply, but there is a good argument for using either or both) and spin. You
may find, you need a bit more room behind your fiber supply hand’s shoulder,
but I don’t have to move my chair from its normal position to spin this way.
Woolen yarn, which is yarn that has a more jumbled fiber
orientation is usually carded and then spun long draw. This traps more air into
the yarn producing a lighter, softer, more insulative yarn with more loft after
washing than a worsted spun yarn, the downside is it is less durable and loses
the luster in the fiber.
This fiber is 20.37% Alpaca, 33.29% Unknown breed of Wool,
6.9% targhee, 8.1% Lincoln, 8.21% Corriedale, 9.67% Eastern Friesian and 13.46%
llama. I have no real idea why the stable length is so short, but it is
allowing me to play with long draw.
I also worked on my union square socks and Multinomah shawl.
The shawl is in Glow Beauty from With in’s Pan is Back colorway and I love it
more every time I work with it! The shawl is really coming along and I am in
the patterning section.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this format for the vlog and I will
see you later! I hope that your projects are going well and maybe even
surprising you with how well they turn out!
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