I took possession of a Timbertops Leicester yesterday. I’ve already had a little spin … it’s very smooth. Needs some TLC and strategic oil, as it’s not been used for several years. Otherwise, first impressions … it’s lovely! It was built by James Williamson, in Leicester, all hand-turned oak. The Williamsons made Timbertop wheels from 1975 to 2008, when they retired and Woodland Turnery took over the business. This one has the Timber Table Top Co. brass plate, is stamped John Williamson, but not numbered. so im guessing it could be an older wheel. Lady who owned it used to spin her Samoyed hair and I saw some jumpers she made with them … absolutely beautiful and so soft. She had a small business, I think, and did craft fairs. Would have loved to chat with her, but she’s just gone into a nursing home … dementia 😔did have a chat with her daughters tho. I think they were pleased it had gone to a spinner. The bobbins are certainly well used and were full of singles she’d spun.
I’ve never spun on a double drive wheel before, and oh my! did i struggle with the wheel band and that figure of 8. I’ll get plenty of practice tho, because I’ll have to replace the band every time i change the bobbin 😳
I haven’t been to a guild meeting since last September when we had a brief hiatus between lockdowns 1 and 2. We have had monthly Zoom meetings which have been great for me as a newbie, in terms of getting to know others in the group. So, it was a real joy to join my fellow spinners at our September meeting. We sat outside with wheels and spindles and chatted and swapped tips and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Texel cross
About halfway through, a farmer arrived and asked whether we’d be interested in her Texel Cross shearling fleeces. She had quite a few of them and, if she didn’t find them a home, they’d be burned.
One of the trials of lockdown is that I haven’t been able to visit shows or farms to examine fleeces and put some of the principles of fleece choice into practice … assessing the fleece by smelling it, pinging the locks, examining their crimp, structure, tips, feeling the lanolin (and in my case, being wary about gone-hard lanolin) and so on. Buying online is just about OK, but there’s a lot of trust involved and no chance of that touchy-feely process that experienced spinners do without thinking about it. None of us knew what a Texel Cross might look like … the farmer thought there was about a quarter longwool in the mix, but otherwise it was an unknown. When it arrived, it just looked like a white fleece to me! But hearing the others chatting about it was really instructive; and there were sighs of delight at the lovely fresh lanolin, the lock length, the crimp. The fleeces had been dagged, but not excessively skirted … it was really interesting to see one spinner looking it over and quickly skirting the really dirty sections that the farmer took away. My spinning buddy even spun a lock or two on her Turkish spindle, and Andean plied it for me … it was looking good!
Having 3 (yes, 3!) shearling fleeces to prep and spin already, I couldn’t justify taking on another fleece, even though once it was cleaned up, it beckoned to me. But I was interested in trying a small sample because the long, crimpy locks intrigued me. So I went away happy with about 50g and the farmer went away happy that her nice fleece had found a home.
The combing saga
For the fourth module of my course, I had to prep a raw fleece for worsted spinning and I was finding that combing the extremely long locks of the shearling Leicester Longwool that I’d bought was proving really hard work. The curls and tangles and locked tips required detailed prep (more about that in another post). But combing them was something else and I wasn’t sure whether it was my technique with the small English combs I’d bought from Wingham, or whether the fleece itself was causing me problems (or both). So I’d had a go with my washed Border Leicester 2020 fleece from Doulton Flock and oh my! it was so easy with shorter locks! No struggling and tussling with the locks (or scratched hands) as i got nearer the butt end … just a fluffy ‘beard’ that was easy to plank and diz and spun up lovely!
So, my plan with the Texel was to use it for more combing practice to reassure myself that my combing technique wasn’t an issue.
The Texel Cross
In the mid-1800s, the native sheep of Texel (an island off the Dutch coast) was crossed with longwools to produce the modern Texel meat sheep. Despite the ‘meat sheep’ label, it is an interesting breed for spinners: the finest fleece can be used for clothing; the coarser for rugs. Long staple can be combed, but have woolly characteristics and may not look as sleek as longwools (Robson and Ekarius, 2011).
My assessment
Fibre
The shearling fleece was covered in surface VM (looked like straw), but otherwise it was a nice one. The locks pinged pleasantly; no sign of a break or anything nasty in this fleece. Once skirted, it was free from gritty dirt. Lock tips were open. I couldn’t see second cuts in the whole fleece, and there were certainly none in my sample. There was some regrowth, but this was easily removed by combing; and I’ve saved the short combings for re-combing or carding fibre. The raw locks had lovely, soft lanolin which was easily removed during scouring. After scouring, the locks were fluffy, and blocky, but it was possible to identify individual locks and mount them onto the combs.
As I’m still a novice comber, I use a sequence for combing: 2 passes of the combs, then planking, one more light combing and then dizzing off. There was some static when the locks were combed, but I was glad I hadn’t used spinning oil in the case because the VM came away easily, rather than getting stuck in oil. The fibre was so easy to comb – no snagging of locks; a couple of chops from stationery to working comb; easy pass from working back to stationery comb. When planking, I threaded the sliver through the largest hole in my diz (no crochet hook needed) and it came off in one continuous sliver. The planked fibre felt smooth and slightly springy; and the final dizzed sliver made a fluffy little nest.
Planked
I find ‘handle’ a difficult concept, because it relates to how the fleece/locks feel to the spinner … and as yet I have neither the experience nor the vocabulary to describe it accurately. The raw fleece was neither soft nor coarse. After scouring, the fibre had a crispness to it … I can only describe it as a bit like cotton wool, but more woolly! The combed fibre was smooth and the little nests were fluffy and very white.
Spinning
The combed fibre was a joy to spin. Staple length of scoured fibre was 15 cm and there were 3 crimps per inch at the butt end. I used my Kiwi 2 spinning wheel with its high speed whorl. The sliver retained its structure during spinning; no bunching up in my sweaty palm. Drafting was easy and I produced a nice, fine yarn, using yarn ratio 10.5:1. WPI was 45 for the singles and 20 for the plied yarn. it had some of the characteristics of a worsted prepared and spun yarn: smooth, dense, drapey yarn with a slight sheen. Compared with my Leicester Longwool skein, the Texel skein looked and felt more ‘woolly’, with a slight halo and some elasticity.
Finished skein
My conclusion
I wish I’d taken a bigger sample, so that I could knit a nice, big swatch (or a hat)! Next year, I may source a whole fleece from this farmer. It would be useful to see how it knits up and what I could make from it.
My successful combing of this fleece has given me confidence and reassurance that I’ve grasped the basics of worsted preparation, combing and spinning. It was well worth taking this time to pause the Longwool saga and try another type of fleece!
References
Robson, D. and Ekarius, C. (2011) The Fleece and Fibre Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, USA
Tour de Fleece, Shearling Leicester Longwool and spinning worsted
LLW raw fleece from the Oldberrow Flock
My vague Tour de Fleece plan to work on my Hampshire Down fleece didn’t quite work out (had an op and couldn’t spin or do Longdraw for a week or so). But last week, I worked on a small portion of my Shearling Leicester Longwool so thought I’d share photos of the fleece, the prep and my singles and plied skeins so far.
I bought the fleece back in May and, as it rained constantly, had to store it til the weather improved. I made a fleece map and attached locks to it. In reality, there seemed to be little difference between the sections, but I decided to reserve that judgement til I’d worked through them. This was my first Longwool, lustre fleece, so I decided to work the fleece from the bottom up (tail/britch end; see photo below), so I could have lots of practice before tackling the best of the fleece.
1 is the neck area; 8, 9 tail and britch areas; green areas are the finer fleece
Previously, I described the fleece in more detail in the Sheer Loveliness post. When I looked at that first skein of yarn, I was proud that I’d learned a different technique on a different fleece type from what I’d used before. When spinning Longwool, I had to adapt to a different texture and lock length. I wasn’t quite so pleased with the rough, hairy texture and low lustre. Luckily, my spinning buddy was briefly back from France, so we looked at it together. As always, she was complimentary of my efforts, but also had some useful tips about how to improve.
Hairy, coarse yarn
First spun skein … left, singles; right, 2-ply
Was the hairiness because of fibre or technique? I doubt that it was the fibre, because the locks were nice and loose and had lustre. I was learning to use hand combs, so I wondered whether this was down to over-vigorous combing, perhaps over-stretching the fibre, so it pinged back. My buddy noticed some hairy loops, so maybe that was because the combed fibre on the working comb was getting caught up on the tines of the static comb. I was struggling a bit with tangles in the locks and gummed up lock tips. She suggested I used spinning oil and I decided to look again at combing videos and make use a slower, more relaxed technique!
In addition, Alison, my spinning mentor suggested that I spin from butt to tip. This meant ensuring butt end was secured to the stationary comb during the first comb; then rolling the fibre nest from tip to butt, so the butt end would be at the spinning wheel’s orifice. This did feel better and I assume it’s because the fibre’s scales are being smoothed during drafting.
What about the coarseness of the finished yarn? I used a 9.5:1 whorl and 4” length of draft … maybe this fibre needed less twist. I changed to the 7.5:1 whorl and used a longer length of draft … this felt much more relaxed and the singles were better behaved.
I found that soaking locks in spinning oil before combing worked wonders. Much easier, relaxed and more enjoyable to comb, spin and draft; and a smoother, softer yarn. Skeins 1 and 2 (top pic, left) were spritzed with water to control static, but not oiled; the other 3 skeins were oiled. I used the dog comb for the first combing, opening out tips and but end before using mini-combs.
These adjustments to technique made a huge difference to the quality of the combed fibres. I dizzed it from the mini combs, made some lovely little nests and spun worsted. I finished the yarn by rinsing in Eucalan, spinning in my salad spinner and pinging the skein in different places along its circumference. No thwacking or beating used here!
The skeins
The photo shows 5 skeins; the first 2 on left were spritzed with water; the next 3 were soaked in spinning oil before spinning.The skein on far right is what I call ‘floof’ – all the combings made into rolags and spun on 4.5:1 whorl (semi)worsted. This gave a nice thick/thin singles which I plied with a single of merino and silk tops, dyed with madder … it’s so soft, fluffy and light.
I really enjoyed doing the Preparation and spinning. As it’s all part of my Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Foundation Course in Spinning, I try to remember to record all the tech details on a card attached to the skein, along with a data sheet and notes.
After a brief hiatus following some surgery for a naughty gallbladder, I got back to spinning last week, although at first I could only manage half an hour before exhaustion set in. I decided to get creative and tackle my lovely stash of tops.
Project Scarf
One of my projects is to produce a handspun scarf for my brother-in-law. He’s very conservative in what he wears, so I’m restricting myself to one colour, with variations. I’m calling it ‘49 Shades of Teal’ and have bought some beautiful tops from John Arbon Mills … such a joy to work with these beautiful blends. My yarn is worsted spun and I’m really pleased to see the lustre and drape emerge. I’m particularly pleased with my singles blend of Devonia Ocean and sari silk which I plied with a plain Ocean singles … the silk gives subtle but pleasant tweed effect.
I discovered sari silk during Module 2 of my of my Foundation Course in Spinning. I blend it on my blending board and it adds a lovely lustrous pop of colour without being overpowering.
Turkish Spindle
We had a mini-break in Norfolk in a campsite near the sea … blissful. So this time, I dusted off my beautiful Turkish spindle and took some tops … Wensleydale natural black and natural white, and Exmoor Blueface. That little spindle is beautifully balanced and spins so easily, it was a joy to use. And the yarn I made is a lovely soft texture.
Encouraged by my success, I decided to continue my experiments with making 3-ply yarn … more about that in another post.
Turtle Dove
This summer, our village has been captivated by a migrant turtle dove who has been visiting local woodland and bird tables and purring unsuccessfully for a mate. Unfortunately, this means he’ll be unlikely to visit again, so I had the idea to design some commemorative yarn and knit a birthday present for a birdie friend. I’m working with a photo which shows the colours and patterns of his plumage … I’m loving the creative challenge and will share the process and results in a future blog post.
Perfect Place for a Picnic … And a bit of fun
I live in a lovely village just north of Cambridge … for many years we’ve had a feast week during July, which celebrates local community groups and businesses, and raises funds for local charities. Covid-19 restrictions forced cancellation of live events in 2020 and again this year. I belong to a local ad hoc yarn bombing group … we decorated postboxes for Christmas and decided to do a bit more to add cheer to the village. One subgroup decorated the village green with garlands of flowers.
I was project manager of the team decorating the postbox outside our local post office. The whimsical storyline is about having a picnic in the perfect spot … in this case a garden with a veg and flower plot, a pagoda and a floral fence (my art yarn came in handy). The duckling is bouncing on a trampoline watched by Mr Duck; Mummy Duck is late and bringing a trug of veg and eggs to the picnic; Hen is enjoying a feast of bugs and creepy crawlies; Babar is setting out the picnic; baby hedgehog swings, pushed by his mum, and birds sing – electronic magic set off by a proximity sensor … it’s wonderful to see the delight on the faces of children and adults! In the spirit of supporting England in the Euro finals (tonight), we added some scarves and a football yesterday. You get the idea, I’m sure!
at the time of writing, England;Italy is 1:1 … here’s hoping!
ps Oops … penalty shootouts are the most barbaric way to end a tournament …
I’m enjoying working with silk tops, and still have the cocoons and mawata hankies to look forward to. The hand feel of the silk, the lustre and the colours of the natural silks only add to the pleasure.
I spun a lovely mix of mulberry, Eri and tussah last month, which I’m planning to use for knitting lace. There was some left over and I planned a pleasant hour, plying it to use as a sample. But I just can’t find the end where I finished on the mulberry silk 😳 ive tried stroking it, but no luck; just fuzzy yarn where it’s caught on my finger. Tried cutting an end, but again I just get going and it snags again. The plied yarn looks temptingly nice; the mulberry single looks a mess! Note to self … find out how to deal with a single intent on hiding.
Mulberry silk singles
I really like the naturally honey coloured tussah silk … I blended it on my blending board with layers of blue_faced Leicester and Exmoor Blueface tops; the result is a lovely soft drapey creamy yarn that will go well with the plain BFL tops I’ve spun to experiment with sock making … more about that as the story unfolds.
I’ve had fun with my blending board and coloured tops stash this week. I wanted some colours for a shawl I’m making, and so mixed pastel shades and grey to make a yarn I’ve called Misty. The idea was to have shades that complemented the dress, but with a hazy, blended look, rather than definite colour (see top photo). More info about this little project can be found on my Ravelry page: https://ravel.me/Janesox/qdtr4t
A couple of things surprised me and I need to ponder further … First, the resultant Misty yarn is darker/greyer than the puni I made, which was just perfect against the dress. I added more blue tops for the final blend, and lots of coloured silk, but it’s still not quite what I envisaged.
Blending Merino tops and hand dyed Corriedale with silk tops to make punis
Blending in some silk slivers and sari silk added some lovely colour and texture to the punis and resulting yarn. First time I’ve used sari silk and it was so nice to use and spin.
On the blending board: coloured tops, silk and sari silk
Secondly, the singles were laceweight and the plied yarn was a fingering weight, according to my Spin Control tool, but it is much denser when knitted up. I started off using 3.75mm needles, but wasn’t getting the openness I wanted in the mesh lace sections, so switched to 4.5mm needles … I could probably go up to 5 mm or even 6 mm if I want a more open, drapey look. But that would distort the triangle shape of the shawl. So I’ll see what blocking will do! More about this later, too!
Still loads to learn about yarn construction, but when I look at yarn I spun last July, I can see the progress I’ve made; But that’s a topic for another post 😉
It’s been a tough week but mindful spinning and thoughtful knitting has seen me through. Plus, I’ve submitted my first assignment for my Foundation Course in Spinning.
It was an interesting task, where I had to think about and explain the mechanics of the spinning wheel. My mind reeled with the technical terms and jargon! Plus, different writers use different terms. I found it hard to let it go, even with the experience of countless years in higher education, both as student and lecturer. And I’m sure I made it more complex than it needed to be. Finally managed to loosen my grip yesterday and sent it on its way.
The next module is fascinating and includes an exploration of silk (hence the blog title). Although it’s technically research, I had to get some of the fibres and try them out. I managed to find mulberry silk cocoons (complete with the stifled silkworm or pupa), as well as processed silk in the form of silk hankies, throwsters waste, sari silk, and silk tops. Not just cultivated mulberry silk white tops, but wild silk too (Eri and tussah silk tops). Ooh … the colours and texture are gorgeous.
I decided to spin some of the silk tops using my Ashford Traditional. I’ve been having some problems with my drive band over the past couple of weeks. I wore out the old band, which snapped a few weeks ago. I want to spin some really fine yarn, but the old band wasn’t the right length to drive the smallest whorl (12.5:1 ratio) on my new Jumbo flyer. And I couldn’t see a way of driving all 4 whorls with the same band … the maiden wouldn’t go back far enough. So I came up with a plan to have 2 separate bands … one for the slower whorls and one for the faster whorls. So far so good and it worked a treat for a while. Then the new band snapped and I shortened it too much, so it wouldn’t go round the smaller whorls. By this time I’d run out of new bands and was too mean to pay the delivery charge for replacements. 💡I had some flax thread … would that work? It seemed fine and worked on the 9.5:1 whorl. Then the flax stretched so drive band was slipping and there was no twist and the thread wouldn’t pull onto the bobbin. undeterred, I shortened the flax until it was all working again and I could spin a fine thread. At least it gives me breathing space til I buy the right drive band. All this was an excellent chance to put my learning about the mechanics of the spinning wheel into practice 🤣
So this week, I’ve put learning into practice, isn’t that fab!
Spinning silk is lovely once you’ve got the rhythm … the hand feel is exquisite and the thread is shiny and strong. But the different silks feel different. The cultivated silk (mulberry) is pure white, soft and very smooth. The Eri tops is a fabulous colour … I keep looking at it and smiling with glee,; it’s a slighter feel rougher or perhaps stickier is a better word. It drafts well, although you need to know the staple length (although silk cocoons are a continuous thread, they are cut for tops) to avoid breaking and clumping. Holding it very lightly in the fibre hand and drafting about 2-3 cm, using short forward draft worsted, seems to work well. The tussah silk reminds me of my daughter’s baby hair … fine and soft and honey coloured. Again, a sticky texture and a different, slightly longer draft.
I’m still deciding what to do with this spun silk, once I’ve drawn off some samples for my notebook. I have an ambitious idea about making a lace curtain for my craft room. I’m also considering blending with blue-faced Leicester tops or border Leicester fleece or Hampshire down fleece for socks … more about these ideas another time!
Top left Silk cocoons; top middle mawata hankies, sari silk and throwsters silk; top right white mulberry silk, Eri silk and honey coloured tussah silk; bottom mulberry, Eri and tussah silk spun onto bobbins
Spinning Janesox 