There are some folks on instagram who are amazing at the craft of spinning yarn – and I hope one day I’m just as good. Look up the hashtag #spinnersofinstagram and you’ll see what I mean!
To get better at something like this you have to practice every day, just like any other skill that involves muscle memory. I’m hoping that a year from now I can look back and see a clear line of progress in my spinning, too.
I recently acquired a new-to-me spinning wheel: an Ashford Kiwi 2. It has been quite some time since I did any spinning, especially since my Tom Thumb has been down for repairs since I got it, but I used to drop spindle on my turkish spindle daily, and I certainly miss it. This year I’ve decided to participate in the Tour de Fleece, which is an event that runs during the period that Tour de France is running.
You can find all the information about it here on Ravelry. There are no hard fast rules, it’s supposed to be fun. I have also joined up with the Twitch team, and I might get some streaming of my spinning progress done (we’ll see, it’s not a rule that you have to stream it). This will be my first time participating and I’m incredibly excited. I could have joined with my drop spindle, but honestly I think treadle is the way to go for me. Everyone has their specific tastes. Treadling with two feet has been very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to seeing how my spinning progresses.
With that being said, I don’t think I have nearly enough fleece to spin! So I’m looking for fiber. I’ve been browsing through Etsy, and there are just so many options available. Do I want it dyed, natural, what sort of wool – right now I have some llama, merino, and a merino / silk blend.
Are you going to participate? Let me know in comments! The event begins July 6th, and runs until July 28th – I can’t wait to see what everyone spins up!
A few more days and I will be the proud owner of my first Ashford Kiwi 2! I’m so very excited to get this wheel. I am thinking of staining her a dark colour, giving a nice wax and polish, and then it will be time to see how she spins.
Oh, and a name. Of course I need to name her, too.
I just ordered a set of ChiaoGoo needles, and I am impatiently waiting for them to arrive from China. They are sock sizes, in 2″ and 3″ tips, with various cords. I’m hoping to use a tip from each set (the size of the needle is the same, it’s just the length of the tip that differs) and be able to knit TAAT using 2 circulars. We’ll see how it goes, and whether or not ChiaoGoo replaces my love of hiyahiya 9″ circulars. They won’t be here for quite some time, but I will impatiently wait by the mailbox for them to get here.
I love my needle collection, but it took some time to figure out which were my favourites and which I could do without.
I started with Knitpicks, which is a nice low cost beginner brand. If you want to stick with them that’s perfectly fine too, but I decided to move on and I haven’t really looked back. I love their cost effectiveness and they were the first interchangeables I ever purchased – but my favourite, are pictured above.
My favourite needles are bamboo hiyahiya needles. They’re old, I purchased them from another Ravelry user for $15 and they are perfect. The cords don’t fight with me and my only regret is that these are only in sizes 2-8 US and I don’t own anything bigger or smaller. They came with 6 different cords and when it comes to knitting, it’s honestly hard to beat them.
I use these for anything that needs generic knitting needles, the cords are a bit too short (or long, depending) for circular knitting (no sleeves, no socks) but I did use them to knit my last scarf.
Do you have a favourite brand? A favourite needle that you just can’t do without?
stargrace