I learned SO much at the Spinners Loft. Leslie is a great spinning instructor and full of interesting life stories. When I arrived at her tranquil location right on the ocean I knew I was in for a treat!
After Don dropped me off at Leslie's we had a quick tour of her studio, full of colourful fibres and hand crafted tools of the spinning trade. A quick visit and off to bed. A gorgeous view of the ocean from my pillow.
In the morning I was introduced to Leslie's Paleo diet talents, delicious wild strawberry and coconut flour pancakes with sausage and excellent coffee. (I learned later that her daughter and son-in-law own a coffee house and roast their own coffee beans at Two If By Sea.)
In the studio Leslie put me to work spinning a white wool strand and then a brown wool strand. I learned the difference between a worsted and woollen spin, and Z or S twist. I also got to see her Triple Picker and Drum Carder at work. Both great low tech-tools that speed up the fleece preparation process.
After a fabulous Chinese Chicken salad lunch I learned proper plying procedures. Leslie has a wonderful teaching strategy for knowing how much twist to put into your ply so that the resulting yarn is balanced and hangs perfectly so that it is easy to knit with. My first attempt at plying was a bit under plied, but my second attempt hung perfectly. My third try was over plied, so I ran it through the spinning wheel in the opposite direction and was able to achieve a balanced yarn. So much to learn!
After coffee break Leslie demonstrated a few novelty yarn spinning techniques. Examples of core yarn, tufts, snarl, knot, etc. Made me realize there is so much more to try!
To end the studio day I spun some different fibres. I enjoyed spinning flax, mohair, cotton and silk noile. This was a great opportunity to try other fibres to see how they handle. Each is very different to spin but not impossible. Thank you Leslie. What a truly enlightening experience!!
After Don dropped me off at Leslie's we had a quick tour of her studio, full of colourful fibres and hand crafted tools of the spinning trade. A quick visit and off to bed. A gorgeous view of the ocean from my pillow.
In the morning I was introduced to Leslie's Paleo diet talents, delicious wild strawberry and coconut flour pancakes with sausage and excellent coffee. (I learned later that her daughter and son-in-law own a coffee house and roast their own coffee beans at Two If By Sea.)
In the studio Leslie put me to work spinning a white wool strand and then a brown wool strand. I learned the difference between a worsted and woollen spin, and Z or S twist. I also got to see her Triple Picker and Drum Carder at work. Both great low tech-tools that speed up the fleece preparation process.
After a fabulous Chinese Chicken salad lunch I learned proper plying procedures. Leslie has a wonderful teaching strategy for knowing how much twist to put into your ply so that the resulting yarn is balanced and hangs perfectly so that it is easy to knit with. My first attempt at plying was a bit under plied, but my second attempt hung perfectly. My third try was over plied, so I ran it through the spinning wheel in the opposite direction and was able to achieve a balanced yarn. So much to learn!
After coffee break Leslie demonstrated a few novelty yarn spinning techniques. Examples of core yarn, tufts, snarl, knot, etc. Made me realize there is so much more to try!
To end the studio day I spun some different fibres. I enjoyed spinning flax, mohair, cotton and silk noile. This was a great opportunity to try other fibres to see how they handle. Each is very different to spin but not impossible. Thank you Leslie. What a truly enlightening experience!!
The view from my pillow!
Leslie in her kitchen preparing delicious meals.
The Spinners Loft studio.
Leslie and some of her knitted projects from her own spinning.
Leslie using her triple picker to separate locks of alpaca fleece.
(Notice the original kimono hanging on her wall)
Her you can see a pile of the alpaca locks after going through the triple picker.
Now they are like a cloud of air!
Samples of Leslie's plied yarns.
Notice the first three white yarn samples:
#1 on left - too much ply causes the yarn to twist in a Z direction.
#2 - just right amount of ply, a nice balanced U shape.
#3 - too little plying causes the yarn to twist in the S direction.
#4 (brown and white) - Just right, balanced ply
#5 - too much ply, the yarn twists in a Zdirection.
My first ply of white and brown spun yarn. The balance was pretty good.
Winding some yarn into a ball on the winder.
Leslie showing how to spin some novelty yarns.
