Thinking about making chicken and waffles for dinner. It would definitely be an indulgence, but I think it would be popular.
@Helical_Code I don't think you can go wrong with chicken and waffles. What time should we all show up? My stomach is already growling.
@Helical_Code LOL leaving me alone with unanswered questions is risky. I have since gone down a rabbit hole and learned a lot about spindles and wheels and rigid heddle looms and different ply yarn and using homespun yarn for weaving..... #sodangerous
@Foxthorn
Oh dear. I should have guessed that!
For making a plied yarn, with any number of strands, the approach is to spin clockwise and ply counter-clockwise. The effect is that the some of the tension introduced spinning the singles is transferred when plying, stabilizing the yarn.
However, it's also true that you can just make a single and knit with it. So what stabilizes that? Wool is pretty grippy - the shafts of the fiber are not perfectly smooth. I think it's fair to say that this friction works against the tendency to unwind.
I do spindle spin, but not as much as before I got a wheel. I was using a top whorl drop spindle while waiting for the bus, and someone came up to me and said, "Is that motorized?" And I said, "No, it's just well-balanced."
I could see why he would have thought there was a motor - it was a Bosworth, and those are exceptionally well-balanced spindles.
@Helical_Code I am suddenly quite distressed that I missed out on this whole aspect of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival last time I was in Idaho. I got good pictures, but I completely missed the artistry....
@Foxthorn
It looks like you will have another chance this coming October!
@Helical_Code Our family in Sun Valley is currently in the process of relocating to Florida (yuck...don't ask me why) so our chances of returning to Idaho this year are slim. Also, the dogs make it hard to travel. I always say...my next dog will be travel size, and then my next dog ends up being another rescue with health issues that needs a good home that can afford the vet bills.
@Helical_Code From what I was reading, it is advised to try a lot of wheels before settling on one. How long did you wait before moving to a wheel? Of course then there's the selection of the wool itself and the dying process if you want to go that far into it...and so so many directions one could go with this....
@Foxthorn
I had the incredible luck of someone giving me a spindle, as they had inherited two from a family friend and already had one. I probably spun on spindles for 2-3 years before shifting to a wheel, but mostly because I was waffling about the $500-$1000 price tag on a wheel.
I did purchase a drum carder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHWfb1mC8M4
@Helical_Code I had to watch it twice because I was so focused on the store behind her. I do hope that store has a cozy little knitters corner somewhere with a bunch of people sitting around spinning and knitting and chatting.
@Foxthorn
I've been in stores like that. It can be a little overwhelming!
@Foxthorn
What part of the fiber arts are you engaged in? (The fiber evangelist in me wants to know. 😉 ) None yet is a fine answer!
@Helical_Code None whatsoever. I dabbled in crochet when I was a college student and needed something to occupy my hands. I admit to being really bad at it, mostly because I can't keep track of stitch numbers so anything more complicated than a square pot holder involves a lot of cursing and do-overs. However, I am always willing to learn new things (and THAT is how I spent 13 years in college) and I'm older now although I don't know how much that has helped my focus.
@Foxthorn 7 pm!
Also, I realized last night - while at the spinning wheel - that I haven't yet answered the question about what keeps a three-ply yarn together. I will, though!