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Spinning and Dreaming in Color Anita's advancing twill sample with handspun silk handkerchiefs. I started spinning because of color. I visited a spinning shop with a friend and fell in love with a raspberry-colored bump of Lincoln roving, so I rented a wheel, signed up for lessons, and 20+ years...
Posted to
Guest Blog
by
Anita Osterhaug
on
Apr 29, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: How To Spin, Spinning Wheels, Wool Processing, Plying, Handspun, Spinning Wool, Handwoven, Mohair, Types of Yarn, Spinning
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Be enchanted by Judith MacKenzie In our new eBook, Judith MacKenzie explains plying and cabling yarn. Judith MacKenzie has been enthralling us for decades with her soothing voice and storytelling magic via many a medium—classes, video, and the written word. You don't have to be a spinner to...
Posted to
Amy's Blog
by
Amy Clarke Moore
on
Apr 24, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Spinning Wheels, Plying, How To Spin, Spin-Off Magazine, Spinning Wool, Merino Wool, Wool Processing, Your Yarn, Types of Yarn, Spinning
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Reconsider cotton The lovely natural dyed cotton of Ella Baker. Cotton is an amazing fiber—great for keeping us cool and dry when it is hot and humid out. Cotton is the fiber of the ages. It is the fiber the ancient Egyptians cultivated to clothe themselves and also to wrap their dead in to ensure...
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We invited Lory Widmer Hess of Chestnut Ridge, New York, to share her insights as she learned to spin on her second attempt. Lory is the Managing Editor for the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America . Realizing the potential of spinning Lory Widmer Hess My first attempt to learn to spin...
Posted to
Guest Blog
by
Amy Clarke Moore
on
Feb 27, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: How To Spin, Wool Processing, Natural Fiber, Handspun, Spindle Spinning, Drop Spindle, Dyeing, Carding and Combing, Natural Dyes, Dyeing Yarn
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Start with the right tools, it makes a big difference Maggie Casey showing Eunny Jang how best to insert twist in Start Spinning: The Video. It is starting to feel like I've always been able to spin. What a wonderful feeling! When I sit down at my wheel my default yarn comes naturally. And, well...
Posted to
Liz's Blog
by
Liz Good
on
Dec 5, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Spin-Off Magazine, Handspun, Plying, How To Spin, Spindle Spinning, Drop Spindle, Wool Processing, How-To, Types of Yarn, Your Yarn, Spinning, Processing Fiber
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Is it worsted? Is it woolen? Is it something in between? You start spinning in earnest and suddenly you are making yarn! It's a great feeling—that fiber magically transforming right before your eyes in your hands. As you gain confidence in your ability to make a yarn that both sticks together...
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The fabric of our lives Most spinners learn how to spin with wool—it is easy to learn with and is widely available as a spinning fiber. Sometimes not knowing that something is challenging can be a good thing. For instance, I learned how to spin by spinning cotton. I was a college student studying...
Posted to
Amy's Blog
by
Amy Clarke Moore
on
Dec 29, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Natural Fiber, Handspun, Spinning Cotton, Spindle Spinning, Drop Spindle, How To Spin, Spinning Wool, Merino Wool, Handwoven, Spinning Fiber, Wool Processing, Types of Yarn, Spinning
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Merino fiber that has about twelve crimps per inch. Romney fiber that has about six crimps per inch. Lincoln fiber that has about three crimps per inch. Locks of Potential What is it that brings you to spinning? I imagine we come to spinning for a whole host of reasons—as diverse as we are as spinners...
Posted to
Amy's Blog
by
Amy Clarke Moore
on
Dec 7, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Natural Fiber, How To Spin, Spin-Off Magazine, Spinning Wool, Merino Wool, Wool Processing, Your Yarn, Types of Yarn, Spinning, Processing Fiber
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Wool—so common, yet so unique We're in the middle of going to press with the Winter issue of Spin-Off, and this issue is all about fiber. We're looking at it closeup this time—really closeup—by examining crimp and diameter in detail to understand why fiber does what it does...
Posted to
Amy's Blog
by
Amy Clarke Moore
on
Oct 31, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Rare Wools, Spinning Wheels, How To Spin, Spin-Off Magazine, Spinning Wool, Wool Processing, Your Yarn, Types of Yarn, Spinning, Processing Fiber
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Spread the word about our free Drop Spindle Spinning eBook Every once in a while I start to daydream about what a world overrun by spinners would look, and more importantly, feel like. What if everyone was a spinner? Standing in line at the grocery store you would be discussing with others the merits...
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Margaret Stove in her element, an Orenburg shawl. This picture is included in her book Wrapped in Lace and is from a trip she took to Orenburg to visit with master knitters. Margaret shows how she tensions Merino to spin springy elastic yarn. Margaret demonstrating how to find the tip of a wool lock...
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Margaret spinning singles from Merino wool. Margaret demonstrating washing Merino wool, one lock at a time. Margaret sharing a microscopic image from the Wool Research Organization of New Zealand showing unwashed and washed wool. Margaret Stove and her one and only Bush Bouquet Shawl that she was commissioned...
Posted to
Linda Ligon's Blog
by
Linda Ligon
on
Dec 29, 2010
Filed under:
Filed under: Plying, SOAR, How To Spin, Wool Processing, Spinning Wheels, Handspun, Spinning Wool, Merino Wool, Types of Yarn, Spinning
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The National Wool Museum is located in Dre-fach Felindre, Carmarthenshire, a small village in the middle of Wales near the Teifi Valley. In 1845, there were as many as 325 woolen mills there with large numbers of Welsh women, men, and children employed in the production of flannel shirts, underwear,...
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If you have ever attended our Spin-Off Autumn Retreat (SOAR), you know the sweet anticipation that precedes the release of the Spring 2010 issue of Spin-Off and the announcement of the workshops and mentors. Of course, now that we have a website, those announcements don't have to wait for the Spring...
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I’ve rattled on for years about how hard it is to put spinning instruction in print. It’s such a dynamic, process-intensive craft—so hard to capture in one-shot increments. For all my carrying on, though, I think we’ve done a pretty good job. Thirty-two years of Spin-Off , and...
Posted to
Linda Ligon's Blog
by
Linda Ligon
on
Jun 3, 2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Worsted, Plying, How To Spin, Wool Processing, Spinning Wheels, Spindle Spinning, Drop Spindle, Spinning Wool, Merino Wool, Spin-Off Magazine, Types of Yarn, Spinning