Beth Smith and Jillian Moreno live about 30 minutes from each other, and spend a lot of spinning time together, trading ideas and cheering each other on. Recently, the two have found weaving sneaking into their thoughts more and more. “Wouldn’t it be fun,” they said, “to do a project where we spin our yarn […]
Read MorePreparing for our third year of Spinzilla, we have learned some things that helped keep the stress down during the week of full-speed ahead spinning. 1. Prep Prior to the week – This can’t be stressed enough. For many of us, we work a job, have families and still need to spin a bunch of yardage. […]
Read MoreWhat I love about Spinzilla is that it gets me spinning! Once I’ve got some momentum, spinning is a meditative, calming wonderland, but as a beginning spinner still, it can be hard to get those treadles moving. Last Spinzilla, however, I spun nearly a mile of fiber, and got a running start at the yarn […]
Read MoreOne of our high-yardage spinners hails from our shipping department. An award winning and published spinner, BettyPaepke is known for her mixing and blending of fibers. As part of preparing her fiber, she loves starting with raw fleece. Betty has been one of our top spinners two years in a row, and this year she […]
Read MoreOne of the industry’s favorite hand dyers of yarn and fiber is Anzula, based in California. I love the consistency and colorways of their fiber braids which include Ocean, Forest, Garden, and Fire. Sabrina searches for yarn bases and fiber that are luxurious and high quality. Anzula also sells a variety of undyed natural fiber. Don’t […]
Read MoreFor the past few months, I have been a subscriber to the Spunky Eclectic Fiber-of-the-Month Club. A service that provides me with hand dyed fiber every month! Each month a different fiber type/breed is chosen and then dyed by Spunky owner, Amy King, in a color way inspired by a photo. I just love getting a mystery […]
Read MoreRecently I had the pleasure to sit down with Beth Smith, the author of The Spinner’s Book of Fleece, and ask her a bunch of questions. Beth Smith is an accomplished spinner who has written many articles and now a fantastic resource book for every spinner. Her book takes the reader on a tour through […]
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Though I know summer is just around the corner, it is still chilly here and has been wet (which is actually lovely for this time of year), but soon it will be nice and warm hot. In anticipation for summer, I have been drawn to working with cotton. It is such a different experience to work […]
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When we weave and spin, we create something new. From nature, we gather that which appears to be formless and apply the uniquely human work of our hearts, hands, and minds. We spin countless individual fibers together into a yarn that is strong. We then cross that yarn with another one, over and under, to make the […]
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Pam spinning at the Denver Art Museum during Spinzilla The opportunity to work at Schacht Spindle Company presented itself to me this summer, and two weeks before starting, Jane Patrick called asking if I wanted to be on the company’s Spinzilla team. I love trying new things but spinning is something I believed I would […]
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“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, and I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it […]
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With Spinzilla a month behind us, I finally have found time to explain how I managed to blend two colors of bamboo fiber into a five-hue shift ombre yarn. Ombre and gradient have been a particularly popular trend over the last couple of years. I decided that I wanted to hand blend my own long-color change […]
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This post is about how each wheel performs from Denise’s perspective. For a list of specifications and additional information, check out our website! With a personal account of each wheel, the comparison chart, and talking with your dealer, you should be able to choose a wheel with ease! On the heels of Spinzilla, I still have […]
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A guide to fine-tuning your tension to make the yarn you want. Your treadle speed, your drive ratio, and your tension all contribute to being able to spin different fibers into different yarns – the possibilities truly are endless. Today we’ll talk a bit about using tension in support of spinning the yarn you envision. As Spinzilla nears ever closer, […]
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As a knitter, I always planned my projects with the finished product in mind, choosing my pattern and recipient, and then the yarn, with great intention. As a spinner, on the other hand, I’ve been acquiring fibers with no knowledge of their destiny, or even how to spin them. I bought my first roving about […]
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Spinning is probably my favorite fiber art. That is a pretty big statement for me, as I love all of the fiber arts tremendously. Although spinning is free and flowing, it still gives me an avenue of utmost control. It is the best of both worlds! Exploring everything from crazy textured yarn to 6-ply lace […]
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From left to right – Top row: 2-ply, singles. Bottom row: 4-ply, 3-ply. Initially when I started thinking about my yarn, I thought “I will make a worsted weight 2-ply yarn.” However when I started to think deeper about my “default yarn,” I realized it wasn’t the weight or ply of the yarn, but the mechanics […]
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Several years ago, I signed up for the Fiber Project at Feederbrook Farm. Then a knitter, I requested my wool share as roving, with the idea that I would one day learn to spin. I moved that fleece across the country with me, and when I interviewed at Schacht I said, “well, I don’t […]
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Default Yarn Challenge – Gail Matthews I was happy when the office staff decided on the “spin your default yarn” challenge because I conveniently had a full bobbin of my default singles waiting (for a year or more) for me to do something with it. Navajo Plied on the Bobbin Not long after I started […]
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Default Yarn Challenge – Paul Paul’s barber pole yarn. This article comes from Denise, who has been a wonderful spinning mentor for Paul. After Spinzilla last year, Paul, who is our master molder and Cranbrook Loom builder, joined the ranks of the spinning enthusiasts here at Schacht. He then took Maggie Casey’s spinning class where she teaches how to […]
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As the Schacht Community Manager, I try to keep aware of what is going on within the various groups on Ravelry. This month I saw a discussion devoted to fractal spinning and immediately thought it would be a marvelous technique to share with our Schacht community. The set-up is simple and the end result can […]
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Spinning Barber Pole Yarn – Benjamin Krudwig Every third Thursday of the month we have an office spin-in during our office meeting. At our last meeting I started spinning some hand-dyed merino roving, a variegated light green and a variegated ocean blue. I spun about 500 yards of singles in both colorways. Initially, I thought I […]
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Teach a man to spin, he will knit for a lifetime. A month and a half ago we participated in a little something called Spinzilla. We blogged and blogged about it and were blown away by the response we had to the event. One of our employees here, Paul E., was one of the people who […]
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Inspiration surfaces in so many ways. Sharing a room with over 280 people with a passion for fiber and weaving is bound to spark some new ideas. This May Colorado Weaver Day took place in Golden and featured a variety of speakers and topics. I brought my Schacht Sidekick spinning wheel hoping to get a […]
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With this installment of Yearning to Weave, we’re evolving our column to include spinning tips and hints. Much like Yearning to Weave, Yearning to Spin is designed to assist new spinners to develop their spinning technique. Stephanie Flynn Sokolov is an enthusiastic and creative spinner. We’re happy to have her contributing to our monthly Yearning […]
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