My Spinning Wheel Journey

Here is my lovely spinning wheel. This is a second hand spinning wheel from a supplier who restores and reconditions spinning wheels.  I've never had one before and did not have any idea about using it, but luckily I was given a couple of spinning books for Christmas so have been able to work out what to do.

My lovely husband gave me five different hand dyed spinning wools that he picked up on a visit to Canada. I've started spinning these wools and am knitting an afgan to see what the hand spun wool looks like.  So far so good, I am please with how the wool has spun up, both thick and thin and how it looks when knitted.

My next project is to spin fleece. 

I managed to get hold of a Jacob sheep fleece, which is white, brown, grey and black wool, but have not unpacked it yet as it smells a bit like a farmyard. As soon as the weather is better I will unpack, wash and prepare the sheep fleece.

Also had great fun when I visited a local Alpaca farm and managed to get a variety of different colour Alpaca fleece.  I'm now busy preparing and spinning the Alpaca fleece. Unlike sheep fleece, which needs to be washed before preparing and spinning, Alpaca fleece can be spun straight from the fleece. 

A few more buttons

A few more buttons; some are made with my own glazes.

A bit of abstract

I love abstract work and have had a go at making abstract buttons. My own handmade glazes have been used to give a water colour effect on these buttons.

Hootie Tootie Buttons

We made lots and lots of Hootie Tootie buttons; these ones turned out well, but quite a lot of them turned out so badly that they did not deserve a picture (poor Hootie Tooties).

Two medium sized brown Hootie Tootie buttons

Four pretty coloured small Hootie Tootie buttons

Three lovely green/blue small Hootie Tootie buttons

Two sweet little reddish Hootie Tootie buttons

One lonely Hootie Tootie button

Two cute little Hootie Tootie buttons

Little Chickies

Some of the Little Chickie buttons we have made.  I'm pleased with these Chickie buttons, like the size, shape, design and the colours.

Ceramic Buttons

Our attempt a making ceramic buttons. It is difficult to see what the end result will be as the glaze looks so different before it has been in the kiln. These are not particularly good photo's, but give an idea of how different the buttons are before the kiln cycle.

Buttons before the kiln cycle

Buttons after the kiln cycle

Ceramic Buttons

We have been having a play with ceramics; here are some of the buttons that we have made.