My Hero – Mabel Ross

I’ve been thinking lately about my spinning heros. The people who have pushed me and educated me and made me a better spinner Of course some of them are alive and I actually get to talk to a few of them. Some of them are no longer living, but I have their books and videos.  […]

Hand Prepping the Itch – All the Mistakes

I am not a very patient person. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’ve shied away from hand prepping fiber. But now that I want to learn to hand prep I have to slow down and be patient. I knew that somewhere along the way it was going to be a struggle, and […]

Spindles – They are for everybody

I’m primarily a wheel spinner. Actually it’s been that way since I learned to spin. I love my wheels. I love how they look. I love how I imagine I look when I’m using them (don’t laugh). Many of the classes I teach are wheel focused classes. But I like spindles too. I have plenty […]

Maximizing Yardage for Spinning Cotton

Susan Hector visits the blog today with an explanation of how she maximizes her yardage when spinning cotton on spinning tools that don’t have a lot of storage capacity for singles. Thanks so much for being here, Susan! I spin a lot of cotton.  Living in sunny and warm San Diego, it makes sense.  I […]

How to Spin

So early last month my new book came out. It’s by Storey Publishing and it’s called How to Spin. The title is right to the point I think. Here’s what I know about learning to spin: It takes some time It takes some practice It takes some patience It’s best if you can have an […]

Growing and Spinning Florida Native Cotton

Today we’ll hear from guest blogger Caroline Tacker, who tells us about how she got started in the fiber world with a spur-of-the moment purchase of some inexpensive cotton plants! I grow and spin Florida Native Cotton, which at its best has a ¾-inch staple. I currently use an Ashford Kiwi and Traditional for my […]

A Spinning Wheel in Good Working Order

I’m leaving today to teach some classes in Iowa this weekend for a guild. I’ve never been to Iowa. But it’s not that far away so I’ll pack the car and drive there. By driving I can stop for as many Starbucks hot chocolates as I want. But that’s not what I wanted to talk […]

Singles on a Sock Machine

Guest blogger Cindy Craft is here to share her experiments with using a Circular Sock Machine to knit single ply socks. She also uses a flatbed machine for color work using singles. If you’ve ever wondered about knitting machines, we think you’ll be very inspired by her post! ——————————————————————————————————– I’m a hand spinner. I spin […]

Spinning for Something Big

So I’m in the midst of this big project that I brought on myself. I probably have at least another year of spinning and weaving before I finish the original plan and since I began I’ve thought of new questions and experiments I want to look into. The thing is there are many smaller projects inside […]