What I learned about getting even at SOAR

Three years passed after SOAR 2008.     For the first time, I am ready for classes again.  I have the smallest expectations for this technique class (Getting Even with Michelle Boyd).  That means, of course, that it was the BEST time.  

Her initial exercises made me twitch.  She had us put inch-wide tape on our legs, with an inch in between, so that we had our own 1, 2 and 3 inch ruler.  Then she gave us a long staple fiber to spin.  Do 1 inch drafts.  Then do 2 inch drafts.  Then 3 inches.  Predictably, the 1 inch draft had me fighting the fiber, and the 3 inch spinning looked great.  Then she gave us Ashland Bay merino.  One inch, no problem.  Two inches was dicey.  Three inches was a horror.  I raised my hand.

"I understand the one inch looking good, but is the three inch supposed to really suck this bad?  Or do I just suck as a spinner?"

Of course.  Can't make a staple do what a staple doesn't want to do.  She had us count treadles, as we drafted a uniform length of fiber.  This is Mabel Ross, yes?  It worked.  Nice looking yarn.

Many railed against the discipline.  Few like to count.  I did it for several weeks after SOAR, and now it is intuitive.  The rhythm is in the hands and the feet, without counting.  My yarn is more even.

What else?  Draft in one direction.  Obvious to many, but not to me.  This lazy spinner drafted in whatever direction seemed to feel the best in any given moment.  A bit of long draw as the twist went past the fingers, some attempt at discipline with short forward draw, then a switch back to short backward worsted draw.  No wonder my yarn did not make me happy.  

Michelle agreeds with Judith on working with the fiber prep that you have:  don't split the top, don't split the roving, avoid pre-drafting.  Drafting seems easier, but doing this actually sets up thick and thin areas that make good, even drafting more difficult.  

The best ah-ha moment was how she handles the thinning of thick spots.  I was taught to stop treadling, go back to the thick spot, roll the twist backwards to release the fibers, and pull the dense spot thinner until it matches the rest of the yarn's grist.

That puts more aligned (worsted) spots interspersed into a woolen yarn.  (The idea is that the thick spots happen during long draw drafting more often than in short forward worsted draw techniques.) Yarn will be more even if you do this:  Roll back the fiber in the opposite direction from the spinning twist.  Do this at the end of the thick spot closest to the orifice.  Then ease the pinching hand back through the thick spot, away from the orifice, gently rolling as you go.  That allows the twist to enter the thick spot more evenly.  

(Of course, if you are spinning a worsted draw, and get a thick spot, go with the old release-the-twist-and-pull-gently to distribute the fibers more evenly along the yarn.  Then you are simply putting worsted spots into worsted-spun yarn.)

Internal mirth almost got the best of me when, three hours later, in a color class, Deb Menz said STRIP your roving, SPLIT your top, predraft EVERYTHING, and draft however YOU want.  The goals were different, of course.  Spinning for color, spinning for even yarn, all are arrows in the quiver of the spinner's skillsets.  We swap out whatever works for what kind of yarn we want to produce.  

The rigid heddle loom (borrowed from Lynn) has a Mission Falls cotton dishcloth in progress.  I warped for two towels.  Youtube made hemstitching easy.  Chalk up a new skill that will make my woven ends more cohesive.  

I have bit off somewhat more than I can chew right now.  There are too many projects, too many new things.  NaBloPoMo would have been perfect, but I forgot.  

I am SO far behind.  A picture from Rhinebeck.  You-know-who to the left, Angela Ho to the right.  

 

 

 

Comments

[Carole]

It's funny how every spinning class gives different advice. Not that I would know since I've never actually taken a class! Thanks for taking the time to summarize all that you learned.

[Lynn]

You'll have to blog every day for the rest of the month to catch up with yourself, you know. And that's very nice hem-stitching, btw.

[Marcia]

Mission Falls? Who knew? Love the towel and now I must try hemstitching, darn it.

[margene]

I learn more from your posts than I have in any other forum. You learn, you incorporate, you produce...more than I can say for myself. Weaving is a fast way to use the handspun you've produced. If only you would blog every day for the rest of the month!!

[gayle]

Shortly after I started spinning, a very nice lady gave me a whole stack of spinning books. I diligently read through them and found that they all contradicted each other. One spinner's 'Always' was another spinner's 'Never'...
So, I decided to just wing it. Whatever I did was 'right' in someone's book.

[Cathy]

Love gayle's comment - so true.

And love your posts. Always insightful and entertaining. Well, almost.

[June]

What Gayle said could be equally applied to parenting books. Whatever you decide to do, just surround yourself with like-minded people and all will be fine. Probably.

[Judy]

My mechanic once told me that 'there's an ass for every seat'. I love hearing everyone's ideas. All valid.

[Caroline M]

I've had exactly one spinning class. I'd been spinning over a year at the time and it was one major lightbulb moment after another. When I started I said I was never spinning plain white, never spinning laceweight, never getting into that breed thing and never counting treadles. It turns out that the last one was the key to getting exactly the yarn I want on a given day and repeating it later without producing dozens of samples.

Needless to say I've bust all the other "nevers" too.

[Kim]

Aww....I love your last picture! I missed them very much this year.

Interesting lesson at SOAR!