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Stitching & Crafting Room:  Question for the spinners - help!  |
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FiddleChick
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
78 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 27 2009 : 08:22:04 AM
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Hi! I am so excited! I just got my first wheel. I have a question though...it came with NO instructions for adjustments, etc, but I have been able to figure out the drive band/brake band tension. It's set up Scotch drive. My question is...I can spin a pretty decent yarn on the 6.7 ratio (the biggest wheel - slowest, right?), but when I tried the middle one, 12.5 I got A LOT of twist...way too much. And I was drafting FAST. Is this just a beginner thing where eventually I'll be able to draft even faster and keep up? Or is this a wheel thing where I have the tension on the brake or drive band the wrong way and need to change it? Or is this a yarn thing, maybe you shouldn't spin a worsted weight strand on that ratio? (And someone out there is shaking their head going, what is she thinking?!) Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?
I am having so much fun on this thing (despite the frustrations of learning the hard way) that I practically have to be dragged away bodily. And my I've spun up a lot of (probably) useless yarn. :^)
Siúil A Rúin: "Singing for someone's supper . . ." www.tradlassie.blogspot.com |
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oldfashioned girl
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
monica
oatman
az
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2009 : 09:50:32 AM
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I wish I could help you with your problem, but I am only familiar with my wheel! I have to say though I am so excited for you!!! I have had my wheel since October and I love it! You may be able to find something on youtube! There are a lot of videos on spinning! I am sure some of the other ladies will be able to help you! Happy spinning!!!
Monica
farmgirls rule!
www.justducky48.etsy.com
www.justducky48.blogspot.com |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2009 : 5:16:35 PM
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Yarn is never useless FiddleChick!! My first yarn was fat and thin, lumpy and bumpy, but I made some really fashionable looking scarves out of this "novelty yarn".
Farmgirl Sister #98
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Keeper of the Past
True Blue Farmgirl
925 Posts
Sarita
Battle Creek
Michigan
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2009 : 09:54:48 AM
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congratulations on your new wheel. As you spin, you will fiddle with your adjustments and get to know your wheel more. What kind of spinning wheel did you get? I loosen my brake and on one of my wheels to spin faster and thinner. I also have my fiber very fluffy so it takes off the wool that I have in my hand without slowing me down.
I am not much help but you will get to know that wheel and you will be spinning without problems soon.
Sarita
www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
Contentment is the crown jewel of a happy life. |
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2009 : 08:05:53 AM
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Hi there - I would love to help just let me know what wheel you have because they all works slightly different.
Also, tell your daughter I received her wonderful thank you card and have it up in the shop next to my desk - glad she likes her scarf - Lily is doing great and is such a love bug - I promise to get more pictures up on the blog just been so busy.....
Keep those wheels going ladies - I have been carding up some super fibers - get those fingers ready..... I will check back in to help if I can.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
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FiddleChick
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
78 Posts |
Posted - Mar 02 2009 : 06:20:08 AM
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Oh I have been having so much FUN!!!!! After one frustrating night of overtwisting I finally figured out some of the controls (it helped that the shop where I bought my wheel directed me to a Web site that had directions on how to adjust it!! Now I can even fold it up for travelling.) I've discovered that for sport weight I want to use the larger ratio (big wheel, I mean) and that seems to twist it up just fine. I can even tell when it's spinning that it's right. For finer stuff (I spun up a skein of garnet merino that I can't WAIT to knit into something - maybe socks??) if I put it on the middle one I get more twist and that helps when I spin finer yarn.
My biggest question now is...when I spin very, very fine (I've been playing with some alpaca and the merino) like lace weight, when I goof and it gets too thin and breaks and I have to wind it back off the bobbin I have a hard time starting it again because the fiber is so soft and the yarn is so fine that it doesn't take much for the twist to be released enough to "break". Do I need to move to the smallest wheel (highest ratio) to put even more twist into it? Or is that just a hazard you get used to and learn exactly the right amount so that it doesn't break on you?
My wheel, btw, is a Kromski Sonata. I wanted the Kromski Mazurka and thought there was one I could try at the shop where I bought this (which was a two hour trip from my house) but it turned out there had been a misunderstanding and it wasn't the Mazurka they had but the Sonata (and I was determined not to leave that shop without a wheel). I was disappointed until I tried it and got to thinking that being a folding wheel that came with a bag it would be a better choice for me in the long run because I can haul it to my Sit and Spin and other places whereas the Mazurka wouldn't travel as well. It's a beautiful wheel with turned spokes. I was really into the whole ornate look and really wanted something pretty AND functional. I *almost* got a Louet S75 which is pretty comprable, probably more functional, but not quite as lovely. But the ratios on the Kromski were broader and I know I want to spin both very fine and terribly chunky wild kinds of yarn. I'm studying novelty yarns and how to make them. I can't WAIT until I know enough of the basics to really get into that. I made my first novelty yarn from mohair locks on the drop spindle and it came out awesome. If I knew how to post a pic I'd post a pic of the scarf I knit with them.
Anyway, thanks for all your encouragement and help everyone!! I'm sort of stuck out here on my own except for the weeks when I travel down to my spinning/knitting group so I don't have anyone to help me.
BTW, Grace, I'll tell Rach you got her card. She was SO TICKLED with the lovely scarf. She thought maybe you'd send fiber or yarn since that's what I'd bought from you in the past and I told her if it was something she couldn't use she could always save it for me for my birthday. ;^) So she wouldn't let me look when she opened your package. Then she says, "You can look now; you're not getting THIS!" Haha!! She couldn't wait to show her friends. She's big into stuffed animals and the scarf is sooo fluffy. It was so kind of you to send it.
Siúil A Rúin: "Singing for someone's supper . . ." www.tradlassie.blogspot.com |
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Mar 02 2009 : 12:37:41 PM
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So glad your daughter like the scarf - I was not sure if she was a knitter or spinner so I thought a finished item might be best.
As for the lace weight spinning, you must put enough twist in the single to hold it together. It is a balancing act but especially if you are not going to ply the yarn you must have enough twist. If you leave it a single it also has to hold together to be placed into water to set the twist. When I spin lace weight I give a little extra twist and move those hands quickly so you are not making a hard yard. Predrafting also assists so you can move quickly. When adjusting you tensions I tell my students to get in a habit of taking notes and also making samples so you can really get to know your wheel. The hardest part of beginning spinning is just to let your self relax and give up those over control issues.
I love the wheel you selected - also all wheels that are new will settle alittle bit - then it is like a old friend you can finish each others sentences. Hope that helps but if you are still running into issues let us know.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
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Thistle Cove Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
141 Posts
Sandra
Tazewell
VA
USA
141 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 07:00:37 AM
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SAVE that first yarn and, more importantly, do NOT allow your hands to forget how to make that lumpy, bumpy yarn! Once your hands forget, it takes a long time to remember. I've a friend who has a shop just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and that lumpy, bumpy yarn sells for mega buck$$$! Something like $90 for a four ounce skein...NO kidding!
I intentionally spin wild and crazy yarn and include all sorts of "stuff" - buttons, feathers, silk, wool, different colors...anything to make it one of a kind, never duplicated again.
Congratulations on your new wheel; what kind did you purchase? One of my wheels has a Scotch tension and I just fiddle with it because I've no instructions either. I've found fiddling -smile- the best way to figure out what I need to know.
Thistle Cove Farm ~ God's blessings on you, yours and the work of your hands & heart ~
www.thistlecovefarm.com
www.thistlecovefarm.blogspot.com |
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FiddleChick
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
78 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 07:47:31 AM
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ROFL! I wish that yarn was lumpy and bumpy Sandra! It's just waaaay overtwisted. I did make my first lumpy bumpy yarn (on purpose) the other day though with some icelandic/angora a friend and I blended. It came out fantastic and I plied it with a thin, thin strand of blue merino. Looks awesome. It's hard to believe I've only been spinning for two weeks because I know so much more than I did when I got my wheel (which is a Kromski Sonata, btw, and is just a dream to work with and sooo portable.) I "fiddled" with it too. The instructions helped a lot with the drive band tension particularly. After that it was a breeze. I didn't realize you had to tighten it on the smallest wheel only until the bobbin begins to turn. It looks so slack, but they said that puts it at the perfect tension for any of the other sizes.
I'm intrigued about the feathers - how on earth do you spin feathers into yarn? I was going to try tinsel, but it's the wrong time of year to try to get any. And glitter.
Siúil A Rúin: "Singing for someone's supper . . ." www.tradlassie.blogspot.com |
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ranchetta
True Blue Farmgirl
318 Posts
carol
Marysville
Wahington
USA
318 Posts |
Posted - Mar 10 2009 : 09:08:46 AM
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Monica, I tried to comment on your blog but had a problem with my computer loading.
We're neighbors (we live in BHC) six months out of the year...winter, off course!
Will try posting on your blog again.
Sorry girls that this has nothing to do with the topic but I just wanted to leave a message for Monica...hope no one is mad at me.... Giggle
http://curlywillowsranch.blogspot.com/
http://alteredshots.blogspot.com/ |
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oldfashioned girl
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
monica
oatman
az
USA
2391 Posts |
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Stitching & Crafting Room: Question for the spinners - help! |
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Question for the spinners - help!
