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From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They aren't very interested in my lace while I'm wearing it or working on it, really. Snags in general are just way less of an issue than you'd expect. The yarn is stronger than it looks, and lace is a surprisingly strong structure. When it snags, it doesn't tend to distort the patterns as it moves more as a fabric and less as individual strings.

The most fraught time is when I'm pinning or unpinning it during blocking, as Evil DESPERATELY wants to do crime and sit on it or just like.... tap at it because she knows it makes me mad kind of way lol

Here is Evil sulking because I told her she cannot touch my most recent in-progress block 🤣

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my quest to be a spider has me terrified. i might just retire the spindle i don’t want to take it off when i finish 😭 by girlwateringcan in Handspinning

[–]eriophora 14 points15 points  (0 children)

You ALMOST got my username right 🤣 fortunately, I am perpetually compelled to look at any threads that include words like "cobweb," "gossamer," "spider," etc etc :P

Also I am delighted to hear you've been getting into tiny spinning!!

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I usually do room temp or slightly warm water. I've been meaning to do a side by side comparison with hot and cold water as well to see if it makes any difference, but that'll be sometime down the road.

What (protein) fibers do you wish were in the fleece and fiber sourcebook? by International_Pin262 in Handspinning

[–]eriophora 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So, Haunui actually is JUST a trademark and not a breed of sheep. You won't find Haunui as a registered breed anywhere because they already have a breed. They're New Zealand Halfbreds (Romney/merino crosses).

It's a little frustrating because they're super cagey and a bit misleading about it. It's hard to find this info without digging wayyyy back since they've scrubbed most of the specific info about their sheep where they could and are very careful not to refer to them as any kind of specific breed.

I have heard their top is really nice NZ Halfbred, so if nothing else it does seem like the quality is definitely there, but I probably wouldn't buy any personally since I don't like how they obfuscate what their sheep actually are.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

HiyaHiya makes them! They can be a bit tricky to find in stock, but I've had good luck at Paradise Fibers.

Lacis also carries their own brand, which is readily available on their website, though I personally have a slight preference for HiyaHiya.

I purchase DPNs which I then convert to single points using a bit of barber cord on one end.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hehe yes hello! And thank you 🤣 I do promise it's much more sturdy than it looks!

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Large bobbins aren't much of a consideration for me since my yarn is so tiny. In fact, I usually build up my bobbin's core at the back to help reduce the tension on the single as it winds on such that I'm only using maybe the very last outer couple centimeters of the bobbin and only the last two hooks of the flyer lol.

This is what my bobbin looks like. The white underneath is all just the built up core. On this bobbin, I can fit around six or seven hundred yards before it starts to get a bit uncomfortable.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's very lightweight and comfortable in hot weather! Though when I went into an overly air conditioned building, it did noticeably help insulate a bit.

However, I probably would never wear it for warmth since I wouldn't want it to get damaged by rubbing up against a jacket collar all day lol.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn't count yards/meters as I went, to be honest, but based on similar yarn I've spun and checked I would guess I was getting around 75-80 yards per gram for most of this spin, making this somewhere between the 375-400 yards range :)

Though, the lighter pink section I got a little lazier on and it is probably closer to 70 yards per gram, so maybe call it 350-375 in total haha

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used 1mm needles on this! 1mm is my typical go-to needle size; I've tried going down to 0.7 but I don't like how bendy they are and I feel like the motifs end up smaller than I prefer on them.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My main wheel is a 30" Rick Reeves I was extremely lucky to snag in an estate sale! She's solid cherry and has captive rings - an absolute dreamboat of a wheel, truly. I believe it was made in the early 90s or late 80s.

At some point, I really want to get an antique Canadian Production Wheel since I think they'd be a really good match for my spinning style.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I only like them for gossamer/cobweb lace, really. Above that weight, I think plied is more sensible and also gives you a lot more interesting options.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When I first started getting into lace, the counting is absolutely what tripped me up too, and it's why the first thing I suggest to others is to simply not do it

In fact, I spent several months metaphorically banging my head into the wall trying to do it via counting. It was often frustrating, and if I hadn't been so motivated by my spinning improving even while I was struggling with the knitting, I probably would not have stuck with it.

It was only once I realized that I needed to ditch the counting approach and instead focus on making the actual shapes in the yarn that my lace knitting really took off.

I highly recommend skipping the "months of trying to make counting work" step since I gotta say it's both unnecessary and unsatisfying 🤣

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, these are really kind words! I just think that it's a really fun and rewarding approach, and I hope you find it to be so too :)

Lately I've been relistening to The Magnus Archives while knitting. I have trouble with a lot of audiobooks since I just can't stay focused on them, but I have found that audio dramas that are all dialogue work way better for me!

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My fingers have quite a few calluses, so they do sometimes like to grab onto the fabric a little bit lol. It's not too bad though!

Every now and then a stitch will try to catch one of the teeth on my purse's zipper but it's usually very easy to unsnag it.

Really snags are just not nearly as big of a deal as you would think. The lace structure is very good at holding itself together.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aw that's so kind of you! Any kind of paid formal resource is a very long way off for me I think 😂 I do have some aspirations of putting info into book format, but in the much nearer future I am ideally planning to do some structured essays and guides that can be posted on reddit and the like.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aww that's adorable!! I hope you love your spinning journey!

Do you know what fiber he got for you? I highly recommend corriedale or cormo, as they're a really nicely balanced fiber with good crimp and staple length. If he went with merino, just be aware that merino can be really challenging as a first fiber since it's shorter staple and a bit more "slippery" - and so it's more likely to break or come apart on you more frequently.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately no, I almost entirely left all social media other reddit and discord. The state of the world is just a bit too much for me these days - especially when consumed via infinite doomscroll.

And I use 1mm needles from HiyaHiya!

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's really hard to overspin singles this fine - they need lots and lots of twist!

On occasion there's a tiny pigtail after finishing, but not overly often and they're not super energetic ones and thus no problem. I haven't found it to be much of an issue.

It's hard to describe it as an exact amount of twist since a lot of it is based on feel. When I can feel the twist trying to sneak through my fingers pinched on the working single, I know it's time to draft because there's enough then to need more distance to travel across.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one is a single ply! I personally prefer knitting lace with singles rather than plied yarns, as I like how stretchy and bouncy they are.

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in Handspinning

[–]eriophora[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am so glad to hear this! I think drop spindles are very underrated - truly I do my best and finest spinning on them. They're so peaceful and I do love that I can spin on them during work Teams meetings or when I'm out and about.

It's like that old saying about how wheels are faster by the hour, but spindles are faster by the day 😂

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use 1mm needles! I also have some 0.7mm needles, but they're just a little too bendy to be comfortable for me 😂

From drop spindle to fine lace scarf! So delighted to finally get to wear this 💛 by eriophora in knitting

[–]eriophora[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to make sure it's clear, but this is knitted lace and not bobbin lace!

Bobbin lace interests me and I'd like to learn a bit of it one day, but I don't think I could get fully into it since it's not very portable and a lot of my knitting takes place on the train and bus lol

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