tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post8462609944040547673..comments2024-03-11T11:38:56.028-07:00Comments on A Fisherman Knits: How fast can hand spinners, spin?Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150805906414546377noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-25869395851182787622020-07-19T22:30:45.271-07:002020-07-19T22:30:45.271-07:00My email is teresa@mountain-shadow-ranch.netMy email is teresa@mountain-shadow-ranch.netTeresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788028421195725348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-54580955674083033762016-10-15T18:41:04.953-07:002016-10-15T18:41:04.953-07:00Oh my you live very close to me, I'm in Cottag...Oh my you live very close to me, I'm in Cottage Grove and have a couple of Alden Amos wheels. I think you did a great amount of research to come up with all those numbers. And I also have studied under Alden and I agree with your projections on speed of spinning with a treadle style wheel. I would love to be able to contact you directly and discuss spinning more. I possible if you could email me at spinner@mountain-shadow-ranch.net I would love to discuss this further. I just got done spinning in the Spinzilla event and I had an e-spinner a Woolee Ann with 8 ounce bobbins on it and the best I could do was about 1200 yards of singles from 8 ounces of pencil roving in about 3 hours. That was with the wheel running at about 1200 rpms. I'll be waiting to hear from you and your thoughts.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788028421195725348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-35680433406887255722014-03-12T12:04:46.202-07:002014-03-12T12:04:46.202-07:00Three years ago I sent a big package of sheaths an...Three years ago I sent a big package of sheaths and needles to the Dales Countryside Museum and they paid me with a package of wool from their flock. A year later, I got a note saying that the sheaths and needles were being used for demos, with a series of questions about technique.<br /><br />My understanding is that, at the time, there was only one volunteer that had learned the technique. I have not heard anything since, so I do not know if those demos are still going on. I do not see them on the schedule.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05150805906414546377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-80017494782242906242014-03-11T07:14:09.285-07:002014-03-11T07:14:09.285-07:00"You do know that some major knitting museums...<i>"You do know that some major knitting museums use knitting sheath replicas and needles that I made for their knitting demonstrations? In some ways, that kinda makes me an authority on antique textile production."</i><br /><br />I know you are always entertaining the idea that if we "hobby spinners/knitters/weavers" want to see your work, it is by invitation only. So, since I am certain that I couldn't afford you, I'd like to know which museum so that I may see your work "in the wild". Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05720764571330890914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-67841298326509334632014-03-10T15:12:15.821-07:002014-03-10T15:12:15.821-07:00Anybody that disagrees with me is welcome to spin ...Anybody that disagrees with me is welcome to spin faster, or finer, or both. <br /><br />My interest in antique textile production is solely to improve my knitting and spinning. And, it worked. <br /><br />You do know that some major knitting museums use knitting sheath replicas and needles that I made for their knitting demonstrations? In some ways, that kinda makes me an authority on antique textile production.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05150805906414546377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-16371210809246927072014-02-27T16:26:37.258-08:002014-02-27T16:26:37.258-08:007-ply "lace" weight is just something I ...7-ply "lace" weight is just something I made-up to show how fine the yarns made for weaving shirting were. <br /><br />The shirting yarns were 22,400 ypp. I make such singles up into 7-ply, that comes to a grist that you call "lace". Around here it is sock and glove yarn.<br /><br />The truth of the matter is that 7-ply 3,000 ypp worsted spun makes very good sock and glove yarn. It has so much twist in it that even fine fibers wear well. I swave it on 1.4 mm pricks. It makes a fine, firm, dense fabric, that is very pleasant.<br /><br />I have 22,400 ypp singles around, so to make up a 7-ply lace or glove or sock yarn is the work of a moment. I was making up 10-ply Aran, 6-ply worsted, and I thought I would try the new Lazy Kate on finer singles, so I made up some 7-ply lace and 10-ply sport weight. The new lazy Kate works. Before the new lazy Kate, I cheated and cabled all yarns with more than 5 plies, Thus, Then my sock yarn was cabled 4x2-ply. I like the 7-ply. It is softer, but not as durable. (However, I would guess that the Cistercians of a thousand years ago would recognize the lazy Kate design.)<br /><br />See any of the old texts on weaving in Google Books. There will be some odd units, so you will have to do some unit conversion. You are a spinning teacher so you should be able to do unit conversions.<br /><br />What makes my wheel different is that I built it to be fast, not pretty. I used old technologies. Very recently, I replaced some of the bronze bearings with ball bearings, but the difference is just a matter of how often I lubricate the flier assembly. Bronze bearings are an old technology. The primary reason that it runs fast and smooth is that the flyer is very small. Modern spinners want big flyers. My wheel works very well as Irish Tension, (likely the oldest style wheel.) It works very well ST. And, whether you believe it or not, spinning schools in England circa 1600 taught their students how to adjust double drive wheels. There is likely nothing about my wheel that was not available to professional spinners in Europe circa 1600. Note that the finish is beeswax and walnut oil. <br /><br />Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05150805906414546377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21068675.post-86692922530894914402014-02-25T14:32:23.976-08:002014-02-25T14:32:23.976-08:00I'd like to see the citations for your histori...I'd like to see the citations for your historical statements:<br /><br />7-ply lace weight, ypp of fine shirting or "coarser" cloth, time to spin hanks for each of these. <br /><br />Where did you get this information from? Most sources I have found indicate that weaving was primarily done from singles yarn (why spin seven times the length when one shot through would do the trick?). I'm curious as to where you are finding this information.<br /><br />Even if you can do what you say, I'm not sure there's sufficient evidence for you to extrapolate from your own experience that "everybody" should have been able to do the same on historic wheels. Better technology makes for faster production, as you have stated many times. Your wheel is modified so that it performs differently than historic wheels, so I'm not sure if your conclusions can be retroactively applied to the extant technology of the 16th century. Just as the internal combustion engine was a leap forward from steam, your wheel has been changed so that it doesn't run in the same way that a period wheel would. I'm not sure the comparison is accurate.<br />Badgernoreply@blogger.com