Member Update // Spinning Alpaca, Llama and Camel Fibres
Continue your exploration of spinning luxury fibres with us! We’re delighted to let you know that the video lessons are now available at the new Spinning Luxury Fibres: Camelids course, taught by Rachel Smith.
Learn a repertoire of spinning preps and drafts to create stable yarns with fibres like alpaca, llama, and camel. With an introduction to Camelid fibres, including types, locational varieties, considerations for spinning, and exploring Merino wool and silk blends with these luxurious fibres, Rachel will briefly introduce the camelid family of mammals and discuss how their genus breaks down.
The Spinning Luxury Kit: Camelids combined with the Merino fibre (available at SweetGeorgia) are a great way to sample and make blends to explore. Rachel demonstrates each fibre from this kit at the wheel and walks us through examining ply-back tests.
Just dipping your toes into this world of camelids will help you articulate the differences between wool and camelid fibres. You’ll also gain an understanding of the vocabulary when describing your spins, sampling, and swatches.
Getting Bulky: How to Spin a Thicker Yarn // Debbie Held
If you’ve ever analyzed a chunky or bulky yarn, be it as a singles or a plied structure, you’ve likely noticed its airy, low-twist attributes. While its modest beauty is easy enough to recreate with a little know-how, many handspinners have trouble putting a thicker intention to the treadle (or the motor, in the case of e-Spinner enthusiasts), especially those spinners who typically spin a finer and/or more worsted-style default yarn.
If spinning a heavier-gauged yarn has evaded you thus far, the information at Debbie Held’s new article, Getting Bulky: How to Spin a Thicker Yarn, may be just what you need.
Upcoming Meetups & Events
Join us online for some fun and casual conversation about multicraftual making:
- Weave & Spin Meetup with Vikki: April 8, 8:00 AM PDT // Bring along any fibre craft project and enjoy the fun chat on Zoom.
- Taking Back Friday Live with Felicia: April 14, 10:00 AM PDT // This isn’t an SOS event but we’re sharing the excitement from SweetGeorgia. Everyone is welcome to join Felicia over in the YouTube live chat.
- Knit Meetup with Robyn: April 17, 10:00 AM PDT // Bring along any fibre craft project and come enjoy the fun chat on Zoom.
- Live Office Hours with Felicia: April 27, 10:00 AM PDT // Save the date for our next Live Office Hours session with Felicia. If you have a fibre arts question or SOS project you would like shared during the session, please submit your questions and projects in advance.
Note! Every Tuesday afternoon for 1-2 hours starting at 1:00 PM PDT, we will be working on the SOS website to ensure it is up-to-date. We apologize for any downtime or interruptions you experience during this time.
Wishing you a wonderful week of multicraftual making,
School of SweetGeorgia
