Spin Knit Fall 2011 Preview

8/6/2019 Spin Knit Fall 2011 Preview

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Fiber, needles,spindle, wheel

Fall 2011

See

inside

this

issue


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Fall 2010, Volume I

T T S L G S S K D

Contents

Meet the Gleasons care-

fully bred flock of Australian

Bond and Corriedale sheep

and knit a Bond Bon-Bon

Bowler adapted from Susan

Z. Douglass pattern. North

Ronaldsay sheep developed

the ability to subsist on a diet

of seaweed, but their charms

dont end there. Learn about

the many uses of this rich

multi-coated fleece.

Cant wait to get your

hands on some delicious

yarns? For a new spin, try

Jacey Boggss tailspinning

technique for lush textured

yarns and knit her Tailspun

Mittens with your own color

combination. To get maxi-

mum mileage from hand-

some handspun sock yarn,

knit Debbie ONeills Pilaster

Socks.

An old tool has a new

following. Veteran spin-

ner Sara Lamb recounts her

recent but fervent conver-

sion to spindles and shares a

pattern for her Copper Cowl.

A visit to Tom Forresters

Woodshaper Studio reveals

the science and skill that the

master craftsman uses to cre-

ate elegant, quirky tools.

In the Pacific Northwest

and Chiapas, Mexico,

people produce fabric the

way their ancestors did.

Join participants in Ju-

dith MacKenzies Tribal

Treasures workshop as

they coax fiber from cedar

bark and watch Chamulas

Maya shepherdesses turn

fleece from their sheep into

shaggy woven cloth.

The second issue of SpinKnittakes you to places near and far, intro-

duces you to techniques ancient and modern, and explores more

ways to make and use wonderful yarns. Experience the world of

fiber in rich detail.

Going to the Source

How to find these goodies,

visit these places, and find

more to explore

Contributors

Meet the team that sets the

eMag spinning

. . . F

Leaping Lambs, Bouncing

Bonds

The Gleasons baby Bonds

say hello to summer.

On the cover: Clockwise from left: Forrester Russian spindle photo by Sandi Wiseheart; Tzotzil sheep photo Russell Gordon/Danita Delimont.

com; Bond Bon-Bon Bowler photo by Joe Coca. Credits this page: Left to right: Photo by Amy Clarke Moore, photo by Sandi Wiseheart, photo

by Sarah Wroot, photo by Joe Coca, photo by Anne Merrow.All contents of this issue of SpinKnit Interweave Press LLC, 2011. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited, except by permission of the

publisher.

README

S p o n s o r e d b y


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Working with Sacred FleeceToday, you can walk down the

crow e streets o C amu a near

San Crist a or any o its out ying

hamlets on market day, and youll

see unique and dramatic wool

a rics on a most everyone you

pass. You mig t see eece eing

traded at a premium in market

stalls, and you might see women

spinning an weaving in t e streets.

T e spinning is one on eavy c ay-

whorled spindles supported in gourdbowls and the weaving on backstrap

ooms.

Fleece Becomes YarnSpinning is fairly straightforward.

The softer, finer inner fleece is

car e on at- ac e an car s,

an strips o t e resu ting atts

are lifted directly from the cardfor spinning, as you can see in the

vi eo a ove rig t. T e yarn is spun

tig t y to wit stan t e rigors o t e

weaving process; spinners generally

use some version of double drafting

to get a consistent yarn.

T e outer eece, on t e ot er

hand, is spun straight from the

locks and is spun thick and loose

or reasons t at wi soon ecome

c ear. It mig t remin you o a u y

Lopi yarn, but less consistent and

certainly not as soft.

V

Strip by strip, she spins the card-ed fiber onto a supported spindle.

Photo by Robert Medlock. S


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bout an hours drive from the

busy urban life of Toronto,

in a century-old farmhouse,

lives expert spindlemaker Tom

Forrester. If youve been to a

fiber show and picked up an

unusual double-decker spindle

only to find that it spun forever

and a day, then youve touched

some of Toms work.

Tom Foresters studio porch. Photo

by Sandi Wiseheart

A12,000 Spindlesand Counting ...Sandi Wiseheart


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After we finis e our tea, Tom

rove me a s ort istance to GeminiFibres, a small but mighty yarn and

fi er s op run y C ery Jeffery an

Tanis Pottage out of a arn. Gemini

is one of Toms primary istri utors,

and there, spread out on Toms own

custom-made racks, were dozens

of is spin es: roun , square,

exagona ; five-peta e i e a flower,

winged like a futuristic helicopter . . .or carved to resemble a fat woolly

s eep. T ey were painte , etc e ,

urne , carve , an ecorate

with everything from paw prints

to goddesses to leopard spots to

ominoes actua ominoes from

o game sets . A ongsi e t e

spindles are the other wonderful

tools Tom makes: niddy-noddies,

spin e stan s, WPI gauges, wrist

istaffs, an nstepinnes.

At first glance, all you see are the

wonderful designs themselves: a

forest of trees urne into a w or

wit more t an 1,500 in ivi ua

strokes of a vintage Canadian-made

woodburning tool; a double-layeredcreation (the Dervish) with

Tom arranges his spindles on just one of the racks at Gemini Fibres. Photo

by Sandi Wiseheart.

At the lumberyard, Tom

examines a variety of woodsto select the best ones for

making spindles. Photo

courtesy of Tom Forrester.

futuristic o es an cutouts; a gai y

stripe is ; anot er ecorate

with a spider on her web. But each

spindle (yes, even the fat sheep!)

is painsta ing y crafte to spin as

efficient y as an airp anes prope er.

After I had ogled and fondledas many spindles as was politely

possi e, we returne to Toms

wor s op for a itt e tour e in

the wizards curtain. We spindle-

users so rarely get to see the

genesis of our e ove too s, so

I was rea y oo ing forwar to

actually seeing how they weremade.

Using a woodburning tool, Tomcreates designs from bold todelicate on some spindle whorls.

Photo by Sandi Wiseheart.

S


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Breeding Bondsond sheep are uncommon in the

Unites tates, an creating t eir

on an Bon -cross floc was

a ong internationa effort for t eGleasons. After years of breeding

o -sty e Corrie a essma -

frame , wit ense fleeces an

ong stap est e G easons eci e

o bring new genes into their flock.

Bond sheep were developed

in Austra ia an s are some of

e same traits as Corrie a es;

hey arose from a cross betweenMerino and Lincoln sheep, like

Corrie a es, an are a so consi ere

a ua -purpose ree . As a

handspinner, Joanna decided that

fine, long-stapled Bonds would

e a we come a ition to t e

American s eep repertoire. e

began a correspondence with Cyril

ieschke of New South Wales,

Austra ia, a respecte ree er of

co ore Corrie a e, Merino, an

ond sheep who had bred for fine,

dense fleeces. At the time, there

were no Bon s eep in t e Unite

tates, an so t e G easons set

about importing two ewes and two

rams, all warm chocolate brown ine young s eep spent t ree

months in quarantine and transit

unti t ey fina y reac e t eir new

ig -country ome. T e Bon s eep

current y in t e Unite tates are

descended from the four originalAustralian transports, and the

G easons ave esta is e a registry

of Bon s in t e Unite tates.

The four original Bonds were all

moorit, or natural brown. Joanna

exp ains t at t e rown co or is t e

east common an most recessive;

besides producing beautiful fleeces,

the moorit coloring is an indicationof t e egree to w ic t e Bon

genetics are present in a particu ar

animal. A majority of the Gleasons

flock is now some shade of moorit.

Despite t e uge effort require

to esta is Bon genetics, t e

Gleasons are pleased with the

flock they have built. Bond brings

fineness to t e fleece t at can e

compara e to Merino, ut Joanna

admits that part of the decision was

a question of personal preference.

W en you ave to get up at two in

t e morning an oo at t e s eep

to c ec on am ing progress, s e

comments, you have to like how

t ey oo !

Nimbus and James

were the originaltwo Bond ramsimported from

Australia. Photo byJoanna Gleason.

The Gleasonsbegan as breed-ers of old-styleCorriedales

such as the onesshown here.Photo by JoannaGleason.

The Bond and Bond-cross sheep come in a rance of natural colors.

Photo by Joanna Gleason.


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S Patt

Copper CowlSara Lamb

Project Notes

The lower edging, worked sideways after the cowl is completed, gives

an elegant finish.Photo by Joe Coca.

S

P

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