Summer knitting - interrupted

I've had to interrupt my knitting......doesn't everyone knit in the Summer holidays?.....to spin some samples for the HWSG Summer school class that I'm running next week.

I've called the class 'Wild Spinning' and hopefully it will be alot of fun.
Firstly, we spin fat singles. Quick.







Then we create a crazy batt full of all sorts. In my case, glitz, fluff, linen warp yarn and silk flock, all carded with merino wool.















It spins up wonderfully, full of shine, glitter and everything. Very happy with this.











To finish off the yarn, I ply these two singles together incorporating a knot every now and then. Big and chunky.





Now I have to do it again, all the same, except that I'm going to overdye......

Summer School crazy

I've been invited to run a class at Summer School for the Handweavers and Spinners Guild, so I've finally done some samples and decided that the class I had decided to do was doable in a day.

I decided that combining a whole lot of techniques into one yarn would give people a range of new skills or ideas, have a wild yarn and finish the day by knitting it into a simple neckwarmer.

So, first, spin a fat single:

Then, create a wild bat full of allsorts of bits, in this case, very simple, silk waste:

Spin that up:

Then I thought that we could add in some extra commercial yarns to give either texture or colour, and whilst we were plying we could create some great knots.

The resulting yarn looks like this:

You can see the big fat knots (I love them):

Then I thought that we could knit a simple neckwarmer, on really big needles. I think it's good to show how these crazy yarns are really easy to use. They knit up quick and have a fabulous wow factor.

And here's another I did earlier, which is a bit more sedate?

I hope the class runs, as this is going to be fun!