Frontpage Article – Page 12

April Vlog with Jacey and Jillian

April 29, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

On April 24, Jacey Faulkner and Jillian Moreno hosted another quarterly PLY vlog, with a live virtual chat with spinners from all over. If you missed it (or want to watch it again), you can catch up with it on YouTube. In this video, Jacey and Jillian share their favorite parts of the Spring 2021 […]

Replicating Lopi by Substitution

April 22, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

words and photos by Alexina Hicks I like Istex lopi yarn. It’s got character, it’s pretty unique in its genre, and it garners the shelves of a huge section in Icelandic grocery stores for more affordable prices than junk food. It isn’t a surprise that many passionate handspinners have conducted extensive studies to determine how […]

Fiber Salad: The Firehouse Spinners create lasting threads of connection

April 15, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

words and photos by Lisa Mitchell In February 2020, we had no idea that The Fiber Salad Gathering would be one of our last meetings. As a newbie to spinning and the Whidbey Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild, I had been relishing the weekly gathering of spinners. That summer, when I first joined, I had never […]

Lofty Yarn Spun from Finger-Opened Locks

April 8, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

words and photos by Donna Kay I love preparing fiber – whether it is handcombing lustrous locks or carding puffy rolags. But sometimes we forget about the oldest tools of all: our hands. Consider getting “back to the sheep” and spinning hand-prepared (literally) locks into a rustic lofty yarn. It is a fitting and extremely […]

Book Review: The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook

April 1, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

reviewed by Sukrita Mahon If you have been spinning for any length of time, you have probably heard of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson or maybe own it yourself. If not, you probably should – it’s a collection of over 200 varieties of fibre from around the world, methodically […]

Mood: Summer 2022 – The Mix Issue

March 25, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

Mix Moodboard (Summer 2022) Much of the time we’re happy spinning along doing our regular thing, but sometimes we just want to mix it up! What about you? What do you like to mix up in your spinning? Do you mix fiber, preparation, draft, color, types of yarn, or types of crafts? If you do, we want […]

Ask Jacey #2: Margo is too twisted

March 18, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

This month, Margo asks, “How do you control overtwisting and setting the take up on a scotch tension?” Well, Margo, this is a super common question. Overtwisting is something that happens to everyone, both in the beginning, the middle, and well into our spinning careers. Honestly, every time I switch to an unfamiliar spinning implement […]

Separating a Dual-Coated Fleece Using Only Your Hands

March 11, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

words by Jacqueline Harp and photos by Joseph Harp When a fiber artist chooses to separate and process a dual-coated fleece by hand, it is like unlocking two fleeces from one. A dual-coated fleece is an intertwined combination of a short-stapled, soft, downy undercoat and a protective, longer-stapled, coarser, hair-like outercoat. Once these integrated coats […]

References from Spring 2021 issue

March 4, 2021/in Frontpage Article, Spinning, We couldn't fit it in the print issue!/by Guest Blogger

Two of the articles in the Spring 2021 issue (Double-coated) contained a number of helpful references. References from “What Is Primitive? What Is Double-Coated?” by Deborah Robson Christiansen, Carol Anne. “Primitive Wool and Early Textile Production in Shetland,” diss., University of Manchester, 2003. Dýrmundsson, Ólafur R. “Four–Hornedness: A Rare Peculiarity Still Found in Icelandic Sheep.” […]