A lock in the wind
Jacey Faulkner

Taking my lumps and seeking advice

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For the most part I can take critique. I can. In my 20s I was terrible at taking it but somewhere in my 30s I gained an appreciation for good critique — people telling me things that could make whatever it is I’m doing, better. For many people, and for me up until recently, critique usually comes from just a select few – a friend reading your article, a partner going over a story, a kid giving feedback on how exactly you could make dinner edible. But that’s changed. When you publish something like a magazine, your critiques come from all over, all the time.

And I should be okay with that. But since I’m also a person that likes to please everyone, getting feedback from dozens, hundreds, thousands of spinners can be a bit tough on the brain, you know? It’s impossible to please all those people but what about when your brain constantly tries?

I’m not complaining or whining. Really, I’m not. I’m looking for advice on how to deal with this internally, in my own head. I intellectually realize that I can’t possibly make every spinner happy. I totally realize that. But sometimes my brain is sneaky, uncontrolled, and it still wants to. And so when I get emails from spinners that think the print is too big, or too small, or that there should be less photos and more content, or that they’d like to see more big photos, or that there’s not enough weaving/crochet/knitting, or that they like the themed issues but only if they are interested in the theme, or that they’d like more advanced and technical articles, or that they’d like more beginner articles, or that they’d like it to be cheaper (I can’t fix that one without adding more ads), or that they’d like their mail carrier to deliver it quicker, or a hundred other things that I get emails about, my brain obsesses a bit.

Okay, who am I kidding? It obsesses a lot. I know it’s not rational. I do. But I can’t help it. I write and rewrite a response to them in my head for hours, sometimes all day. I can’t get past it. Some of my responses want to give them what they want, some are defensive, some explain in way more detail than anyone would want why I just can’t do it, or how it’s a delicate balance, or how on and on in my head.

I’m not looking for anyone to say that they shouldn’t write me, I’m glad that people do write, I actually value every email I get (except the very mean ones, but those only come in occasionally, twice a month or so), I’m just trying to figure out how to deal with it all.

Anyone have any ideas? Anyone have to deal with this kind of thing – being a people pleaser and hearing from lots and lots of people the various (and contradicting) ways to please them?

Jillian told me before I started the magazine that it would break my heart. It hasn’t broken my heart yet but it’s threatening to break my head! Actual advice very much appreciated!

 

 

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Consistency

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I love a smooth, consistent yarn. I do. I love how that kind of yarn feels and drapes. I love to spin them too. I love the rhythm of it.

I’ve spent almost my entire spinning career working toward getting my yarns to be more consistent and learning what helps to make that happen. The great thing about all of that focus is that learning those things has helped me to be able to have the control I need to make almost any yarn that I try.

Every spinning skill that we learn transfers to so many other techniques.

So, let me give you two tips for how to be more consistent in your spinning.

Tip number one: When you are drafting using a short forward draw, draw out only about one half of the staple length for each draft. This will improve things almost immediately if you are sturggling with consistency. Do that with every draft and your yarn will improve.

Tip number two: get your hands and feet into a rhythm. This works with both woolen and worsted spinning. For example, say you are treadling at about the tempo of a waltz. 1,2,3 and 1,2,3. Now draft in the same rhythm. Draft, slide, hold and draft, slide hold. Often inconsistencies in yarn can come from inconsistencies in twist so if you can get your hands and feet to work together the twist will be pretty consistent over the whole bobbin.

If you are interested in knowing all of my tips for consistent yarn, I have a new video that was just released yesterday that’s called Spinning to Get Even. It’s from Interweave and is available as a DVD or a download. 

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Jillian Moreno

Where Does Spinning Lead You?

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zoom-leaf-400x264 I was so excited to interview Diane Varney for this new issue of PLY. Her book, Spinning Designer Yarns, has been such an inspiration to so many spinners.

I was excited to hear what inspired her and to find out what she was spinning now. Except she’s not spinning now, not at all. She spun enthusiastically for a time, wrote the book, taught for a couple of years and then quit spinning. I was stunned. There is so much love of spinning and fiber her book, I assumed she would still be doing it 20 years down the road. It turned out that for Diane spinning lead her to other things, embroidery, metal work, and ultimately painting.

I’ve thought about that a lot since I talked to Diane. For me spinning had lead me to other things, but they also include spinning. I started stitching and instantly wanted to use handspun. I’m picking up weaving again and won’t pretend anything other than I’m most curious about how my handspun will behave in the loom. Spinning is so enmeshed in my craft thinking that every new craft I try includes spinning in some way, rather than just being a stepping stone to to other media. Twenty years down my road I’m sure I’ll still be spinning.

Where has spinning led you?

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Proper Chairs

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Don’t ask me about what chair to sit in when you spin. Don’t ask me about posture. I got nuthin’.

I will say that when you are learning to spin it is important to sit in a chair that is a height that allows you to reach the treadles. I think one with a back is nice.

I have always been a comfortable chair spinner. I sat on the couch when I was learning but at home I have a rocking recliner that I sit in.
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Sometimes I like a little stool off to the side so I can prop one foot up. The arm on this chair is just about right at my elbow so when i’m doing long draw I can prop my elbow and just move my fore arn back and forth. It’s very comfortable.

But last weekend I went to spin at Jillian‘s house and I sat in the spot I usually spin in. I like that spot. There is a table on my right side just like at home. I can put my cup there and it’s very comfortable.  One thing I noticed this time (and maybe it’s because I’ve been spinning so much lately) is that the arm on Jillian’s couch is much higher than the arm on my chair at home.20150830_102219_002 - Copy

Seriously, it’s like armpit height. That means I had to adjust my spinning technique. Instead of holding my arm at a 90 degree angle like at home, I held it straight out. See? I still found a way to use the arm rest and make myself comfortable.

I’m not saying that certain chairs don’t work better for different wheels. My Norm Hall Castle wheel has treadles that are a bit higher off the floor than the Schachts and it is a bit more heavy feeling to treadle and so I need a chair that is a tiny bit higher. That calls for Lou’s (Mr Beth) recliner with a pillow behind my back. It works great.

All I’m saying is get comfy when you spin. Try out all the chairs and try different sitting positions. And if you are very comfortable and your one foot is propped up and you are too far away to move the thread to a new hook, get your kid to do it, or teach your dog to do it. Not sure if the cat will, though.

 

Jillian Moreno

Thin? It’s All Relative

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Moreno Big Yarn 1 sm Our latest issue of PLY is all about spinning thin yarn. When I think about thin yarn I think about that finer-than-fine yarn, that’s really thread, some spinners can spin.

I say some spinners because so far I’m not one of them.

 

As I read through this issue I realized that thin is relative. I usually like to spin fattish yarn, aran weight or worsted so my particular thin is a 2-ply fingering weight yarn. One person’s thin isn’t another person’s thin and it doesn’t have to be. I’m happy with that. All of the knitting I’m doing lately is for fingering to aran weight yarn, so my thin-for-me yarn is perfect.

I’m sure I could spin finer if I had a burning desire or a particular project where I want to use a finer yarn. Actually, there may be finer yarn for me in the near future because my current fingering weight yarn isn’t quite fine enough for the stitching I’m getting more and more excited about.

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How fine will I go?

 

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Your Tools

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I may start to sound like a broken record but I can’t help it!

In January I wrote a blog post titled Buying Things and it was all about how to go about buying the right tools. This is something I think about a lot because I teach a ton of classes that include processing wool from raw fleece and I see how some people have tools that don’t fit them or they don’t work for what they wanted them to do.

One of the examples I use in class about buying good tools is Crayons. You know those crayons you can buy at the dollar store that when you try to color with them there is very little pigment and a ton of wax and if you just spend a tiny bit more money you can get the name brand ones that color beautifully. The result is worth the extra investment even if you are only buying them for your kids to scribble with.

Well, I broke my own rule.

I decided I wanted to learn how to do water color washes for backgrounds in my journal (you can read about my Journal Journey here). So I went to the craft store and I bought a couple of water color palletes and I started looking at brushes. I first had 3 brushes in my hand that I knew would work but the total cost for the three brushes would have been $20. But! There on the end cap there was a display and there was a set of 8 brushed for $8! Three of the brushes in the package were the same shape as the three in my hand so I went for it.

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See all those dark fuzzy bits? Those are the brush fibers that were falling out of the brush as I put the paint on the paper. And that brush is still not done shedding.

Now. I have spent $8 on tools that suck and I will need to go back and spend the $20 on the better brushes.

See what I mean? Buying the better brushes in the first place would have saved me almost 30% of what I will spend in the end because I didn’t follow my own advice.

I’m sure I’ll be back here in six months to talk about tools again. In the mean time, buy the best tools you can afford and save money in the long run!

Picture of lady and shawl
Jacey Faulkner

Want some Camelot Dyeworks fiber?

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I think most readers have gotten the Fine issue of PLY by now, right?  If you haven’t and you feel deep in your heart that you should have, email me and we’ll figure it out together!

Otherwise, what did you think?  I’ll tell you what I think — I think it’s our finest issue to date. By finest, I mean so stinking good that I just look at it and smile.  I love everything about it — he authors, the articles, the photography, the graphics, the more subtle layout, the oh-my-stars cover!

I also love the project by Corrina Ferguson — Bernata shawlette and hat. Almost every project we feature starts with a perfectly timed dance between dyer, spinner, and designer.  First I find the designer and we talk about what the perfect yarn for the project would be. It has to fit within the issue’s theme but outside of that constraint, it’s all up to the designer.  If the designer doesn’t spin (and so often he or she doesn’t), I find a spinner that can take the wishes of the designer and translate it into the perfect yarn. While all that planning and chatting is going on, I find a dyer that can dye a perfect colorway for the project.  I like to try to use a colorway that a dyer has already developed so that if people want the same one, it’s available, but sometimes they do something special for us.

In the case of the Bernata pieces, the spinner and designer came as a package deal and I knew I wanted to use Herman Hills Farm‘s delicious Cormoso so I only had to find a dyer. After a bit of looking and lusting, I decided on Camelot Dyeworks. Herman Hills farm agreed to send Camelot some fiber, she dyed half and sent it all on to the Kimberley to be spun and then Kimberley sent it on to Corrina to be made into something you all would love.

So, like we do each issue, leave a review on the review page of the Fine issue and on July 28th I’ll randomly pick a winner who will get enough of the Herman Hills-grown, Camelot Dyeworks-dyed fiber for the Corrina Ferguson Bernata shawlette and hat.

Remember, don’t leave your review here, go to the review page of the Fine issue.

Jacey Faulkner

We are the ones: PLY Away

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We are the ones carrying around a wad of fiber that we happily suspend by a piece of colorful string, the ones referring to a 15-lb contraption that doesn’t have a handle or a bag as “portable”, the ones that think it just makes sense to have that many raw fleeces, the ones that don’t give a rodent’s bum how cheap yarn is at Target. We are spinners and for the past few years we’ve been without a retreat of our own.  I loved SOAR and sorely miss it so can you guess what’s coming next?  Yep, the rumors are true! The world is no longer going to be devoid of an all-spinning retreat! For at least 4 days, we’ll be the ones surrounded by other ones just like us.

PLY Magazine is holding its first annual PLY Away retreat April 21, 22, 23, and 24, 2016 in Kansas City, MO at Crown Center’s Westin. I’m giddy with excitement, only sitting out of typing necessity. I want to dance and scream and spin and yell. Seriously, I’m that excited. As excited as I was when the original kickstarter hit it’s goal! I told the cashier at Natural Grocers about PLY Away yesterday. She seemed only moderately impressed. Anyway, the location is perfect. It’s right in the middle of so much stuff but when you’re inside the center, it’ll feel like it’s just us. Just us and all the fiber and fiber tools a spinner could dream of.

Thanks to our wonderful and generous VERY BIG SPONSORS — Lendrum, Kromski, Louet, The Woolery, and Hansen Crafts — for helping bring these spinning stars together while keeping the costs out of the clouds. For those of you that are wondering about the cost, half-day classes are $85, 1-day classes are $145, and 2-day classes are $260. That means that 4 full days of classes will run a spinner $600 (this also includes a free ticket to the banquet/talk of Friday night), 3 full days will be $485, and weekend full will be $340. The special room rate we’re getting is $140/night for up to 4 people. I know it’s not pennies, but we did our very best to keep it to as reasonable as possible. Registration will open November 11th but classes and schedules will go up in August.

It’s an a la carte retreat which means that you pick and choose the classes you want, building your prefect 1, 2, 3, or 4 day retreat. There are four 2-day retreats that span Thursday and Friday, each one with one of these amazing teachers: Deb Robson, Beth Smith, Coleen Nimetz, or Stephenie Gaustad. These 2-day classes are what spinning dreams are made of. Soon I’ll tell you about each one. But if you’ve got something else to do on Thursday and you’d rather stroll in with your bad self on Friday, you can take a 1-day class from the likes of Amy King, Patsy Zawistoski, Jillian Moreno, Michelle Boyd, or Esther Rodgers. Is it wrong that I scheduled classes that I desperately want to take? I want each one of these and don’t know how I’ll manage it. When the weekend rolls you’ve got a choice between all the above teachers plus Amy Tyler, Abby Franquemont, and Christina Pappas. That’s 12 teachers, each teaching two days worth of half-day classes that will blow your mind! I don’t envy you the choices you’ll have to make.

What would a spinning retreat be without a marketplace? We’re going to have one for sure! It won’t be huge and it won’t be tiny. We’re hoping it’s just right. There will also be an open-to-all spin in and both the spin in and the marketplace are free to anyone that wants to join in! If you’d like to be a vendor, check this page out!

Finally, there’s a Friday night banquet and talk.

I am so excited about it. I have such big plans. I want it to be the best retreat, not only for spinners but also for teachers and vendors! I’ll share more of the cool details as the weeks pass. Like the scholarship fund. And how you can win a PLY Away retreat on me (including airfare, classes, and hotel). And how you can be one of 10 people that gets to register early. And how there’s going to be a giant marketplace gift certificate for one lucky attendee. And about each class. And and and and…

For now, check out the website! ! If you’d like to join our illustrious ranks of sponsors, go here!

ps.  if everything goes well, PLY Away 2017 will be bigger and longer!

 

 

 

 

 

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It’s a Process

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Last week Jillian spoke beautifully about rejection. She said it all perfectly. I agree with every feeling.

Today I thought I’d talk about my process of writing an article after the joyous news comes that my article idea has been accepted. This is the way I go about things and I happen to know that Jillian’s process is completely different than mine so ask her to tell you how she works.

OK, so when I submit an article idea for consideration I have an idea about how the yarns will look if I use a certain spinning method and I often want to talk about the technical details about how to get to the final yarn. That’s usually all I know and more often than not, I don’t have samples to back my words up.

When I write I need to have the yarn and swatches sitting right next to me so I can feel them in my hands. If I get stuck I pick up the samples and sniff them, hug them, feel them, rub them, anything that will get a littel spark going.

What that means is that all or most of my samples need to be spun before I start writing. What that also means is that I need to have a pretty good idea of what I want to show. I’m not great at writing detailed outlines. So for articles I usually just have a short paragraph that I’ve written to give me some idea of where I’m heading and then I choose fibers and spinning techniques that will get me there.

For example, the article in the Leicesters issue, I knew that I was limited to the three Leicesters and my article was about spinning for softness. Of course I wanted to choose the most coarse Leicester to demonstrate what I do so English Leicester was the choice (aka Leicester Longwool, or Dishley Leicester)

After I choose the fiber then I choose the wheel that will do what I want most easily. Often that is my Schacht Matchless. I can treadle pretty slowly and count treadles or whatever I have to do to make the yarn exactly what I want on that wheel. My other wheels have much larger drivewheels and I usually choose one of them when I want to get the work done fast and I don’t have to slow down so I can describe the process later.

This was actually the same process I used for writing my book. I had an outline which really was just a list of chapters. I wrote the breeds I wanted to use for each chapter under each heading and started spinning. Spinning for that project took about 6 months with 6 months of writing following the spinning. But having all of the samples right near me for inspiration was the greates thting I could have done for myself.

Right now I’m almost finished writing an article for the Singles Issue of Ply that’s coming up. It’s due in 5 days. I think I can make it because I have my samples.

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