How to decide whether to comb or card a fleece once it is washed, is the topic of today's podcast. I also do a hands on recording of the packet process I use to wash wool locks and then review the results of that project. In the closing I invite listeners to join the Ravelry group for Yarnspinnerstales, for our first spin along. In March we are going to investigate spinning singles and knitting with the yarn. Music in today's podcast is from Music Alley . Interlude music is by George Winston and...
Feb 28, 2011•57 min•Ep. 59
Fibers combs all are designed to give the spinner lovely top to spin. But with such a wide variety of type of combs available to the spinner, how does one decide which is right for them? That is the question I talk about in this podcast, discussing things I know from experience, and from internet research. One interesting webpost I discovered was about a person's attempt to recreat an old Icelandic comb, which was probably used both from human and animal hair. That site can be found here . Sever...
Feb 14, 2011•44 min•Ep. 58
This unusual and pointy looking object really is a useful tool for blending. On the hackle is both merino top and dyed angora, being blended into a wonderful top. In the podcast I talk about the process for using this tool. I decided not to make a video, even though with this tool it is very helpful to see someone using it. I made this decision because there are already several good ones by other fiber artists on YouTube. I recommend Bluemtnhandcrafts videos. The first of three is here. The musi...
Jan 29, 2011•46 min•Ep. 57
In this last podcast on working with color in your spinning, I take the fiber I dyed in the six tertiary colors and discuss how to blend and spin them for a shawl. There are many options, and I must admit I have not made my final decision. But I certainly had a good time exploring the possible comibinations and found some lovely multicolored yarns along the way. I did take some photos along the way, and will have those posted on my blog Yarnspinners . The photo here is just one of those, showing...
Jan 10, 2011•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 56
Talking about color turned into such a long conversation for my daughter and I that we had to make it into two podcasts. Here is part two of that discussion. For many years I just picked a dyed fiber because I loved the colors, spun it, and wondered what the yarn would look like when I was done. Now armed with some of the tools found with the color wheel, I have a better chance of not only knowing what will result, but maybe changing something to make it look more like I want. The photo on the p...
Nov 10, 2010•39 min•Ep. 55
Color is one thing spinners seem to either love or hate. This podcast is the first part of a conversation between my daughter and I on color theory and how spinners can apply those theories to the vibrant fibers they spin.
Nov 10, 2010•38 min•Ep. 54
Talking and spinning can go hand in hand, even if it's via microphone for me and an mp3 player for you. I do a recap of the last few months, including a wrap up of the Tour de Fleece spinning, and entering skeins into the state fair. And speaking of state fairs, this podcast has captured some of the stars of the barns, as I stroll along and look at the sheep. I ran into a new breed for me Dorper Sheep , take a look! There's a yarnspinnerstale too, on creativity. Along inbetween is some good musi...
Oct 23, 2010•46 min•Ep. 53
The last part of the three part fiber dyeing series discusses my experiences with using walnut leaves (and mordants) to produce the lovely colors shown in this photo. I also talk about making and using the 'quick' version of an indigo dyepot, a totally magical dyeing experience, since the fiber comes out of the pot one color and turns blue as it sits in the air. I also spend a bit of time talking about just how fiber feels after it's been dyed and dried, how not to felt it, and how to get it bac...
Sep 28, 2010•45 min•Ep. 52
Part 2 of the three part series on dyeing discusses dyeing wool with acid dyes to a specific color. I challenged myself to try and create the color wheels tertiary colors with dyes, and found some failures and successes along the way. Listen in as I talk all about all of that experience. Music for today's podcast continues with the theme of color and is from the podsafe music network. The interlude music is by Psykosoul and is called Coloring Outside the Lines. The closing song is by Matthew Ebe...
Aug 28, 2010•59 min•Ep. 51
Part one of a three part series on dyeing fiber. Listen in as I explore the saran wrap method of putting color on just part of your fiber. Shown here in the photo is a Cotswold roving, gray in color with russet and purple dyes applied with the method. And since dyeing is of course all about color, today's music has the theme of color. The music is from the Podsafe Music network and includes these musicians: Eric Strom with Oh the Colors Marie Crehan with the hauntingly lovely Orange & blue A...
Aug 14, 2010•57 min•Ep. 50
Sitting and spinning just seems to go along with sitting and chatting. So today's podcast is three different sections, all on topics that I love to talk about. First segment is a fiber review of carbonized bamboo. It's what I am spinning while recording the podcast. The next section is about my plans for the Tour de Fleece spinning challenge. If you are not familiar with this, more information can be found on Ravelry. The idea is to challenge yourself as a spinner during the time that those bike...
Jul 12, 2010•51 min•Ep. 49
Throwing dye and wet fiber into a dye pot can be fun, and is certainly one way to color your fiber. But if you are like me and end up with many different rovings, dyestuffs and techniques, a bit of planning before the dye day will help. That's the topic of today's podcast, as I get ready for a big dye day of my own. The music in this podcast is from the podsafe music network . The interlude melody is Everything Begins by Dan O . The closing song is by Sunburn in Cyprus and is called In the Sunsh...
Jun 22, 2010•52 min•Ep. 48
Book reviews! Three books on dyeing with natural dyes are reviewed in this podcast. And since it is a spin in, there a yarnspinnerstale as well. As promised, here are the links, thanks for your patience! Jenny Dean is the author of two of the books I review, The Craft of Natural Dyeing, and Colours from Nature, A Dyer's Handbook. Her blog is full of her natural dyeing projects and her books and dyestuff are available at D & K Crafts. The second book reviewed is Dyes from American Native Plan...
May 31, 2010•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 47
Spinning tools: Do you have them? Do you need them? For this podcast I talk about the tools needed for three areas of the yarn creation process, tools for fiber prep, tools for spinning yarn, and tools to handle that yarn. The wonderful music for today's podcast is from the podsafe music network . Interlude music is by Celtic Reboot and is called Aufbruch/Am Feuer. The closing song is by David Wilcox and is Open Hand the title track to his album. I used three books from my library as references ...
May 08, 2010•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 46
Coopworth and Polypay are two sheep breeds reviewed in this podcast. And since spring is here in all it's glory, the spin in is held on the front porch. Grab your MP3 player, fiber and favorite spinning tool and join me for some spinning without a purpose, spinning, just because. A big thank you to the Milk and Honey Farm for the use of their adorable picture of polypay lambs on this blog and the Itunes photo. All music is from the podsafe music network. A special thank you to Wren Ross for her ...
Apr 18, 2010•49 min•Ep. 45
Fiber Fairs! My true first sign that spring is here. In this podcast I talk about both sides of those events, attending as a buyer, and also as a seller. And if you don't have the chance to go to a local fiber fair, and have the urge to shop after listening, check out my Artfire store at Zavagant Studio . Music today is from the podsafe music network and includes Bonny Morgan's wonderful version of Scarborough Fair Dorchester Fair by The Legendary Ten Seconds Happy Spring and happy spinning!...
Apr 05, 2010•55 min•Ep. 44
An unplannned spinning sabatical while my day to day life gets rearranged. During this time I will be taking care of a post surgery husband, looking for part time work in my old career and in general not finding the time to spin. Since a podcast often takes 8-10 hours of my time, I have decided to take a three month break from podcasting. But I will be thinking about the podcast, and evaluating if it will come back in the same format or use this time for creating a new format. Meanwhile, a big t...
Feb 14, 2010•13 min
Thawing the ice of spinner's block, or any block to the creative energy takes different things for different people. What helps you get back to spinning, when it's been way too long? I discuss a few of my ideas in the first part of this podcast. The second segment is a review of a great spinning DVD by Insubordiknit called Sit and Spin. Ah, but she teaches so much more than just spinning plain old yarn, as she covers various techniques for creating artyarns. You can (and should) find her DVD her...
Jan 20, 2010•43 min•Ep. 43
Two spinning wheels and the same experiment, spinning a specific diameter of yarn by changing only the tension on the wheel. The first wheel used is the Roberta electric spinning wheel and I talk about that experience in the first part of this podcast. In the second part I record the experiment as I am trying it on my Haldane spinning wheel. In both cases I found that it really does work, and can change the way you look at your spinning wheels' capabilities. Photos of the samples spun on both sp...
Dec 18, 2009•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 42
Got grist? If not, this podcast will help you understand just what this spinning term means, how it is figured and why it's an important part of spinning a specific yarn. This episode continues the discussion of spinning a certain type of yarn, regardless of the fiber you choose. This time we are not going to just copy a commercial yarn, but start from nothing but the idea of spinning yarn for socks. A very important link on the web was mentioned in the podcast and it can be found here . It is t...
Nov 29, 2009•52 min•Ep. 41
It was suppose to be yarn for socks, but.... How often do we say that as spinners. If you have found a specific project that you want to make from hand spun yarn, and you want some tips on how to spin the yarn the right size, listen to this podcast. My blog can be found here . I now have a website studio on Artfire which is called ZavagantStudio. I have lovely fibers ready to spin, and even a sampler box of fibers, that allow you to spin a variety of fibers. And for the knitters and weavers that...
Nov 21, 2009•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 40
This podcast continues the discussion of how to buy fibers for spinning and then store them. I first talk about what to look for when purchasing the non wool fibers, like alpaca, mohair and angora. The second part goes into how to store your fibers until you are ready to wash the fleece or spin them. I have more photos of a recent fleece that I was prepping for storage on my blog. I could not ignore the holiday though, and since it is Halloween, my yarnspinner tale is an original ghost story I t...
Oct 24, 2009•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 39
Buying a fleece straight from the sheep is the true starting point for many spinners. In this podcast I talk about thinking through the process before you actually go shopping, and then what to look for when you are finally ready to buy. I would like to include references to two books that I mention in this podcast: Turning Wool into a Cottage Industry by Paula Simmons In Sheep's Clothing by Nola and Jane Fournier Music is from the podsafe music network and was the instrumental Change of Autumn ...
Oct 10, 2009•55 min•Ep. 38
The wonderful fluffy sheep is one of the breeds I talk about in today's spin in podcast, the Polworth. I also discuss the Southdown sheep breed. I've put in a small segment for beginner spinners on just how I fiddle with my spinning wheel when starting to spin a new to me fiber. And if it is a spin-in then there must be a story, and today's yarnspinnertale is about sense of humor. Here's the promised links! Here's a good link for more information about the Polworth sheep. I have a group on Ravel...
Sep 13, 2009•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 37
It's like a spinning studio, in a book size box. That's how the charkha spinning wheel is described in the podcast. Along with many fun stories involving spinning on this unique spinning tool, we also try to give you specifics on just how to spin on one yourself. Every now and then it seems that the pictures really will speak louder than the words, so to help you understand just what we are talking about we have posted a video on Youtube. Here's a direct link for it. You have to pick which to do...
Aug 21, 2009•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 36
It's July and the spinning is easy. Grab your fiber and favorite spinning tool and listen in as I talk about washing alpaca fiber, keeping angora bunnies cool in the heat. Music used in today's podcast in from Music Alley , formerly the podsafe music network. A big thank you to all the musicians that put there music out there for us to hear, we love you for it! Summerfeeling is the name of the interlude music and it's by Dreamweaver . Triple6fusion played Night of the Dancing Guitars. The wonder...
Jul 31, 2009•1 hr•Ep. 35
This podcast talks about carding with handcarders, or a drumcarder. Not only is it a wonderful way to get your fiber ready to spin, it is also a very useful tool for blending fibers or colors. Carding with handcards is shown on this video. We made this video when we were podcasting about cotton, but the concept of carding is the same, and I thought it would be good to include the link again. There was a big announcement quietly made in this podcast: My new online shop! This shop will be a place ...
Jul 07, 2009•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 34
It's Spin in time, grab your fiber and listen in as the podcast reviews two spinning books and later a yarnspinnerstale about best friends. The books in the review this podcast are Spinning Designer Yarns by Diane Varney, and the newly released book by Judith Mackenzie McCuin. I have a group on Ravelry now, come join us! Here's a direct link, or you can go to Ravelry, click the groups tab and search for yarnspinnerstales, you should get a link to connect to the group. It seems that the Podsafe M...
Jun 22, 2009•57 min•Ep. 33
Spinning non wool fibers, part two. The protein non wool fibers are the topic of today's podcast which includes silkworm silk, soysilk, and milk fiber. The photo shown here is dyed soysilk. Some more photos of the fibers we talk about are on the blog here . Music today is from the Podsafe Music Network and includes the following musicians: Opening song: If Everybody Loved the Blues by Mean Gene Kelton and the Die Hards. The interlude music was a portion of Chris Harper's Deep Blue Sky. Closing s...
Jun 01, 2009•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 32
Bamboo and Tencel, those shiny, slippery, shiny, ecofriendly, shiny, nonwool, shiny fibers (did I tell you that they are shiny?) are the topic of today's podcast. Another spinner joins me today to talk about why these and other non wool fibers are all she spins. If you have wanted to try these fibers (did I tell you that they are shiny?) this is the podcast to help get you started. We refer to lots of things on the internet, so here's a listing of what I hope is all the links: The youtube video ...
May 16, 2009•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 31
