lundi 5 janvier 2015

A magical beginning of the year

For me, the beginning of this new year is really lovely and magical. 

You certainly remember that I wanted to have a try at spinning by going to the "Pub Spinning" in Paris on the last 28th of december. 

I did it ... 
See below, my feet on the treadles of a spinning wheel (Majacraft) that I've borrowed from a very kind lady who showed me how to do. I sat with the spinning wheel front of me and I trained half an hour to pump and balance the 2 treadles ... first step done ! 
Look below how I was concentrating ! 

Vous vous souvenez certainement de mon projet de m'initier au filage lors du pub spinning à Paris qui a eu lieu le 28 décembre dernier (organisé par Tricotin.com). J'y suis allée et me suis frottée au filage au rouet... exercice difficile. Après un entrainement à coordonner le pédalage des pieds, ce fut très très ardu de coordonner les mains !!! 


Merci à Zouzou pour la photo ! 
One my right side, you can see a lady with her electric spinning wheel ... no treadle here, just the hands working ... 
And it's a light machine you can take everywhere ... only 2,5 kgs ! 
Ici, une des participantes avait amené son rouet électrique (2,5 kgs)... très pratique , pas de pédale, seules les maines travaillent.


An other lady showed us ho to make colorful rolags with a carder ....
Une autre animatrice nous a fait une démonstration de fabrique de rouleaux à filer sur une cardeuse. 





She made easily and quickly 3 rolags ready to be spun ! 
Très facilement et rapidement, elle a fait 3 rouleaux prêts à être filés. 


And here below, this is my first handspun yarn ...... 
I really had a hard time to spin this thread !!! 
I didn't think it was so hard to have an even thread !  
My hands didn't feel how to "draft" that means when I've had to pull the fibers to be spun while the other hand kept them pinched. It's difficult to coordinate the hands : one pinches the fibers while the other pulls !! It seems so easy when you're looking at ladies doing it ... but in fact, it's really hard ! 
And very funny too !! We laught a lot of my clumsiness!! 
But if I want to understand more the process and to feel it right, I need to practise the movement .... a lot !! 

Ci-dessous, voyez mon 1er fil filé .... 
J'ai souffert pour l'avoir ! J'ai en revanche bien ri avec l'animatrice car je ne réussissais pas à coordonner mes mains et le fil !!! 
Ce fil est trop tordu ... 
J'ai besoin de beaucoup d'entrainement si je veux faire quelque chose de correct ! 
Je ne pensais pas qu'il était si difficile d'obtenir un fil régulier !!!! 


Well, the result here was not very good but as I want to seriously try to progress, when I came back home, I've ordered a turkish drop spindle and some carded wool ...
And luckily I've received it last wednesday !
I wanted to start with a drop spindle because it's cheaper than a spinning wheel and I thought it was a good way to feel the work of hands ... 

Le soir même, j'ai commandé un fuseau turc et de la laine cardée en vue de m'entrainer à la coordination de mes mains. 
Par chance, je l'ai reçu rapidement. 
J'ai opté pour un fuseau car c'est moins cher qu'un rouet et il me semble qu'il permet de bien travailler la coordination des mains, indispensable au filage. 


I've tried it and 1 hour later .... 
Au bout d'une heure d'essai ...



The turkish spindle is very pratical because you're making the ball of yarn while you're spinning. At the end, you only have to remove the shaft and the cross bars to get the ball. 

Le fuseau turc est pratique car au fur et à mesure du filage, il permet d'embobiner le fil. A la fin, on a juste à retirer l'axe et les deux croix pour avoir la pelote. 


You don't have to wind it but for mine I've prefered to do it. 
J'ai préféré tout de même refaire la pelote avec ma bobineuse. 


See below the difference of spinning : at the end of the ball, the thread seems to be regular ...
Voyez ci-dessous la différence de filage ici la fin de la pelote avec un fil assez régulier... 


and here at the beginning the wool is not well spun... too thick and irregular ...  
avec le début du filage où le fil est plus gros et irrégulier....


I'm happy with this because now I'm slowly feeling the "drafting" ... the basis of spinning. 
I must practise again and again but I've started to feel the right coordination of hands !!! 
 I hope I'll progress and make better threads.
But believe me, spinning it's sooooooo pleasant, so nice ...
To feel the wool sliding through your fingers ... that's a great sensation ! It's so magical ! 
You should try it ! 

J'espère que les progrès vont vite se faire ....
Mais croyez moi, filer est vraiment agréable ... sentir la laine qui file doucement entre nos doigts ... c'est génial ! Et magique !
Vou devriez essayer ! 


In addition to that, one of my Christmas gifts from my husband was this book about spinning and making our own skeins ! Perfect and such a lovely gift ! 
The French version of the book : The complete guide to spinning yarn- Brenda Gibson (2011). 

Well, this new year, I'm heading for some new woolly and magical experiences ... 

I've also made many other things during these last 8 days, I'll show you all on the next post ! 



And what about your beginning of this new year ? Is it so lovely, sweet and woolly as mine ? I hope so ... 

See you soon!
xx

17 commentaires:

  1. That looks like a wonderfull time you've had, Geraldine, and your words remember me at my first steps of spinning. A drop spindle is a quiet good way to practice drafting, so I did. Looking forward to hear and see more of your wooly experiences. Have a good time,Birgit

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  2. Wow, what a lovely experience. Looking forward to more of your adventures with spinning. I have an antique spinning wheel but have still not learnt how to use it, maybe this year?

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  3. contente que tu m'aies accompagnée et que çà t'ai plu à ce point là.
    ta patience est récompensée car ton premier fil est plus joli que le mien, il suffit d'avoir la bonne fibre à filer. bravo !

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  4. Well done with the spinning so far. A friend gave me a beautiful spinning wheel but I don't really know how to use it properly. I need to go and learn.

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  5. Tu es une véritable " Belle au bois Dormant"! Même pour une cycliste pédaler semble difficile ... En tout cas tu nous donne vraiment envie! Quel plaisir en effet de voir son fil se créer ...J'attends la suite !:)

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  6. Wow, I am so impressed. I am amazed at how far you have progressed. Good luck with your spinning.
    Meredith

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  7. Very interesting, good luck!!
    Have a great week.:*

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  8. That looks like hard work but the yarn made by hand is so much more special than any store bought one! Looking forward to see where your spinning adventures will take you in 2015!

    Take care
    Anne (Crochet Between Worlds)

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  9. Brilliant Geraldine, so glad you enjoyed your first spinning class and that you want to continue on doing it. I'm looking forward to seeing all the lovely yarn you're going to produce. :)
    V x

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  10. Bonjour Géraldine! I have always wanted to learn how to spin and reading your blog post and seeing your results I really want to give it a try. I can see how rewarding it must be! I look forward to seeing more of your hand spun!!

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  11. I haven't tried spinning but I find it so interesting. It looks like you had a fun and informative time, thank you for sharing.

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  12. Oh my days it does look incredibly complicated Geraldine but the results are amazing. I think I can imagine it would be therapeutic once up and running, time to think and dream perhaps.
    Have fun
    Helen

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  13. Merci pour le beau reportage !! tu as vécu une belle expérience

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  14. C'est super d'avoir pu participer à un atelier de filage, je pense que ça aide beaucoup pour débuter. C'est une activité que j'aimerais pouvoir pratiquer... Tiens-nous au courant de tes progrès. Bonne journée.

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  15. Ralala trop chouette! J'aimerais bien essayer le rouet aussi. Filer au fuseau c'est vrai que c'est agréable. Reposant même... enfin sauf pour les bras ^^

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  16. Whish you a fabulous 2015 Geraldine !

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  17. Oh Wow! I'm really impressed by your handspun yarn! I gave it a go once but was terrible, so I really hope that you continue with it as I think you'll be awesome! x

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