First edition of Yarnmaker magazine

The first issue of a UK printed magazine for hand spinners is about to be sent out. You can now subscribe via the magazine's site and she will post the magazine to readers in most parts of the world.

The range of content looks wide and rich.

Dorothy Lumb is the editor and publisher. You may know her from Dot's Fibre to Fabric.

Read more and subscribe

Express yourself

At Cafepress you can find gifts for yourself or others featuring custom designs.

Fancy a tee-shirt, tote bag or mug that tells the world 'I'd rather be spinning', 'Eat. Sleep. Spin', 'What's on your wheel?'

See spinning designs at Cafepress

Fair Isle Knitting

Moira Hickey marches across sodden fields on Fair Isle to look at the importance of knitting to the islanders at a time when knitting is about to be dropped from the curriculum. Besides meeting the sheep and discussing the traditional techniques, she asks about the viability of a 'fair trade' product handmade from fleece to jumper, and whether hand knitting should be kept alive as a tradition on the island or be developed to encourage tourism.

Broadcast on Thursday 5th August 2010 and available on the iPlayer

Listen to the programme

Knitting on a plane

It's holiday time, but can you knit on the plane...?

There is much debate about this subject wherever you are in the world including here in the UK.

The answer seems to be yes or no, depending on your airport. I've done some research for you:

Read more

Making a call on the hoof

I can't really see the link between sheep and telephones, (maybe the switch to optical fibre for communications...) so they strike me as a little bit surreal. But these captivating sheep are beautifully-made.

They're made from old telephones and cords, and so maybe they highlight the green aspect of real wool. Make up your own mind.

Thank you to Joanna Kenny for this one.

See more.

Selvedge Magazine

Selvedge magazine is a special and collectable magazine, covering interior design and contemorary textile art.

Be one of the first to read the Summer 2010 issue (number 35) from me for £10

Read more about the current issue.

Blogpick: A rug on her loom

I'm impressed with the scale and practicality of this project. Needing a carpet for the upstairs hall, Yarnspider thought "Why buy new carpet when we could have something more personal and cosy instead?"

It looks beautiful so far and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished item.

Read the blog post.

Damselfly Traditional Spinning Wheel

Ashford Traditional with blue / green damselflies flitting around the wheel as you spin.

Read more.

July Newsletter

Spinning news and new products, articles, great offers and some silliness. Read the new July newsletter

Extreme Knitting, 1000 Strand Knit

This video shows Rachel John breaking records by knitting with 1000 strands simultaneously on a pair of giant needles. The work of art took place at a Textiles exhibition in 2006. It's designed to make us think about waste and finding / making yarn, and as with much art, taking things out of context. I love it for these reasons, and most of all because I love it when things are taken to extreme.

The spinning connection here is a little bit tentative, but there all the same. Inspired by a spinner who collected and used scraps of fibre, the 'sweepings' from this project will be used in a future work on the theme of finding and making yarn.

Watch the video

Blogpick: Coils and Flowers by moonlightbaker

Making the blogoshpere rich with handspun is the Ravelry Tour de Fleece.

This gorgeous and beautifully coilspun art yarn is by moonlightbaker. You'll be glad that you followed this link for a close-up photo of this and more beautiful handspun on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonlightbaker/3712374296/in/photostream/

Raw washed fleece

Natural washed fleece ready to card or spin from the locks.

If you enjoy working from the raw fleece but hate that scouring and drying malarkey, then this is for you.

Raw washed fleece

Washing instructions for handspun wool

I recently designed a 'washing instructions' label for a handspun gift. I've shared the label here as text / image for you to copy and paste or in word format for you to download.

Read more / download the labels.

Ashford Katie 8-Shaft Folding Loom

It gives me pleasure to pass on news of a fully functional folding 8-shaft table loom.

It combines the portability of the knitter's loom with the functionality of the table loom. It comes lacquered and assembled.

Read more / buy the new Katie 8-Shaft Folding Loom and accessories.

13 Months of Inspiration

The 2011 Spin-Off calendar is now available. Many of the festival dates and public holidays will be American, but they've also included historical titbits such as St Drogo's Day, the patron saint of shepherds.

It features not just 12 but 13 months-worth of handspun skeins and swatches along with stitch patterns to brighten up your kitchen and provide inspiration.

Preview the calendar..

Meet the Panda family, needle felted wool toys

These very cute pandas are part of an amazing range of felted wool toys made by woolroommate. She is inspired by nature - birds, animals, flowers... and by fairytales.

More photos of the panda family and woolroommates felted toys are here on Flickr.

woolroommate's Etsy shop is here.

more about needle felting, tools, wool, books.

Angora super grade top

Amazingly soft and fluffy fibre for spinning. Spin on its own or blend with other fibres.

Read more / buy angora fibre.

Fitting a flexi (stretchy) drive band

An upgrade for the standard string drive band is a flexi-drive band; sometimes called poly-cord or stretchy drive band. More grip allows you to use less tension and makes for easier treadling. This article guides you through fitting one with some do's and don'ts

How to fit a flexi drive band.

Buy a flexi drive band.

Counting yarn yardage

My usual advice for counting yards is a free and accurate method involving counting the winds around your skeiner or niddy noddy and some simple maths

After a conversation with Gigi about counting yards, she suggested this excellent blog post, in which Joyuna checks out a number of ideas and finds a very cheap and effective solution which removes the need for counting or maths!