Spinning & Knitting Goat Fibers
Blending Colors at the Wheel
Diversity of Wool
Plying for Balance
Long Draw-Variations
Plying for Textures
Instructor Bio for Amy Tyler
Amy Tyler
Spinning & Knitting Goat Fibers
Thursday October 14, 2010
9:00am - 4:30pm
Cost:$ 125.00
Class Size - 15 Students
Description: Mohair! Cashmere! Pygora! Cashgora! From long & lustrous to short & soft, goat fibers make wonderful yarns. We will explore various techniques for spinning these fibers as well as spinning blends with wool and silk. There will be some discussion of the animals themselves and the processing of raw fibers. We will also knit swatches of commercial mohair and cashmere yarns, and discuss advantages and challenges of these fibers for knitting.
Class level: intermediate to advanced spinning skills; advanced beginning knitting skills
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, lazy kate; knitting needles of various sizes
Instructor to provide: samples for examination; fibers for spinning; yarns for knitting; notebook with handouts
Register On Line
Friday October 15, 2010
9:00am - 4:30pm
Cost:$125
Class Size - 15 Students
Description of Content: Learn to make unique multi-colored yarns at the wheel, without dyeing or the use of carding/combing equipment. In this workshop, we will take rovings and tops of different colors and combine them by pre-drafting in several simple ways to create yarns that produce more colorful and more textural fiber projects. We will cover techniques that allow you to create the same blends of color from skein to skein. We will practice making singles yarn as well as 2- and 3-ply yarns.
Materials List: Participants should bring a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, lazy kate
Materials Included: samples for examination, fibers for spinning, notebook with handouts, documentation supplies
The Diversity of Wool
Saturday October 16, 2010
9:00am - 12:00 Noon
Cost:$75
Class Size - 15 Students
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate spinning
The Diversity of Wool
Description: Merino, Cormo, Finn, Costwold, Wensleydale, Romney, Corriedale, and more! The wool from different breeds of sheep can vary substantially in softness, strength, elasticity, luster, and feltability. Through hands-on examination, we will explore these widely varying characteristics of wool. In addition to sheep breed, other factors will be addressed that influence the characteristics of the final wool project. We will examine samples of unspun fiber, yarns, and knitted swatches of over a dozen sheep breeds. There will be fiber and yarns to test-spin, -knit, or -crochet.
Class level: beginning spinning and/or knitting
Contact hours: 3
Participants to bring: No supplies are necessary. But, participants may bring a drop spindle or spinning wheel if they want to spin, or knitting needles if they want to knit, or crochet hooks if they want to crochet.
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, notebook with handouts, fiber and yarns for spinning/knitting/crocheting
Register On Line
Plying for Balance
Saturday October 16, 2010
1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Cost:$75.00
Class Size - 15 Students
Class level: Advanced beginner to intermediate.
Plying Balanced Yarns
Description: Consistent and even plying is as important to a high-quality, hand-spun yarn as is the spinning of singles. Matching the twist in plying to the twist in the spun singles is the key. In this workshop, we will cover issues related to controlling tension on the singles while plying and the amount of twist in both spinning and plying. We will practice techniques for plying from one source (Andean plying, Navajo plying), and from two or more sources.
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, two bobbins partially filled with Z-spun singles plus one empty bobbin, and a lazy kate.
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, fiber for spinning, notebook with handouts.
Sunday October 17, 2010
9:00am - 12:00 Noon
Cost:$75.00
Class Size - 15 Students
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate
Variations on Long Draw
Description: “Long draw” spinning techniques are often used to create “woolen” yarns – yarns that are airy, lofty, soft and warm! We will cover three variations of long draw using commercially-prepared rovings, drum carded batts, and hand carded rolags. We will create samples of thick, lopi-style singles yarns, as well as thinner, plied woolen yarns. In the process, we will discuss the types of fiber that work best for different long draw techniques, how to create a hand carded rolag, and how best to use woolen yarns.
Participants to bring: spinning wheel in good working order; hand cards (optional).
Instructor to provide: samples for examination; fibers for carding and spinning; notebook with handouts
Sunday October 17, 2010
1:00pm - 4:30pm
Cost:$75.00
Class Size - 15 Students
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate
Plying for Texture
Description: In this workshop, we will practice making textured yarns by manipulating the way we ply singles together. We will spin snarl yarns, cabled yarns, two kinds of knot yarns, and two kinds of spiral yarns. These are all yarns that can be created with “ordinary” Z-spun singles. Along the way, we will discuss how to create a smooth, balanced two-ply yarn.
Participants to bring: spinning wheel in good working order, 2 bobbins partially filled with Z-spun singles (they should be about the same thickness and twist, but may be of the same or different colors/fibers) plus 2 empty bobbins, a lazy kate
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, fibers for spinning, notebook with handouts.
Instructor Bio: Amy has a fine arts degree in modern dance, and graduate degrees in kinesiology and physiology. She has been knitting and designing for over 20 years, spinning for 10 years, and teaching for over 30 years. Amy’s fiber arts work is heavily influenced by both her fine arts training and her science training: common to both is an appreciation for composition, pattern recognition, and systematic exploration. The result is her focus on texture, three-dimensional structure, and knit designs that exploit handspinning techniques. Her fiber work has been published in Spin-Off, Fiberline Magazine, and Knit Lit the Third. Her spinning and knitting have won awards at regional and national fiber events. She offers her knit designs and hand spun yarns under the business name “Stone Sock Fibers”.
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