#archfeycrafts

[definitelynotanarchfey]

A glorious gift has arrived!

I came home today from work to find a gift package had arrived in the mail from my friend @robotzebra . Please gaze at this absolutely stunning shawl they have knit for me! I am so amazed at the many many leaves and just look at that gorgeous mossy colour. (Yes, I might be a bit mental about this and I am not going to take it off for... a few days at least)

[definitelynotanarchfey]

To exactly no one's surprise, I have gotten another spindle. This one is a tibetan support spindle.

Admittedly this purchase was well thought out. I even borrowed a friend's spindle to see if the tibetan style is better for me than the russian support spindle I struggle so much with.

Considering this is what I made on first try, I would say yes. It is absolutely more comfortable for me.

[definitelynotanarchfey]

Spinning while travelling today.

Maybe I will finally manage to finish this single.

[definitelynotanarchfey]

Another day, another project started. I´m spinning 200gramms of this watermelon green corriedale fiber for a friend.

[definitelynotanarchfey]

It is time to break up my giant 1kg braid into manageable chunks of ca. 50g. This is Eiderwool, a type of wool mix from northern Germany, where the sheep graze to take care of the greenery on the dams. The mix generally has a lot of Suffolk and Texel, but also often some Southdown. It likes to spin thicker rather than finer, but tends to turn out fairly soft. It also has the best wool smell I have found so far (for me it smells like sheep and watermelon, which... how did the melon get in there??)

[definitelynotanarchfey]

Meet Thistle!

Hello Tumblr. I am proud to present my newest aquisition. After much calculations and budgeting, she is finally mine. I am, of course, speaking of my brand new spinning wheel, Thistle.

She is an Ashford Traveller 3, though I built her with a Standard Flyer, not the Sliding Hook Flyer the model ususally comes with, as I cannot actually grip the sliding hook grips properly. And, you know, if I'm spending a bunch of money on my dream spinning wheel, it better have a flyer I am actually happy with.

She arrived here in a big box, together with a bunch of fiber and some other tools I had ordered together with it. Then within the Ashford box, everything was carefully wrapped in shipping paper.

I must agree with a good friend of mine that building an Ashford wheel does feel a lot like building a piece of Ikea furniture. If anyone is thinking about getting one themself, be aware:

1) They ask for candle wax to put on the screws before screwing them in. This is a very important step! I forgot with exactly one screw and immediately regret it.

2) The step where you secure the wheel can be very fiddly and may cost your sanity.

3) Ashford apparently thinks spinners have good grip strength. If you struggle with twisting the treadle connection, jewellery plyers may help.

Of course, now it was time to do a little test spin. After all, you cannot get a new wheel without immediately going spare over it and never shutting up about it. So I picked up a small bit of italian wool fluff and went at it. And wow, she is so smooth compared to my trusty vintage Princess Heidi! I, however, will need a little practice.

[definitelynotanarchfey]

Just a pile of squares that I definitely do not have evil plans for, noooooooo...

[definitelynotanarchfey]

New skill aquired!

Yesterday, I went out with a friend to teach people about spinning. The day went well, but unexpectedly, I also picked up a new skill myself. My friend had brought their pin loom - something I had showed interest in before, but had not yet gotten around to asking them to teach me.

Well, it was empty this time, so I asked them to show me how to make a square. My friend being the absolute gem they are, not only did so, but also lent me their pin loom for practice till they get around to finishing another of their projects on their other loom.

Behold! My creations!!

Yes, that is a fork.