Of new looms and progress...

I'll admit it - I'm a collector, and it borders on hoarding. I'm learning to let stuff go, but there are times when a _new_ 'something' is justified. That's the case with my most recent equipment acquisitions. I travel, have a fairly busy life, and wanted to have the ability to bring non-spinning projects on the road, or to coffee shops.

Enter my new toys:

The Ashford Inklette was purchased at the end of May, and the tri-loom early June (that's a slightly better photo of the red skein from my prior post - oddly, it photographed better at night than in daylight...) I also purchased a set of 2-pitch combs from another Guild member, so I can process longer fibres without having to resort to slower manual teasing. With luck, that'll mean more tent spinning this year, since that's been stalled since last summer.

I bought both looms with the idea of using them for weaving in public, and while travelling. Both are extremely portable, and I hope to get some items finished on both in time for Studio Fair. The Guild is suffering some 'momentum' issues, between the ageing membership and waning activity levels, and there has been discussion on whether we would take our 'free' booth for sales, or just display/demo. (Free is in quotes because the Guild earns the space by assisting with Arts Council activities.)

I can't fill it by myself, but I'm committed to making sure it's not entirely empty, and _not_ waste the income opportunity, since the Guild needs those sales as much as I do.

Progress since last post:
I did some plying on the spindle in the photo above, and finished over 120" of tape - didn't photograph it, sadly, because there wasn't time before I had to send it to the Silent Auction winners. Once again, I suppose that means I'll have to make more, so I can add it to the project history.

All that weaving didn't help my neck, so I had to put some things on hold over the weekend - but I did manage to spin 1/3 of a bobbin of Ashland Bay merino/silk, in Rose - which looks more like granite, but will work nicely for some tapes I have in mind.

...it's a bit more grey than that, so it may need a daylight photo. I also started some merino in Ashland Bay Ruby, on a spindle.

As with most things, I don't know how long I'll keep at this, or how much I'll _do_ with a blog - but I've been pondering a more complete picture of my textile meanderings for a couple years now, and sticking with the GoogleVerse is convenient... so here it is.

I guess this latest bit started with a desire to _see_ for myself what actually gets done, rather than moaning about never getting anywhere... so I've started spindle plying while 'wasting time' on the web.

First week's result? ...one skein of merino. Colour is Ashland Bay Cranberry (189 yards, scale says 24-25g, and much deeper red than pictured - all my other photos pushed it MUCH too purple, but it'll never be an easy shade to photograph)

I always find the differences between my spindle and wheel-spun yarns interesting. This is much loftier and has more 'squoosh' than my usual spindle-spun of similar grist, even though my wheel pulls like a small pony.

...I kinda like that in a wheel... forces the yarn to be stronger, which I need for the lace knitting and band weaving it'll become - and _packs_ it on the bobbin, making it much easier to find an end if one breaks, since they can't bury themselves quite as far.

The difference is probably twist angle - I can whip a spindle into adding a LOT more twist than I'm willing to wait for on the wheel - for this weight, I'm usually treadling nearly 4x per inch... Thumbelina tops out at a 6:1 ratio, give or take, so she's no speed demon.