Showing posts with label spinning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spinning. Show all posts

Monday, April 6, 2015

Louët S10 DT vs. Schacht Ladybug

Tämä on sen verran pitkä postaus, että hyppään suomennoksen yli tällä kertaa :) Ajatuksia Louët S10 DT:sta ja Schacht Ladybugista tuoreen kehrääjän silmin.

When I got my first spinning wheel little over a year ago, I really wanted a Schacht Ladybug. It looked nice and had both scotch and double drive. Unfortunately it was not available in Norway and I wanted to support a local dealer, so Silja Devine suggested getting a Louët S10 DT. I had never spun on a wheel before, so I had no presumptions on what I would get. 

I had some beginner's issues with my S10, but eventually with some Vaseline and googling I got around spinning actual yarn with it. In addition to one-braid skeins, I have spun 2 sweater quantities with my Louët, a 3-ply (light) fingering weight and a heavier 3-ply between worsted and DK. I can spin thin on the Louët, but it requires tricking the wheel by crosslacing the flyer to lessen the pull on my hands. 

But then Spinnvilt announced they would be taking in Schacht. I still wanted my Ladybug...

So, here they are, side by side:




After testing out the Ladybug I thought I'd write down some thoughts on both wheels.

Louët S10 DT:
+ "Spinning wheel for dummies". Very few moving parts, easy to understand. I had only done spindle spinning and watched some YouTube-videos before venturing forth with my first wheel.
+ Changing bobbins is easy-peasy. You cannot get them in the wrong way (well, yes you can, but there is no drive band groove on the other end, so you cannot SPIN like that).
+ Relatively easy to treadle one footed, even though it is double treadle. 
+/- Pulls like a freight train, fantastic for plying and thicker yarns, a bit tricky for thin singles.
+ Sliding hooks on the flyer - love these things!
+ Plastic driveband and leather break band - pretty much indestructible.
+ Relatively large bobbins.
- Only one tension type (Irish tension / bobbin lead)
- The drive wheel has a preferred stopping point - at my wheel it is the hole situated at 1 o'clock. If it is not there, it WILL roll there by itself. 
- Doesn't have a hook / screw to attach your singles to when you stop spinning on the side of the mother-of-all like the Ladybug does.
(- It really isn't pretty to look at...)

Schacht Ladybug:
+ Scotch tension and double drive, so my collection is now complete. Haven't tried DD yet though.
+ I feel I have more control on the Scotch to do minute adjustments than the Irish.
+ You can adjust the take up to almost nothing to allow for easy thin spinning.
+ Large treadles allow adjusting foot position while spinning.
+ The wheel doesn't seem to have a preferred position, so it will stay where you parked it.
+ Little screw on the side of the mother-of-all to wrap your singles around when you stop spinning.
(+ just so darned pretty)
- Changing bobbins is a lot more hassle than on the S10. You will have to make sure the front maiden is just right after changing, or you'll face troubles.
- I miss my sliding hooks... You can get a Woolly Winder though, or the bulky flyer head.
- I have not yet mastered one-footed treadling.
- Due to allowing multiple tension methods, you can put the bobbins in the wrong way.

I love the Ladybug and have no regrets in getting it, but at the same time I am happy I didn't get the Ladybug as my first wheel, since I had absolutely no experience on wheels. It is much more complex system, and I still keep on forgetting to take off the break band when changing bobbins... The S10 is just *easy*. I will be keeping it for plying as the bobbins are bigger (I don't have the bulky flyer for the Ladybug) and the Irish tension gives more take up. I tested plying on the Ladybug and to get the amount of take up I was used to on the S10 I really had to crank the breakband and treadling became very heavy.

Louët is now offering configurable wheels, where you basically can build your own, so the S10 as its own model is no longer available, but there is a configuration option to get the same set up.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Moab shawl

Tour de Fleecen aikana kehräsin Lanitium ex Machinan merinoa 2-säikeiseksi paksuksi pitsivahvuudeksi (800m/145g; 551m/100g). Etsiskelin pitkään huivimallia, ja päädyin Moab shawliin, joka toimii hyvin käsinkehrätyn langan kanssa. Työmatkaprojektina meni 27 tuntia neulomiseen. Projekti Ravelryssa.






During Tour de Fleece I span Lanitium ex Machina's merino into a heavy lace weight 2-ply (800m/145g; 551m/100g). After searching ages for a pattern, I found the Moab shawl, which works nicely with handspun. This was a commute project, total of 27 hours. Project-page in Ravelry.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Rye with a twist / Ruista soveltaen


You know when sometimes you start a project with one pattern in mind, then your gauge is way off and you end up changing absolutely everything? That's what happened here. I started out with Rye  because I fell in love with the ribbons. I was nowhere near the ballpark with gauge, so had to recount everything, and then I also added some more decreases. And then I remembered seeing some wristies in Ravelry where the thumb gusset incorporated leaf-lace (October Leaves Fingerless Mitts), and since I wanted some umpf to the stockinette, I took just the lace-pattern. In the end I decided to leave out the ribbons from Rye because I think the buttons would catch on my jacket as I am wearing these in the chilly mornings of the spring.

Project in Ravelry
Yarn: Handspun bfl-silk, 40g
Needles: 3mm + 2,5mm for the top ribbing

Tiedättehän sen, kun aloitat neuletta tietystä ohjeesta, ja neuletiheys ei täsmää ollenkaan, ja lopulta siitä alkuperäisestä ohjeesta ei ole mitään jäljellä? No näin kävi (taas) tällä kertaa. Aloitin Ruista ranteessa, kun rakastuin noihin kiinnitysnauhoihin, mutta neuletiheys ei ollut sinne päinkään. Pikaiset uudelleenlaskelmat ja lisäsin vielä kavennuksia tuohon varteen. Sitten muistin laittaneeni yhdet hauskat kämmekkään suosikkeihin Ravelryssa, kun niissä oli peukalokiila tehty lehtipitsillä. Halusin jotain vähän erikoisempaa sileää neuletta maustamaan, joten otin sitten October Leaves Fingerless Mitts:eista pitsikuvion. Pääteltyäni kämmekkäät tulin siihen tulokseen, että noi Rukiiden ihanien kiinnitysnauhojen napit varmasti jäisivät vain kiinni takkiin, kun näistä tuli ulkoiluvarusteet kevään kylmiin aamuihin. Että semmoset ei-rukiit :)

Projekti Ravelryssa
Lanka: Käsinkehrätty bfl-silkki, 40g
Puikot: 3mm + 2,5mm yläosan juostinneuleeseen







Sunday, April 27, 2014

Hilltop Cloud BFL-silk

More practising at gettting even quality yarn: Hilltop Cloud's bfl-silk ended up as 3-ply 360m/90g fingering weight.

Sormiharjoittelut jatkuvat, Hilltop Cloudin bfl-silkki taipui kolmisäikeiseksi langaksi, metrejä n. 360m / 90g.







Retro Girl Starshower

I've been a good girl and actually knit some of my spinning! Greenwood Fiberworks' heathered bfl in Retro Girl -colorway ended up as a cowl.

Olen jopa neulonut kehräilyistäni :) Greenwood Fiberworksin heathered bfl värissä Retro Girl taipui keepiksi.

Pattern / Ohje: Starshower
Needles / Puikot: 4 mm
Project in Ravelry







Sunday, April 13, 2014

Retro Girl

Alan saamaan pikkuhiljaa aikaiseksi tasaisempaa lankaa. Tässä olisi sormiharjoituksina tehty aivan mahtava Greenwood Fiberworksin heathered bfl värissä "Retro Girl". Metrejä n. 510, grammoja 118, 2-säikeistä. Kehrätty S10:n standardirullalla, keskimmäisellä kehrällä (1:7.5). Lanka Ravelryssa.

I am slowly getting better at spinning more consistent yarn. Here is some absolutely stunning Greenwood Fiberworks heathered bfl in colorway "Retro Girl". About 510 m / 118 g; 2-ply. Spun on the standard bobbin with my S10, middle whorl (1:7.5) The yarn in Ravelry.






Sunday, March 30, 2014

A new familymember / Uusi perheenjäsen

About a month ago it arrived, my new baby: Louët S10 DT. My fiber-stash has since grown exponentially, and this is what I have done so far.

Kuukausi sitten se saapui, uusi perheenjäsen: Louët S10 DT. Kuitustashini on alkanut kasvaa räjähdysmäisesti ja valmistakin on tullut.

100% oatmeal blue faced leichester, Lanitium ex Machina, 2-ply 135g/300m

Ravelry




100% polwarth, Lanitium ex Machina, 2-ply 142g/440m
Ravelry








Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sweet tomato heel

From the spindle spun southdown in my previous post, I knitted Sweet Tomato Heel -socks by Cat Bordhi during the Easter holidays:


Edellisen postauksen langasta neuloutui pääsiäispyhinä Cat Bordhin Sweet Tomato Heel -kantapäällä varustetut sukat:


Needles / Puikot: 3,75 mm KnitPro circ / pyöröt
Gauge / Tiheys: 5,5 sts / 1 inch

Then if only I would dare to use them...

Sitten kun näitä vielä raaskisi pitää...


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Oh dear, that was a long hiatus... / Paluu pitkältä tauolta

Well, that was a loooong pause there... A lot has happened since, and then again kinda nothing. Suvi sadly disappeared not too long after my last post and was never found - she had a microchip, so if she was alive and taken to a vet, she would've found her way home. So, we are a dog-only household now. Boyd's soon 4 and Ike turned 2 not long ago. 

Hups, siitä tulikin pitkä tauko... Kaikenlaista on tapahtunut ja toisaalta taas ei mitään erikoista. Suvi katosi 2011 syksyllä, eikä koskaan palannut takaisin kotiin. Oli kuitenkin sirutettu, joten jos olisi eläinlääkäriin päätynyt, olisivat ottaneet yhteyttä. Että meillä on sitten enää vain koirat: Boyd täyttää kohta 4 ja Ike täytti hetki sitten 2.


On the craft front it has been rather quiet - working life interferes with my hobbies big time. Lately I've taken up spinning though, and here's my reason of getting back to posting: my first full top fiber spun on a top whorl spindle.

Käsityörintamalla on ollut aika hiljaista, työelämä haittaa suuresti harrastamista. Keväällä yleensä aina aktivoidun, ja tämän kevään Uusi Juttu on ollut värttinäkehräys: tässä olisi ensimmäinen kokonainen kehrätty topsi.

HilltopCloud southdown; 188 m, 125g, 10-13 wpi,, navajo-plied on a 42g top whorl spindle