Sunday, July 27, 2014

(Semi-)worsted 5-ply

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I keep going back to the question, "Why 5-ply?" Worsted spun sport weight 5-ply always yields the same answers: durability and ...

Perfection

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I was a member of the ASQC and ASTM. And, I helped draft important technical standards for both groups. I set standards of performance fo...

Time trials

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The new 48 mm whorls for the AA #0 flier are dialed in for singles in the range of 5,600 to 34,000 ypp. So, I brought the darkroom timer ...

Best Spinners

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See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alfie-kohn/practice-doesnt-make-perfect_b_5621590.html?utm_hp_ref=science&ir=Science It seems that...
2 comments:
Monday, July 21, 2014

The yarn is nothing

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I have said that, "yarn is important".   I was wrong.  The fabric is everything. Wool shirting is wonderful stuff.  The yarn fo...
Monday, July 14, 2014

Not Mill Spun

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Members of the spinning police are here, telling me what I am doing wrong. I have spun pounds of 5-ply gansey yarn that looked just like ...
4 comments:

Competition Spinning

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If one wants to spin very fast,  one needs fiber that has been oiled, combed, and drawn through a very fine diz.  You are not going to get ...

DRS

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Sometimes I speak of DRS as a device on the spinning wheel, but it is much more that that.  It is also a way of thinking. It is clear fro...
6 comments:
Sunday, July 13, 2014

Commerical Rates

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The theme of the last year has been, "How fast could a professional spinner in the 17th century spin?" My answer at this time i...
2 comments:
Wednesday, July 09, 2014

The competition flier with the accelerator

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The #0 flier that Alden made for me is back on-line with 50 mm whorls and the accelerator. Reasonable bobbin speed is 3,800 rpm.  This al...

Board like? !

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The classic mill spun gansey yarn has several virtues.  It can be knit fairly loosely, (not too warm) and still have the stitch work that  ...
Sunday, July 06, 2014

Ott Lamps

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Ott lamps have a strobe effect that can be used to detect nuances in flyer speed in real time.
2 comments:

DRS and History

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Alden Amos and I are not on Henry Clem most favored list.  We write about DRS, so people want to buy differential rotation speed (DRS) spin...
Saturday, July 05, 2014

Spinning productively

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Why, Oh Why, comb top, and then knock the fibers out of alignment before spinning?  It is doing the work twice.  No professional does the s...
4 comments:

50 mm whorls

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The new whorls are about dialed in. I am pleased that they allow sustained bobbin speeds in the range of 3,400 rpm.  That is not peak bobbi...
Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Better DRS

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I knew I was going to do this within minutes of sitting down with the accelerator.  I  just did not know when,  I was working on a big pile...
Sunday, June 15, 2014

Knit 2-ply and Lopi

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I like yarns with more plies  Fine2-ply and singles can knit into a nice fabric, when they are knit on fine needles.  And very fine 2-ply k...
11 comments:
Friday, June 13, 2014

Knitting Pins

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These days, my default knitting needles are ~1.6 mm in diameter.  I have them in 10", 12", 14" and 18" lengths. I have ...
1 comment:
Thursday, June 12, 2014

Average Yarn

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Mostly, I spin average yarn. The knit fabrics that I like are warm, durable, and elastic. My path to such fabrics is mostly via hand spun...
4 comments:
Tuesday, June 10, 2014

More on Reading History

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I went to Spinning at the Winery on Saturday. On the way home, the wheel was badly damaged.  Monday morning was spent fixing it, and yester...
3 comments: