Core spinning is one of my favourite methods of spinning, especially with an art batt as I feel the beauty of the batt really comes through in the yarn. So I decided to carry out a little experiment with core spun yarn. I wanted to try two different finishing techniques on two skeins of identical core spun yarn. I started with choosing the colours I wanted to use in the art batts. This rainbow fibre plait is made up of a variety of wools, mostly merino with a little blue faced leicester, and two stunning shades of sari silk. This fibre I then painted onto the drum carder, at this point getting really excited to see how this gorgeous blend with spin up! After creating two art batts using the same materials I got to work on spinning. I genuinely think that an afternoon spent spinning with no other agenda is heaven on earth! Using my beautiful Kromski Fantasia (Jett to her friends) and purple jumbo bubbin, I tied on a pastel pink wool core and allowed the art batt to remain quite textured, I wanted to see as much of the beauty as possible. Now comes the experiment bit! With two skeins in hand, both of which were inevitably over-twisted, I took one and used the steaming method to set it (see the top photo below). The other skein I purposefully tried to felt slightly by submerging it in hold and cold water and using slight agitation (see the bottom photo below). I found it a lot of fun to experiment with these two methods and to be honest, I think both look really beautiful and both have worked well. The steamed yarn is slightly softer but I really like the effect of the partly felted yarn. My conclusion is both yarns work well and both have maintained the beautiful colours so I'm so excited to continue using steaming and felting methods in the future!
Fibrey love Meggie
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I recently decided to invest in a new spinning wheel as my old one was proving inadequate for bulky art yarns. I did a lot of research, looked at a lot of different wheels and eventually decided on the Kromski Fantasia. I read a lot of good reviews about it, many people didn't have a bad thing to say about it... so I took the plunge and ordered one. I opted for an unfinished wheel as I loved the idea of adding my own unique twist on the beautiful wheel, so off to the paint shop I went. I am completely thrilled with the end result, its such a gorgeous wheel and beautifully smooth to spin! Her name is Jett, after the suffragettes (notice the women's symbol on the foot pedal) and I can't wait to create a paradise of colourful yarns with her as my stunning companion! There's not much more to say here. I will be posting updates in the coming months of how I'm finding her as a wheel but for now I couldn't be happier with how she's turned out!
Fibrey love from Meggie and Jett I am currently on a much needed study break for Easter which can mean only one thing... as much spinning as I can possibly do in a short space of time! Of course I wanted to start with a celebration of Easter, one of my favourite times of year! Spring is on its way, the trees are starting to blossom and I find myself inspired by the changing colours of this time of year! So I had a rummage through my fibre stash and found 5 pastel spring colours to combine. First I used these stunning colour to make a thick and thin yarn base. Then I used a golden wool yarn to ply with and used differential tension to spiral the thick parts of the fleece around the golden yarn. Then pushed this up and anchored in place to make these merino coils. To my great joy the resulting yarn looks like a bunch of mini Easter eggs, which couldn't make me happier if it tried! I think this yarn might be used in a weaving project to add some gorgeous texture. Although first it will just sit in a yarn bowl on the coffee table over Easter. The good news is there is still plenty of time left to spin over this mini break so next project is some art batt core spun.. ooh exciting!
Fibrey love Meggie xx |
AuthorHello... Meggie Elise here! Welcome to my blog to update you on all things Raynbow Punk. Expect fibre, art, success, disaster and always lots of raynbows! Archives
July 2018
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