I am a spinner at heart.
I learned to spin before I learned to do pretty much anything else in the textile arts. Oh wait... I could crochet those big rugs! After a brief love/hate thing with my wheel, I was home! I learned to dye (second fiber love) because of spinning! I knew I was a goner the first time I sat at a wheel when I put my foot on that treadle, pushed down and watched that wheel go around. You know the feeling, right? The feel, the sound, the smell... at once, I felt at home and connected to my people. I love making yarn. I love the feel of the fiber slipping through my fingers and the control I have over it. I'm constantly mesmerized by the shifting colors as all those fiber are twisted into a single thread. I love making yarn. I love designing yarns. I love building a yarn based on a project, gathering all the pieces needed, then taking all the twists and turns until I have the yarn I dreamed.
Making yarn is my happy place!
If it is also yours then this club might be just right for you.
TEXTURE
Our theme for this spin around the yarn making wheel is going to be ALL about combinations and composition for texture!
We are going to get seriously creative and explore combining different fiber types in one yarn. Yes I know it sounds like what we do all the time but I assure you it is not! Each shipment will include more than one hank and each will be a different fiber or blend and some will include yarn for core spinning and/or plying and there also will be locks in one of the shipments. All kinds of fiber fun.
I was seriously inspired this past holiday as I spent some time tidying my spinning stash. I finished yarns that needed completion and also used up bits and pieces of rovings, locks and yarn that were begging to be used. And…I also unearthed my very first hand spun. I know! I found all of this quite inspiring and was reminded of just how creative we can be in making our own yarn. So my dear yarn making friends we are going to expand our creative horizons a bit and make some seriously fun yarns using differing spinning techniques such as core spinning, coiling, thick and thin. And then there’s the ply you can change so much of a yarns narrative (yes I did!) with simple shifts in plying form how many to how you hold the and the take up. There are three different themes we are working within that will highlight quite a few techniques throughout. As I said we are not limiting ourselves here!
As always color will play a big role. Of course you can spin our offerings anyway your yarn making heart desires. So we will make sure each offering has that flexibility! In the past we have offered each shipment seperately we are changing that since pretty much everyone joined for all three. Also it is more cost effective on our end.
Here's the plan!
February: It’s all in the ply! Truly it is from what fiber blend each single is, to how many singles we are incorporating, and then if those singles are different thickness or the same and then how they are plied. Using 3 differing fiber and fiber blends we are going to explore some of the many ways we can put them together for desired effects in the yarn and then again in the fabric it creates.
April: Bumpy, loopy and chunky!! One of the things that happens to all of us spinners is we tend to make the same yarn all the time. Stepping outside of that comfort zone open and expands our creative brains and hones our skills. So we are going to play this fat and thin, coils, loops along with some cool plying skills that are textured. Maybe even so me haloing!
June: Yarn from the core! Core spinning is basically creating yarn from a core. We are going to use a wool core because it is sticky so easier add other fibers to without over twisting. We will also include other options incase you want to go stash diving to try other core possibilities. Wensleydale locks and silk will be what we are using to add to our core!!!
Fiber types will include: Merino, Bambu, Bombyx Silk, Wensleydale, Targhee, Tussah and Falkland. Also included in one of the shipments is a surprise fiber.
Our three shipments will be sent in: February 2020, April 2020 and June 2020. In each shipment, you'll receive between 12 to 14 ounces of that month’s fiber offering. In the past most of the shipments were one fiber type, this trio will have all kinds of fibers in them. It all depends on what fiber adventure we have cooked up for you. You will also receive an email from me with Dyer's Notes. These notes will include some my experience and thoughts on everything from my inspiration, to the fiber type (composition) which will include some breed specific information and history, color and dye choice, ideas for how to spin it for different types of texture and also color patterning along with the best spin, ply, and weight yarn and the knitting or weaving it works best within each theme.
And... a 15% discount code in the first dyer's notes that is good from the first shipment to the last. Each club package will only be available to you. You can order more of the kit fiber, or other fibers and yarns we offer, in that colorway whenever you wish. We will not be offering these specific spinning kits to the general public at anytime.
If you love to spin, love color and texture, and have an adventurous fiber spirit, I hope you’ll join us as we explore fibers and types and round out our spinning experience. Just like Sock Club, there are limited openings. Actually, because it takes fiber so long to dry and space for that is at a premium, we are more limited in available spots for this club. So if you purchase one month and decide later you would like the whole three month option there is a chance we could be out of spaces.
NO DISCOUNTS OR COUPONS APPLY TO ROCKIN' WHORL CLUB PURCHASES.
Please note that the price does not include shipping, which will be calculated based on your package weight and your location then added at checkout.
