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What are you going to do with the new yarns? Are you knitting, crocheting, weaving?

I have nearly enough "cotton candy" stuff spun up to weave a skirt length. I am planning on using white rambouillet stripe, cotton candy stripe, down the length, then pleating the skirt. When I have it completed I will wear it this fall for my demo spinning sessions.

The "cotton candy" stuff is mostly a blend of kid mohair and merino wools that friends have dyed and blended. Some of it has glitz in it as well. Nice pastel colors!

I am planning to do just tabby on this project.

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hi Sue, I'm one of those who spins because I enjoy it, and am happy to create the yarns. Doing something with them is quite a different matter, LoL! I am teaching myself to knit, hehe, and I crochet, experiment with felting, and play around with small looms as I can no longer cope with a floor loom, but its the rhythm of spinning, and the fun of dyeing and preparing the fibres that gets me sucked in big-time. So my fibre stash rapidly becomes a yarn mountain - it just doesn't take up quite so much room, and I am rapidly running out of hidey-holes, ;-)!
I must really get into knitting and felting bags, it would solve my Chrissie present problem too!
Cheers, Caroline


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Hey Aussie spinner have you thought about selling your spun wool.Wool is worth about $12 per 100 grams spun add $2 for dyed wool and exotic fibre $16 per 100 grams spun. If you have a friend at a market who would put some on a stall you could see how it sells. Wrapping mohair in bright colours and selling knitting needles and patterns in a kit like for a simple scarf brings in some $. So you don't have to spin for yourself alone.Alpaca sells well this time of year.(i'm in Qld )

Last edited by jacquiw; 06/07/07 06:19 AM.
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Have either of you tried the knitting looms? There was a home made one in my mother-in-laws yarn and equipment stash. Hexagon shaped about 6 inches to a side and using finishing nails.

Until a couple of weeks ago I didn't know what to do with her loom, so put it with other little hand looms in a box. I found a pattern for really cute little caps that take about 3 hours to finish. Granddaughter bought me a package of the plastic knitting looms with instructions. She wanted to learn how to do that, and easiest way was to buy 2 kits and come visit.

Started one using really cool rainbow painted sock yarn last night. It will be a really thin, soft cap, but wildly colored. I am not sure what granddaughter Jinger will do with hers, but I am enjoying the morning news while working on mine.

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Hi everyone! I have a set of knifty knitter looms, and have made myself a large adjustable knitting loom, that fits on my tapestry stand. However it means I have to put my spinning wheel away (my lounge room is rather small). I also have to take my table-top loom off it, grin. I got a bit clever and made these all to fit on the stand so I could use them while watching TV.
I have wondered about selling my yarn; its a bit like selling a part of oneself as I spin to please myself, not to actually have a use for the yarn. I have bits of different yarns I have experimented with that I may get around to using one day.
I'm spinning to felt at the moment, aiming to ply my yarn with commercial yarns. I have knitted and felted up a swatch of dyed Romney with a multi-coloured fuzzy nylon/acrylic yarn for a furry cushion, and was very happy with the result as I was able to use the underlying wool to tone down the original yucky colours, and pull them together. It felted quite nicely with one go in the washing machine, so this would be ideal as an accent yarn on a knitted or crocheted bag.
Talking of felting, have any of you found the free felting patterns atBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!


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What a cool site!! Thanks bundles! I go surfing the net a lot, but hadn't come across this site! Thanks for posting it.

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I have actually had the Knifty Knitters from the USA sent to me a year and a half ago by a friend.Last year i joined every online group i could and spent months teaching myself as you couldn't get them here. Then our spotlight stores started selling KK knock offs but little else. So i could safely use mine in public and people could buy them if they wanted. I ended up giving the lady at Spotlight some web addy's so she could learn for herself and have been pummped for info ever since when i go in there as she thought you could only make hats. There is so much more you can do with them.Lots of yahoo groups are devoted to loom knitting and now we have the Loom Knitters Circle e magazine. Its really taking offI love my KKs and am going to make some other looms myselfthey are good when my tendonitis makes it impossible to crochet and spin.

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Yes, I don't understand why these looms have never taken off here in Australia. They are so easy to use, and are ideal if you have arthritis or problems with your hands and/or wrists. I like those lovely wooden ones in the shape of a S, that look as if they can be used as boards as well, though the fabric they produce would be too warm and heavy for normal wear here in Adelaide (except at the moment - its none too warm, loL!). I haven't used mine very much yet, apart from a couple of pairs of socks I unsuccessfully tried to felt, made from handspun Merino. As I can usually accidentally felt almost anything, I have a sneaking suspicion that they were made from superwool. Thats my story anyway!
I'll try the pattern again with some Corriedale I have been spinning once I've finished my current project, a wool cardigan/jacket for my husband. I also have some Romney I can experiment with.


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I think they haven't taken off because no one has marketed them properly. I was afraid to go out in public with mine as every time i did someone wanted me to teach them and while i don't mind teaching them I didn't want to lend out looms.So i was pleased when Spotlight started selling the knock off KKs. I keep a spare set of them in my car just in case someone wants to learn now.

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I haven't seen them in my local Spotlight yet, but the place is such a mess you almost need a compass and a map to find anything, lol! I've seen them at the Fox Collection, and their price is actually quite reasonable. I only got mine for less because I used sea-mail from the States, they took 3 months.


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the looms can be made really quickly with some framing boards! They need to be about half an inch thick and cut on the proper angle to make a hexagon. Putting them together with the framing staples makes them secure enough to hold. Then pound in some small finishing nails. The framing boards need to be lightly sanded and maybe coated with a furniture wax. Then a crochet hook of any size would do to move the loops off the nails.

If you are not sure what I am calling finish nails, these have a tiny round head and are usually pounded under the surface of a board and filled with a matching putty stuff so they are invisible. (see? I am trying not to be totally American, and explaining the stuff other countries might call something different!)

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I have used what we call bullet heads nails on embroidery hoops - they have a small head and are usually a lot smoother finished than the other kinds of nails with their larger round heads. I have also used artists canvas stretchers to make weaving frames; they are lightweight and cheap and if you get the thick ones, they will put up with quite a bit of tension as well. I have a rectangular stretcher waiting for the nail holes to be drilled, not my favourite job!
I do have a diagram for a hexagon loom, but so far have resisted the temptation/couldn't justify another loom sort of thingy. You have just provided me with a valid reason for making one, lol! I can feel another visit to the hardware store coming on.
Its scary, but after craft stores, the hardware store is now one of my favourite shopping trips - all those gadgets that can be used with spinning wheels, looms etc!
Sue, enjoy your weekend! I hope the weather is nice for it, not too hot and definitely not raining!


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[quote=AussieSpinner]
Talking of felting, have any of you found the free felting patterns atBellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

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If you can't find looms at Spotlight you might just have to ask at the desk. (For Hat looms or plastic knitting looms set).I have just ordered a set of sock looms from the USA from DALooms a friend has bought me Isela's (DALooms owner and looming goddess)' Knitting loom primer "which i am also waiting for immpatiently.I found that Fox collection is too expensive with the KK's as i can get them from the USA from a friend and they don't cost quite so much and if they are out of stock you have a long wait for them to get them for you.Have you ever heard of CrochetAustralia.com.au they have magazines and patterns for crochet and knitting plus they can even supply Tunisian crochet hooks and they are very good. I highly recommend them i have had nothing but prompt friendly service when i have ordered. I haven't looked on their site for a while but they might have looms by now also.My girlfriend and i were looking for what the Americans call cotter pins and found them here known as split pins. You can buy them in lots of sizes and the trick i have been told is to screw the hole put the pin in back to front. Its a bit hard to explain but they look a bit like a metal hair pin.Anyway thats what we have to use in our rakes we are going to make.

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good plan on the cotter pins (aka cotter keys to my mechanic daughter) split pins or whatever else they may be called in the world. I hadn't thought of them, but they would work great.

Having English as a base language, we can somewhat communicate, but sometimes have to search for the proper word in another English speaking country. Wonder how that translates in French or German??? or some other world languages? Oh well! maybe they can get the drift of what we are going after.

Drilling tiny holes is the cherry pits too! I don't care to spend hours on end doing those either. (Just finished placing cup hooks for my teacup collection, Now to do the coffee mugs?)

With all of us communicating our ideas and where to get some of the supplies we need, we should all come out winners.

Ordinarily I would hand out "blue" ribbons for great ideas. That is top award here in the USA. I think for you it would be a "red" ribbon?


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I know the German for I spin is ich spinne and its supposed to mean your a little crazy in direct translation lol.English is a fascinating language when you consider its derived from so many different languages and dialects. I am reading some Nathaniel Hawthorne at the moment and am so enjoying the 1860's English. I read a couple of paragraphs to my son and then had to translate what he mean't into todays english,I can't print what he said in reply to me though. LOL!

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Yes, I have been reading The Scarlett Letter with my granddaughter. Have to translate it into modern English for her. And her answer is also unprintable! She thinks in terms of some TeenyBopper Super Model on TV, which shows I cannot even bear to stay in the same room!!

Sometimes I regret that we have that Satellite system for TV.

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jaquiw, I have finally seen the knitting looms at Spotlight - they look exactly like my KK looms, but being my local Spotlight, there was no price to be found, grrrr! I used cotter/split pins on my rake, but bullet head nails on my weaving looms - much cheaper.
I'm still trying to knit a cardigan/jacket (depends on how heavy it comes out, lol!) for my husband, but its sooooooo cold here at the mmoment, and dry too! We go into increased water rationing in a few days. Hope its nice and wet where you are! Its strange wishing for a really wet winter, but we need it badly here in Australia.


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Oh, I am so sorry for you all having to do water rationing in the winter time!! We usually only get it in the summer.

I pray for the wet to get you also!

We docked lambs yesterday. Sheep and pens were really wet. We all came in for lunch and changed clothes, we were so muddy. We tallied right at 100% lamb crop so far this year. A few ewes still to lamb. We had about an inch of rain night before last. Made me get out of bed and slam down windows! My #1 daughter had left her truck window down, so she went out to close it. Robe and PJs were soaked when she came back in. Umberella? here somewhere!! May be dry rotted if we can find the thing.

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I have finally seen the KK-type looms at Spotlight, but no price tag, which is about par for the course, that store is soooo hopeless!
I'm still knitting at the moment, in between blending my dog hair/mohair/Romney mix. I've had to do some frogging, but I'm just about finished the back of the jacket - the fronts are already done, so I'm on the home stretch! It has dropped shoulders that are knitted from the shoulders to the wrist so that shouldn't take too long, then the collar, and maybe adjust the length slightly (Wilf is very tall with long arms and body). This is the first garment I have ever knitted. I think if I had realised how much spinning etc it would take, I might not have started it but fools rush in, etc, LoL!
It will certainly be very warm, pure Corriedale, and as we are having the coldest winter on record here in Adelaide, it will be worn. So far its taken over 3 Kgs of raw fleece, but I will have yarn left over as its multicoloured. I started it Easter 2006.


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The only challenges that are worthwhile are those that make us better than we were!! And taking on the challange of knitting a sweater from scratch is one of those challanges!

I am sure the Corriedale will keep your Wilf very warm.

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