Margaret Radcliffe

At the John C. Campbell Folk School last weekend for a cotton spinning class. Hand picked the fiber off the seed, whacked and fluffed it with a pair of bamboo skewers, & spun it on a spindle made from a skewer and a chunk of potato!
#fiberart #handspinning #handspunyarn #spinningcotton #yarn

It was @jillianmoreno.bsky.social ‘s article in the spring issue of Ply Magazine that reminded me of this technique.

I like it better than plying three colors together. The color variations are more interesting. I tried 4 colors, but they didn’t want to cooperate. To make drafting easier, I might mount the three colors on combs and diz them off to make a 3-color roving.

Small skein of blue and green yarn next to top-whorl spindle with spinning of three colors of blue and greens in progress.

I’ve moved on from two colors to drafting three colors together. I like the subtler interactions.

#yarn #handspunyarn #handspinning #fiberarts

Ropes of dark green, deep blue, bright green, and turquoise wool top on a table

Five mini skeins of yarn spun in combinations of dark green, fed to blue, bright green, and turquoise. A wooden top-whorl spindle partially filled with bright green and turquoise single-ply yarn lies on top.

Playing with color combinations. 4 solids of vintage top from my stash and am “dual drafting” them, holding two colors together at a time, then making a 2-ply from those singles. So interesting to see how the colors interact.
#handspunyarn #handspinning #fiberarts #spindlespinning #yarn

Do you plan to ply them? If so, I’d tie the ends together using a slip knot as you wind them into a bobbin. Then, whine plying, pull out the slip knot, overlap the two ends, and ply across the join.

I would expect the Columbia to be noticeably shorter than the Leicester Longwool. Did you find them harder to doin because of that?

Niddynoddy, spindle full of yarn, pile of small skeins of yarn, and a coffee cup on a patio table with potted plants, garden shed, and garden bed in the background.

Coffee and fiber outside. I’m indulging in “slow spinning,” using a single Bosworth Spindle for the entire project (~21 oz in 5 different colors). This is the last color.
#handspinning #yarn #handspunyarn #spindlespinning #bosworthspindles

Mini skeins of several shades of dark red yarn, two balls of roving in orange and dark red, and a top whorl drop spindle, lying on a Longwool sheepskin

These are the first two of a five-color sequence. The keystone of this arch is a transitional skein with one ply of each color. Vintage fiber from my stash, blended by David Simpson.

#yarn #handspun #handspunyarn #wool #spinningwool #spindlespinning #spinningyarn

Three record cards with samples of wool and yarns attached, on top of a Dorset Horn handout.

Day 4 of Deborah Robson’s Explore 4 Retreat: Dorset Horn

#yarn 🧶 #wool #handspinning #spinningyarn #fiberarts #handspun #dorsethorn #deborahrobson #explore4

Oops! This was actually day 3, not day 4!

Record cards with wool and yarn samples attached on top of a handout on merino sheep and wool.

Turkish spindle on top of a record card with wool and yarn samples attached, next to a nest of prepared top.

Day 4 of Deborah Robson’s Explore 4 -Merino. 21.5 micron top in superwash & natural, then 18.5 top and a 14.5 micron top. Wool as fine as 14.5 microns is very expensive and rarely available to spinners.

#yarn 🧶 #wool #handspinning #spinningyarn #fiberarts #handspun #merino #deborahrobson #explore4

Small skeins of natural white wool yarn hanging from the protruding branches of a metal floor lamp in the shape of a pine tree.

The lamps here are really great for drying samples of yarn.

Thank you so much for the compliment. I’m so glad you found my book helpful b

Two bobbins of multicolor yarn

Rainbow skein of yarn on a floor-standing swift

Rainbow gradient center-pull ball of yarn

Center of knitted square blanket in process with rainbow ball of yarn.

Really exciting news!! Registration is now open for my new online class Color Blending and Spinning Gradient Yarns. Starts September 30.
Sponsored by MidAtlantic Fiber Association on Lessonface.
#yarn 🧶 #wool #handspinning #spinningyarn #fiberarts #handspun #color #colorblending #mafa #lessonface

The twist on this is just gorgeous!

Three record cards with wool lock and yarn samples on top of Merinomsheep handouts.

Day 2 of Deborah Robson’s Explore 4 Retreat. A “range” Merino and two colored Merinos. The colored fleeces were long, silky and luscious, not the cottony feel I expect from Merino.

#yarn 🧶 #sheep #wool #handspinning #spinningyarn #fiberarts #handspun #merino #deborahrobson #explore4

Love Bosworth spindles!

Love the texture of this.

Three record cards with sheep wool and yarn samples on top of Panama sheep breed handout.

Day 1 of Deborah Robson’s Explore 4 Retreat. The very elusive Panama sheep.

#yarn 🧶 #sheep #wool #handspinning #spinningyarn #fiberarts #panama #panamasheep

Drop spindle in process of spinning yarn, dangling in front of laptop computer showing video of Clara Parkes.

I’m on the road right now, on the way to one of Deborah Robson ’s retreats. Still sleeping on eastern time. What do you do when the rest of the world is asleep? Spin while catching up on Clara Parkes’ monthly Wool Channel Flock Talks.

#yarn #handspunyarn #spinningyarn #wool #woolchannel #fiberarts

Head shot of Margaret Radcliffe fiber artist with striped knitted garments hanging behind her

Overhead shot of class handout, books by Margaret Radcliffe, knitting needles, yarn, and striped swatch

All set up for my Stripe Tricks workshop that starts this evening (7pm US Eastern Time). It's not too late to register!
www.lessonface.com/apply/Stripe...

@lessonface.bsky.social
#knitting
#knittingworkshop #knittingclass #colorknitting #knittingtips #KnittingClass #johnccampbellfolkschool

Wool lick with tip on carding cloth block

Wool licks mounted on wool comb

Combed @bird nests@ of wool

I'm opening the tips on this Shetland fleece with my Clemes & Clemes Lock Pop before combing. Less waste and easier on my hands. What are you working on today?

#clemesandclemes
#shetlandwool #shetlandfleece #fiberprep #fiberpreparation #wool #handspining #spinningyarn

Open zipper bag with prepared fiber, skeins of yarn, and a drop spindle full of plied fiber

Do you have a go bag with a carry-around project? I have a stash of breed-specific wool braids that I spin when I have no other priorities. This is Dorset Horn, spun on a Bosworth Spindles top whorl spindle.

#handspun #spinningyarn #dorsethorn #SE2SE #heritagesheepbreeds #spinningwool #fiberarts

I’m teaching a workshop on knitting and designing striped fabrics. Two sessions, March 5th & March 12th. Sponsored by the John C Campbell Folk School on Lessonface.

www.lessonface.com/apply/Stripe...

#knit #knittechnique #colorwork #colorknitting #fiberart #folkschool #lessonface #johnccampbell

Love my Bosworth spindle!

2/2 The tips are darker & reddish, middles are taupe, and the butts are white. When I pull them off the longer dark-tipped fibers come off first, shorter white fibers last, so each nest of top is a gradient from light to dark. I’m intentionally not blending the fiber so the yarn will be variegated.

Shetland wool locks

Skein of hand spun Shetland wool with record card and samples

1/2 Me too. On this fleece, I carded one section repeatedly, blending to make a consistent heathered yarn, rather than a variegated one. The color differences you are seeing in my combed top is because the locks themselves are variegated.

Nevermind—just saw your profile. Do you incorporate textile history in many of your courses?

What department?