This is the first of a new series of posts about what I'm up to in the studio. This month has held a lot of variation but something I've taken a lot of joy from lately is prepping and spinning wool so that's what the first peek into my studio is about!
There are a number of different ways to prepare wool for spinning into yarn. By far my favorite is Flick Carding wool locks that have been dyed multiple colors. Nobody who knows me will be surprised to learn that I prefer a method that’s slow and labor intensive even by pre-industrial standards. A lot of spinners prefer their blotchily dyed fibers to be blended together with cards or combs to make uniformly colored prepped wool for spinning. But I love the dynamic way the colors dance around each other in the yarn when they’re spun after being flick carded. Think of it like mixing paint on the canvas, instead of on a palette before application.
To use a flick carder, I hold the wool locks with my left hand at one end against my (heavily padded) leg and hold the Flick Carder toward the base of the handle in my right hand. Then I “flick” the carder onto the ends of the wool that I’m not holding. The locks are then turned around so that the other end can be carded. “Flick” is a little more gentle a word than what actually happens. It’s more of a smack. The end of the locks open up and the whole thing becomes a little floof that can be spun into yarn.
Since dying raw wool takes a fair amount of time even if there’s only one batch, I usually spend an entire day or two doing it. I dyed wool a few months ago and am still working my way through all my colorful fluff. When there’s one tote box full that still needs to be combed or flick carded I’ll dye some more so that there’s always a large selection to choose from. Both combing and flick carding take a toll on my body so I only do small amounts at a time.
It’s pretty exciting when I get enough locks flick carded to spin a skein of yarn. What is “enough” is different for everyone. If you buy a braid of prepped and dyed fiber for spinning, it will usually be four ounces. Four ounces makes quite a lot of yarn at the weight I usually spin at so I’ve been prepping two ounces recently. “Weight” in yarn usually refers to the approximate diameter. This isn’t not standardized across commercial yarns and now that I’ve started thinking about it, the whole subject deserves its own post. For those of you who spin or work with yarn, I usually spin somewhere between a heavy lace or light fingering. If you’re making a garment or yardage with hand spun yarn, you need a lot of it. These days, I use mine in tapestries and I don’t use very much at a time. To go back to our paint analogy, I’d rather have lots of smaller tubes of different colors than just a few large ones.
The last tapestries I removed from the loom are my favorite I’ve ever made because of the way the different weights and textures of yarn came alive in the patterns. Going forward I’ll be using more of my hand spun yarns in my work. I’ve been dreaming about this electronic wheel from Ashford for a long time. Having a spinning wheel I can put on my desk would make for a more ergonomic setup which is something I’m always on the lookout for. In the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying playing with colors on my Ashford Elizabeth ii wheel. I can’t wait to get a new warp on the loom and start weaving with my newly spun yarns!
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