This blog has now moved to "Cady May's Corner"
http://cadymayscorner.blogspot.com
where I post a bit about spinning, spindolyns and sheep and farm stuff.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Straight from the hip, angled spinning

One result of this summer's weather has been the growth of weeds on the farm of "Amazon proportion". The electric fence around the sheep pasture has disappeared under the growth. Dealing with this has left me with poison ivy on the wrists and arms, and shoulders so tired from running the weedeater that it is hard to lift an arm for drafting.
Enter...."hip spinning!"
That is setting the spindolyn on an angle and off to the side of your body so that you can spin across your lap and not have to lift your arm very high.The only problem I have with this is that my ample thigh needs a little more clearance room, so I am thinking of a sort of little pillow thingie to prop the spindolyn against...or maybe a bean bag base with extra side padding...
Anyway, it was a perfect sunday, my son and his lady came to visit, a nice, long, good old fashioned southern summer visit. Then when they left, I sat down in the fading afternoon light and spun from the hip for a while, then later in the evening, when "Nature" came on, I discovered that this angle of spinnning allows me to look straight through the drafting yarn, to the TV, so I don't have to miss any of the wonderful ocean photography.
I got this much done yesterday (!) in two short sittings, and owe it to the angle.

You can see from the photo that my spinning is sort of sloppy, this is hand carded, gnoppy fleece, and I would prefer to be relaxed and enjoying my fleece, rather than be too perfectionist about it. I am not worried about the pigtails, they will all come out in the ply!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Too Hot to Spin? I think not!!

I dug out the basket of naturally dyed fleece from last fall and started in on some bright yellowish green (marigold, alum mordant)

It is not too hot to spin, you just have to be strategic about it….