An Estonian girl who has found a home in Sweden.

Monday, September 14

Nepal Wool, Finished

September 14, 2015 Posted by Vaire ,

This yarn is not the most even yarn I've spun. Partly because of the prep (slight slubs are part and parcel of carded prep), and partly because half way through I switched from the spindle to my antique wheel.

Nepal Wool

I chain plied all the colours one after another into one continuous yarn, it's pretty that way and this yarn truly is not suitable for anything except rugs. I just wanted to get it done.

Nepal Wool

I have also decided that I want another spinning wheel and the above image illustrates why. My antique spinning wheel is very pretty, but it also is very limited in what kind of yarn it makes. I wanted yarn the thickness of the teal and green strands, it wanted yarn the thickness of the navy strand. Yeah, not even close. Just because I wanted to spin up this wool, the wheel won. I was not at all happy with that situation.

So, I set out to find a compact (space is something I have very little of) and versatile (from ultra-fine to super-thick yarn) spinning wheel. I didn't find any modern treadle wheels that matched the requirements and I liked the look of, but I found these beauties. Electronic spinners! Besides that being just way cool in itself, I've watched and read quite a few reviews and they are overwhelmingly positive.

HansenCrafts miniSpinner looks to be versatility incarnate when it comes to making yarn, and the only things that make yarn that are more compact are in fact spindles. The miniSpinners not only match, but exceed my requirements and are beautiful to look at as well. They cost an arm and half a leg, though, but considering that they have a warranty for the lifetime of the makers, and how well made they are, this is a very long term investment.

And speaking of cool 21st century tech for spinning: 3D printed flat-pack bobbins! It won't get any more awesome than that! The Akerworks bobbins for miniSpinner cost less than the originals and one can get a whole rainbow of colours. Or several rainbows in several designs. I am definitely going to get a few for my miniSpinner, the hardest part is deciding which design and colour to choose for which flyer.

I haven't made the purchase(s) yet simply because there is an impending upgrade to the miniSpinner firmware with several enhancements. Impending, as is this week or the next is the release date. After that — spinning equipment shopping spree!