Knitting Daily : Spindles

SOAR 2008: Photo Gallery

KD Sandi — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:12:00 GMT



Fall colors are in full bloom at SOAR!		The hobbit-esque building where Judith MacKenzie McCuin and Nancy Bush held their workshop.




Meghan Croson (SOAR Scholarship Recipient), Lauren Haiken, Amy Beam, and Dana Codding hanging out after hours in the lobby.		Maggie Casey's Spinning 101 class is a great place to learn to spin or to refresh your skills.




Ingrid Brundin from Molnlycke, Sweden displays the "take me to your leader" yarn she made in Sarah Anderson's novelty yarn workshop.		Felted silk fusion samples from Sharon Costello's workshop class.




Class samples from Judith MacKenzie McCuin and Nancy Bush's Spinning and Knitting Estonian Lace class.		Knitted swatches from the students in Vivian Høxbro's Using Color in Knitting workshop.


		View the SOAR 2008 Video Blogumentary Read about SOAR 2008 on Knitting Daily SOAR homepage

Students in Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez's class learned traditional spinning techniques using Andean spindles.

Tour a Fiber Artist's Studio

Knitting Daily — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:56:00 GMT

Note from Sandi: I’ve made it to Canada, my new home sweet home! Now before I learn about all things ice hockey, I need to unpack my fiber stash. Each skein, each fleece had its own space, and I’m up for the task of creating my new studio. While I’m disconnected to the internet for a couple more days, I’ve asked Liz Gipson, managing editor of Handwoven magazine and one of the hosts of Knitting Daily TV to write about her studio, her very own fiber space. And, after you read what she has to say, you’ll see why I’m utterly jealous!

The W.I.T. Room

We all dream of it right—a room of one's own in which to do as we please? Most of us manage a spot on the couch where we pile our projects around us or perhaps an entire desktop and set of shelves in the family room, but an actually room where we can play with yarn? That's every yarnies dream.

While strolling in the neighborhood with my husband last year, we stumbled upon a house for sale that had—get this—a whole little house in back and a goat barn! In the city! Three-quarters of a mile from Interweave! The W.I.T. (Woolfian Inspired Textiles) room was born.

The sweet little house in back has two rooms. One is my husband's where he built a ski bench, set up his bike stand, and keeps other odds and ends of sporting equipment. The other room is mine all mine. I don't have to share. See I ski, but he doesn't weave.

Just about the time I got my little mitts on this space, our sister publication Cloth Paper Scissors came out with a special issue, Studios. I poured through it for ideas.

I'm a front of the book kind of magazine reader. I love all the small tips, trick, and special interest stories. Some ideas are devilishly were simple, but I would have never thought of them on my own (use a sugar dispenser to hold balls of yarn while warping, page 8) while other bits affirm the crafting lifestyle (. . . another day another dust bunny gets to live. . . " page 6.). The best part of the issue for me is the many, many photos of shelving. I think of yarn as art and shelves as their frame.

My room is long and narrow with floor to ceiling windows that look out at the pasture. It has room for my baskets of yarn organized by color in an old display rack from a soap shop. I have a wee desk; lots of shelves to hold coned yarns, tools of various kinds, and books, more books, and magazines; and a pin board for weaving samples and sketches.

I own fourteen looms—one floor, two inkle, and the rest are rigid heddles of most makes and models. I have two spinning wheels, a basket of spindles, and a very disorganized box of knitting needles and crochet hooks. (I knit and crochet and have done so for ten years, but just not consecutive years.) My warping board hangs on the wall.

Now this is an old house mind you. It has baseboard heat and no running water. It's mighty hot in the summer and a little nippy in the winter, but who cares! It's mine!

Interested in creating, remodeling, or reorganizing your fiber space? Check out Cloth Paper Scissors magazine’s newest special issue Studios! On-sale at your local craft store and bookstore October 7, 2008, Studios is also available here for pre-order online. And don’t forget to watch Liz Gipson on Knitting Daily TV, her studio away from home. Liz demonstrates how to spin thin to thick yarns, weaving using a basic rigid heddle loom for simple home décor projects, and even gives a tutorial on dyeing sock yarn. Knitting Daily TV Series 100 DVDs are now for sale online.

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

Knitting Out In The Wide, Wide World

KD Sandi — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:01:00 GMT

I'm not much of a sports person (most of you have figured this out by now!). But I have gone with friends to sports events, because being with lots of people, watching men and women run around after small objects, eating junk food (I ADORE hot dogs), shouting yourself hoarse when someone makes a point (or a goal, or a home run) is really a lot of fun even if you have no clue what is really going on.

However, baseball has been a special challenge to me. To the uninitiated (that would be me), the game is a bit...well...slow. The first few baseball games I went to, I was--I shall tell the truth, even if it makes the commenters explode at me--bored. The home runs were exciting, and the SMACK of the bat hitting the ball is a great sound when you're actually in the ballpark, but all that time in between...I kept thinking, "I could be knitting. I wish I had brought my knitting." Those first few games, I would come home feeling as though hours of perfectly good knitting time had been wasted, because of course, I was too shy to bring my knitting to a sports event in a ballpark full of rabid fans.

Thank goodness those days of being too shy to bring my knitting out of the house are at an end. Now, I bring my knitting with me EVERYWHERE, and I do mean everywhere. If my husband and I are driving to the local shopping center, well, that's fifteen minutes of perfectly good knitting time each way (because, of course, I make him drive). There's always a project with me, even if I KNOW I won't have any time to work on it, because, well. You just never know. You could get marooned somewhere. You could end up in the world's largest traffic jam. You could have to actually (gasp!) WAIT. And so there's always yarn and needles in my bag now.

I'm not alone in this crafty habit, of course. Knitters nowadays love to take their craft out of the house. (Crocheters, too; my spinning friends even take spindles and fiber everywhere they go! How about the rest of you needlefolk?) We have KIP (Knit In Public) days, we have weekly knitting groups in yarn shops, we have knit-ins and knit cafes and even Sticks N' Stitches (take your needlework to a hockey game). And so, predictably, when the temperatures start rising and the umpires start yelling "Batter UP!" we also start to see needlefolk at baseball games. Hooray! Now I can go to a baseball game and not feel as though I am gnawing my fingers to give myself something to do.

However, I have learned a thing or two about what kind of knitting to carry along with me in my rattlings-about-town. It must be simple--no charts, no complicated repeats, no extensive counting. It must be put-down-able and pick-up-able at a moment's notice, meaning that it must be really easy to figure out where I am in the pattern at all times (it's no good if you have fifteen minutes in the car to knit, only to spend the entire fifteen minutes counting and muttering to yourself trying to figure out where the heck in your sock you are!). It's got to be small, and not have more than two colors (one is far, far preferable). Usually, once all these factors are calculated, the end result is that my travelling projects are either (a) socks (Ribby Retro Socks, anyone? Don't they just look like the kind the old-timey baseball guys used to wear?), or (b) some larger project that is in an Extended Stockinette Stage that is too long to be endured by mere TV watching. My travelling projects are kept in a separate bag that can be grabbed up on my way out of the house at any time; the travelling bag has its own little pouch complete with scissors, stitch markers, and all the paraphenalia one could possible ever need for a knitting project.

After all...remember: You could end up marooned somewhere. For HOURS. Be prepared.

-- Sandi

P. S. Do you knit in public? What kinds of projects do you take along with you on your life's journeys? Share your stories with the rest of us (because it might give us some good ideas for our own crafty lives!).

The National NeedleArts Association is partnering with local yarn shops and needlework groups to bring you Stitch N' Pitch 2008. These games are a perfect opportunity to play with your needles in public. Knitters, crocheters, needlepointers, embroiderers, you’re all invited! Stitch N’ Pitch is a family event, all ages, sexes, and skill levels are welcome. Let’s show off our knitting during the 7th inning stretch, eat cracker jacks, and scream and holler for every strike out, home run, and double play.

You can now purchase tickets for Stitch N’ Pitch games in your area and download free baseball-themed patterns online at www.stitchnpitch.com. Stitch N’ Pitch has also added minor league baseball teams to the event, so be sure to check the website for minor league teams if you aren’t located near a major league team.

Free Sparkly Wristband Pattern!
Show your team colors! When you’re called to bat, be ready in sporty, yarn-obsessed style. Download the free pattern for the Sparkly Sweatbands and customize them to show your team’s colors. Add embroidery to showcase your team’s logo or the number of your favorite player. And send us pictures of you sporting your original sweat bands at the games.

Grab your needles and cheer on your favorite baseball team!

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's needles? Shoulders of the Drawstring Raglan. What's on Sandi's spinning wheel? Awesome handpainted alpaca fiber that badly wants to become a shawl when it grows up. What's in Sandi's sink? A brand new Corriedale fleece, being scoured and rinsed!

The Girl Who Loved Fiber Tools (plus making your own drop spindle!)

KD Sandi — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

The tools of our trade add to the delight of our craft. Spindle or needle, hook or wheel, I love them all. Yes: I am a tool gal. Bring on the pretty orifice hooks, the elegant top-whorls, the superbly balanced knitting needles, the wheel that sings to the eye as well as the heart. I love the fact that these tools, often so lovingly crafted by hand, are then in turn used to work more magic by hand.

I have a tiny spindle painted with tiny sheep roaming in a tiny painted pasture. (I squeal a tiny squeal every time I pick it up.) I have a lovely polymer clay spindle that I bought at the Estes Wool Market two years ago. I have, uh, "several" others. And still I lust after more.

I also hanker after ALL the knitting needles, particularly any that used to be part of a tree. I mean, how many size 2 wood dpns does a girl really need? (Several sets, in different woods and finishes and lengths, apparently.)

Hand spindles in particular fascinate me. They come in all shapes and sizes, are made of everything from clay to wood, and can be as simple as a stick pushed through a bead or as complex as a hand-carved beauty made from an exotic wood. I have to discipline myself not to become a spindle collector. I have been known to go up to a booth at a show just to pick up and admire every single spindle in a vase, and ignore all the rest of the glorious fibers and yarns for sale (forgive me, dear vendors…). When I am wandering through the latest issue of Spin-Off magazine, I make myself look away from those really gorgeously carved drop spindles in the full-color ads, because if I didn’t, then I’d be explaining to the dog why we were a little light on dog chewies this month.

“Walk a-WAY from the spindles,” I chant to myself, and turn the page.

But what if you really want to try spinning, and you do not have a hand spindle? (I’m pale at the very thought of this terrible situation.) Or, what if you wish to be sensible (go over to your yarn stash and ask yourself why you would want to start being sensible now) and not make a purchase of a hand spindle until you know you are going to enjoy spinning?

What if you find out that you hate spinning? (You won’t. You’ll get addicted, just like the rest of us.) What if you’re terrible at it? (Not possible. Five-year-old kids in the Middle Ages could spin, so why shouldn’t you be able to?) What if you can only spin really bad yarn? (What exactly is “really bad yarn”? Bumpy yarn with personality? Don’t some folks package that stuff up and sell it for $25 a skein? You bet they do, and it’s really pretty bumpy yarn.)

I understand that some folks possess much more self-control than I do; these paragons of virtue say it’s good to dip your toes in, just a little, at first anyway. That way, by the time you’ve discovered that you are getting to work a little bit late because you wanted to spin for “just five more minutes,” you’ll have a better idea of which spindle you want (because you’ve been drooling over the ads in Spin-Off), or you’ll have had time to save up for a Lendrum wheel (which is the one I bought a few weeks back—yes, in fact, it is my second wheel, anyone got a problem with that?).

The question then becomes: What can you use to spin on, just to get yourself started, just to give spinning a try?

A spindle made out of a dowel and a CD. Yup. I’m totally serious. Don’t believe me? Here are the instructions on how to make your own CD spindle, plus how to use it to spin real, actual yarn.

Don't get me wrong here: One cannot possibly compare the ease and joy of spinning on a REAL drop-spindle to that of spinning on a CD spindle. Hand-carved spindles are precisely balanced and wrought by experts in their craft; and many are really not all that expensive. However, a CD spindle is actually a pretty good starting place, if a real spindle is not in your budget.

Plus, I added in a free pattern for a lovely, chunky scarf specially designed to be knit out of your very first handspun to the end of the CD Spindle PDF. The lumpier and bumpier your first glorious yarn, the better!

Do you love the tools of our craft almost as much as the craft itself? What are some of your favorite tools? Have you knit something wonderful out of your handspun? Leave a comment, and then go off and knit something. (After all, it’s the weekend, right?)

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's spinning wheel? Beautiful hand-dyed alpaca roving from SakinaNeedles, which I am spinning very fine, about 38 wraps per inch.

Spinning The Rest of The Story

KD Sandi — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:00:00 GMT

So many of you wrote in to compliment me on "my very first yarn" that I felt a teensy bit guilty. These posts are so short that sometimes I have to leave out parts of the story in order to fit in the really important stuff.

But this time, I realized that perhaps the "rest of the story" WAS really important, that it actually holds the key to just how important Maggie's class was to me, as a knitter and as a spinner. So now, here's the fabled Rest of The Story...

I actually learned to spin about fourteen(ish) years ago, back when I lived in California. I bought an Ashford Traditional wheel, dozens of drop spindles, and had an absolute blast spinning every fiber I could get my hands on. The yarn I spun was lumpy, bumpy, and, uh, "full of personality," —not at all like the lovely smooth yarns I dreamed of spinning. I always felt as though I was missing some Secret of Spinning that would enable me to make those "real" yarns, but I never could figure out what I was doing wrong. I was confused by all the fancy-dancy spinning terminology, and I felt like I was fighting with my wheel every time I tried to adjust it. Although I loved spinning, I came to the conclusion I was just really bad at it.

Then a car accident left me with a hand injury, an injury that when all was said and done left me with only partial use of my left thumb and forefinger. I managed to re-teach myself to knit and crochet and do beadwork, but no matter what I did, I couldn't manage the spinning anymore. My left hand was my dominant hand for spinning, you see, the hand that did all the pinching and clever stuff up front. Now that the hand wasn't being particularly clever, my bad spinning got worse, and, well...I gave up.

Not terribly fearless of me.

This is where Maggie comes into the picture. After years of thinking I would never spin again, a friend at work recommended I take Maggie's class, saying that Maggie knew so much about spinning that she was often able to come up with alternate ways of doing things.

The best way to spin? In handknit socks!

Which is exactly what Maggie did. She taught me to spin so that my "good" right hand did all the clever work, and my "not-so-good" left hand was just hanging out there back stage, to guide and supervise and provide running commentary. It was tough at first, because my brain, which thought it knew what it was doing, had to become a bit humble, and realize that it needed to be completely retrained now that I was learning to do everything the opposite of how I had originally learned to do it.

The point is: Maggie was able to teach me to do that. And when I spun my first smooth, fine yarn, yarn that looked like REAL yarn, I felt as though she had given me back part of my knitter's heart.

We all have obstacles to overcome in our crafting. In my beginning spinning class, there were several folks who had been to previous spinning classes, and like me, thought they were simply bad spinners. One woman was fighting with her wheel, and Maggie helped her learn how to adjust it. One woman had had a rather cranky teacher who had discouraged her. Maggie helped her spin a lovely two-ply yarn with confidence. And the true beginners in the class, the ones who had never held a drop spindle or sat before a wheel in their lives, well. They came in saying "I'll never be able to do this" and yet they left with hanks and skeins of beautiful handspun, dreaming of what they would knit with the yarn they had made.

If you want to do something, find a teacher. If that teacher doesn't give you confidence, find another teacher. If there are no teachers nearby, find a good book. Find a way to do what you yearn to do. The world's a better place if you are doing what you love.

Photos from Maggie's spinning class

I know Maggie lives here in Boulder, and most of you cannot make it to her classes. If you'd like to learn to spin, or if you'd like a refresher course in everything from handcarding to fixing yarn with too much twist, Maggie's new book, Start Spinning, is almost as good as having Maggie sitting right next to you. It's filled with step by step photos of Maggie herself demonstrating each technique; the instructions are so clear that it's like having a spinning cookbook as you learn the delights of fiber and wheel. My copy is already a bit battered, and I've only had it for a few weeks. Plus, it now has the ultimate Sandi Seal of Approval: page 52 in the Troubleshooting section has a chocolate smear on it.

If you want to hear more about Maggie's passion for teaching spinning, there's a conversation between Amy Singer and Maggie in the Spring 2008 issue of Spin-Off magazine.

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's spinning wheel? Beautiful hand-dyed alpaca roving from SakinaNeedles, which I am spinning very fine, about 38 wraps per inch.

Amy Clarke Moore: The Ten-Year Cardigan

KD Sandi — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Today we proudly present the first in our series of posts by Guest Star Editors—this one is from Amy Clarke Moore, editor of Spin-Off magazine.

This is the time of year that I pull out the brown cardigan I’ve been knitting for my Dad for since 1996. I work on it every year between November and February (the beginning of the holiday season until his birthday in February) with the hope that this will be the year that I finish it. In the ten years that I’ve been working on it, my Dad has lost about 30 pounds—so the sweater will be a little roomy. I’m so fortunate that he is so understanding and patient.

Also—even though I’ve managed not to run out of yarn and I haven’t (yet) lost the pattern—it does take a little bit of remembering each year to figure out where I am. I started leaving notes to myself to help out. Of course, then I have to figure out what my cryptic note to myself means. I thought that I left it last year having knitted a little bit too much on the back and I needed to do some frogging, but now looking at the note, it looks like maybe I frogged it a little too far and have to knit back. I’m sure Sandi’s frog could help me figure it out.

I have to confess that I made a decision error when starting this project—I let my Dad choose the yarn and while it is a lovely brown and a wonderful yarn, it does not inspire me. I tend to choose reds, oranges, and pinks most often, and also gravitate to greens, blues and purples—but always in groups—no one solid color by itself. Of course, that wouldn’t be appropriate for my Dad. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not afraid to wear color—I have seen him wear some pretty colorful shirts—but usually they are just one color—not a riot of colors. Or plaid. I want to make him something that he’d actually wear (and that my brother and sister won’t make fun of!).

And also, I probably shouldn’t confess this to a group of knitters—I so much prefer handspun yarn. I thought I’d be saving myself time by knitting this sweater for my dad in millspun yarns. . . but it turns out, I probably would have finished it years ago if it was handspun. All my projects in the UFO basket are millspun—I tend to finish my handspun projects or use the yarn in other projects if the project I initially embarked were misled. I mean! That’s handspun there. A little bit of me got caught up in the yarn as I was making it. I can remember the books on tape I was listening to when I spun it, and catch a whiff of the sheep barn mingled with the aroma of roasting almonds at the Sheep and Wool Festival where I browsed dreamily among the booths looking for fiber.

But maybe this will be the year that I finish my dad's ten-year sweater. And I really do want to finish it. I’ve been imagining my Dad wearing it these ten years—knowing how much he enjoys a good, hardwearing garment that will keep him warm while he goes about his work. I’ve finished the sleeves, worked a little too far up the back, and am nearly done with the right front—there isn’t that much left to do.

I also discovered that I prefer working on circular needles, even when I’m doing rows instead of rounds—so I made a lot more progress once I switched the needles out. It makes it easier to stick in my bag and take with me—which helps me get things done as I am a waiting room kind of knitter.

The hour between when my toddler Hannah goes to bed and when I go to bed is usually reserved for beading (if I haven’t put myself to sleep reading her books and singing her sleepy songs), and Saturday mornings are the best time to spin—when the sun is streaming into the living room and Hannah is playing quietly (or not so quietly) with her toys, so knitting occurs here and there in the unexpected free moments when I’d be waiting or in a meeting when it is better for my hands to be occupied with knitting (otherwise I’d have to sit on them). Apparently, I can’t just sit still—or that’s what my grandmother used to tell me. “You can’t sit still, can you!” Nope. But that means that most of my family members have socks or scarves or hats or sweaters that I made them over the years—not a bad thing for a waiting-room knitter.

I know I'm not the only one with 10-year projects (mostly because I've been reading Knitting Daily and have read the responses!). Do you also work on them a little at a time or do they lie dormant for years? Also, would you call my dad's cardigan a WIP (work in progress) or a UFO (unfinished object) or does it matter?

Learn more about Amy, spinning, and Spin-Off magazine on the Spin-Off website.

Sandi Wiseheart is the founding editor of Knitting Daily. She is now the author of the popular Knitting Daily blog: What's on Sandi's Needles.

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Knitting Daily : Spindles

SOAR 2008: Photo Gallery

Tour a Fiber Artist's Studio

The W.I.T. Room

Knitting Out In The Wide, Wide World

The Girl Who Loved Fiber Tools (plus making your own drop spindle!)

Spinning The Rest of The Story

Amy Clarke Moore: The Ten-Year Cardigan

Knit Cardigan Patterns From Knitting Daily: 7 FREE Knitting Patterns

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