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Fiber, needles,spindle, wheel
Fall 2011
See
inside
this
issue
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Fall 2010, Volume I
T T S L G S S K D
Contents
Meet the Gleasons care-
fully bred flock of Australian
Bond and Corriedale sheep
and knit a Bond Bon-Bon
Bowler adapted from Susan
Z. Douglass pattern. North
Ronaldsay sheep developed
the ability to subsist on a diet
of seaweed, but their charms
dont end there. Learn about
the many uses of this rich
multi-coated fleece.
Cant wait to get your
hands on some delicious
yarns? For a new spin, try
Jacey Boggss tailspinning
technique for lush textured
yarns and knit her Tailspun
Mittens with your own color
combination. To get maxi-
mum mileage from hand-
some handspun sock yarn,
knit Debbie ONeills Pilaster
Socks.
An old tool has a new
following. Veteran spin-
ner Sara Lamb recounts her
recent but fervent conver-
sion to spindles and shares a
pattern for her Copper Cowl.
A visit to Tom Forresters
Woodshaper Studio reveals
the science and skill that the
master craftsman uses to cre-
ate elegant, quirky tools.
In the Pacific Northwest
and Chiapas, Mexico,
people produce fabric the
way their ancestors did.
Join participants in Ju-
dith MacKenzies Tribal
Treasures workshop as
they coax fiber from cedar
bark and watch Chamulas
Maya shepherdesses turn
fleece from their sheep into
shaggy woven cloth.
The second issue of SpinKnittakes you to places near and far, intro-
duces you to techniques ancient and modern, and explores more
ways to make and use wonderful yarns. Experience the world of
fiber in rich detail.
Going to the Source
How to find these goodies,
visit these places, and find
more to explore
Contributors
Meet the team that sets the
eMag spinning
. . . F
Leaping Lambs, Bouncing
Bonds
The Gleasons baby Bonds
say hello to summer.
On the cover: Clockwise from left: Forrester Russian spindle photo by Sandi Wiseheart; Tzotzil sheep photo Russell Gordon/Danita Delimont.
com; Bond Bon-Bon Bowler photo by Joe Coca. Credits this page: Left to right: Photo by Amy Clarke Moore, photo by Sandi Wiseheart, photo
by Sarah Wroot, photo by Joe Coca, photo by Anne Merrow.All contents of this issue of SpinKnit Interweave Press LLC, 2011. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited, except by permission of the
publisher.
README
S p o n s o r e d b y
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Working with Sacred FleeceToday, you can walk down the
crow e streets o C amu a near
San Crist a or any o its out ying
hamlets on market day, and youll
see unique and dramatic wool
a rics on a most everyone you
pass. You mig t see eece eing
traded at a premium in market
stalls, and you might see women
spinning an weaving in t e streets.
T e spinning is one on eavy c ay-
whorled spindles supported in gourdbowls and the weaving on backstrap
ooms.
Fleece Becomes YarnSpinning is fairly straightforward.
The softer, finer inner fleece is
car e on at- ac e an car s,
an strips o t e resu ting atts
are lifted directly from the cardfor spinning, as you can see in the
vi eo a ove rig t. T e yarn is spun
tig t y to wit stan t e rigors o t e
weaving process; spinners generally
use some version of double drafting
to get a consistent yarn.
T e outer eece, on t e ot er
hand, is spun straight from the
locks and is spun thick and loose
or reasons t at wi soon ecome
c ear. It mig t remin you o a u y
Lopi yarn, but less consistent and
certainly not as soft.
V
Strip by strip, she spins the card-ed fiber onto a supported spindle.
Photo by Robert Medlock. S
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bout an hours drive from the
busy urban life of Toronto,
in a century-old farmhouse,
lives expert spindlemaker Tom
Forrester. If youve been to a
fiber show and picked up an
unusual double-decker spindle
only to find that it spun forever
and a day, then youve touched
some of Toms work.
Tom Foresters studio porch. Photo
by Sandi Wiseheart
A12,000 Spindlesand Counting ...Sandi Wiseheart
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After we finis e our tea, Tom
rove me a s ort istance to GeminiFibres, a small but mighty yarn and
fi er s op run y C ery Jeffery an
Tanis Pottage out of a arn. Gemini
is one of Toms primary istri utors,
and there, spread out on Toms own
custom-made racks, were dozens
of is spin es: roun , square,
exagona ; five-peta e i e a flower,
winged like a futuristic helicopter . . .or carved to resemble a fat woolly
s eep. T ey were painte , etc e ,
urne , carve , an ecorate
with everything from paw prints
to goddesses to leopard spots to
ominoes actua ominoes from
o game sets . A ongsi e t e
spindles are the other wonderful
tools Tom makes: niddy-noddies,
spin e stan s, WPI gauges, wrist
istaffs, an nstepinnes.
At first glance, all you see are the
wonderful designs themselves: a
forest of trees urne into a w or
wit more t an 1,500 in ivi ua
strokes of a vintage Canadian-made
woodburning tool; a double-layeredcreation (the Dervish) with
Tom arranges his spindles on just one of the racks at Gemini Fibres. Photo
by Sandi Wiseheart.
At the lumberyard, Tom
examines a variety of woodsto select the best ones for
making spindles. Photo
courtesy of Tom Forrester.
futuristic o es an cutouts; a gai y
stripe is ; anot er ecorate
with a spider on her web. But each
spindle (yes, even the fat sheep!)
is painsta ing y crafte to spin as
efficient y as an airp anes prope er.
After I had ogled and fondledas many spindles as was politely
possi e, we returne to Toms
wor s op for a itt e tour e in
the wizards curtain. We spindle-
users so rarely get to see the
genesis of our e ove too s, so
I was rea y oo ing forwar to
actually seeing how they weremade.
Using a woodburning tool, Tomcreates designs from bold todelicate on some spindle whorls.
Photo by Sandi Wiseheart.
S
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Breeding Bondsond sheep are uncommon in the
Unites tates, an creating t eir
on an Bon -cross floc was
a ong internationa effort for t eGleasons. After years of breeding
o -sty e Corrie a essma -
frame , wit ense fleeces an
ong stap est e G easons eci e
o bring new genes into their flock.
Bond sheep were developed
in Austra ia an s are some of
e same traits as Corrie a es;
hey arose from a cross betweenMerino and Lincoln sheep, like
Corrie a es, an are a so consi ere
a ua -purpose ree . As a
handspinner, Joanna decided that
fine, long-stapled Bonds would
e a we come a ition to t e
American s eep repertoire. e
began a correspondence with Cyril
ieschke of New South Wales,
Austra ia, a respecte ree er of
co ore Corrie a e, Merino, an
ond sheep who had bred for fine,
dense fleeces. At the time, there
were no Bon s eep in t e Unite
tates, an so t e G easons set
about importing two ewes and two
rams, all warm chocolate brown ine young s eep spent t ree
months in quarantine and transit
unti t ey fina y reac e t eir new
ig -country ome. T e Bon s eep
current y in t e Unite tates are
descended from the four originalAustralian transports, and the
G easons ave esta is e a registry
of Bon s in t e Unite tates.
The four original Bonds were all
moorit, or natural brown. Joanna
exp ains t at t e rown co or is t e
east common an most recessive;
besides producing beautiful fleeces,
the moorit coloring is an indicationof t e egree to w ic t e Bon
genetics are present in a particu ar
animal. A majority of the Gleasons
flock is now some shade of moorit.
Despite t e uge effort require
to esta is Bon genetics, t e
Gleasons are pleased with the
flock they have built. Bond brings
fineness to t e fleece t at can e
compara e to Merino, ut Joanna
admits that part of the decision was
a question of personal preference.
W en you ave to get up at two in
t e morning an oo at t e s eep
to c ec on am ing progress, s e
comments, you have to like how
t ey oo !
Nimbus and James
were the originaltwo Bond ramsimported from
Australia. Photo byJoanna Gleason.
The Gleasonsbegan as breed-ers of old-styleCorriedales
such as the onesshown here.Photo by JoannaGleason.
The Bond and Bond-cross sheep come in a rance of natural colors.
Photo by Joanna Gleason.
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S Patt
Copper CowlSara Lamb
Project Notes
The lower edging, worked sideways after the cowl is completed, gives
an elegant finish.Photo by Joe Coca.
S
P