new lazy kate setup -- it's wonderful!

I first started out with Spinsanity's lazy kate. It might work well for someone who spins thick, but I spin laceweight singles, and there's not enough drag to prevent massive tangles and snarls.


However, I found that it works beautifully for winding singles onto a bobbin. I inserted screws into the PVC bobbin caps, rigged a shoebox to poke my spindle through, and use my electric drill to wind on.


That left the problem of needing a good system for transferring the singles from their 3 bobbins into a ball or 1 large bobbin for plying. So this past weekend, I added a second lazy kate to my collection -- a box from Target that was laying around and some old knitting needles.


It works perfectly! I put the large bobbin on Spinsanity's lazy kate and used the drill to wind on the 3 singles, then I put the large bobbin in the new lazy kate and plied from that. It was flawless! No snarls, no tangles, even tension on all the singles... I'm thrilled!

credit for the best spinning tech idea

I found the post! Artsygal on Ravelry posted about using a cordless drill to wind singles onto a dowel.

I adapted the idea to Spinsanity's Lazy Kate (PVC bobbins on a dowel rod base). I inserted screws into the PVC bobbin caps, rigged a shoebox to poke my spindle through, and it works like a dream. Winding singles onto a bobbin has never been faster or easier! No tangles, no mess, and did I mention how much faster this method is? (The shoebox lazy kate idea also came from Ravelry -- best site ever!)

zaria: singles spun, ready for plying!

I am so excited! Last night I finished spinning the Buttercup single to ply with the 2 Zaria singles!



I wound the 3 singles together into a ball in preparation for plying. (I found this post from abbysyarns on Ravelry, and it is brilliant. Plying from 1 ball instead of 3 bobbins is so much easier.)



And a picture with a kitten. For scale, of course. :) The ball weighs 1.8 oz.



I can't wait to ply tonight! My first project will be finished!

wrap for spindles without a notch

Most of my spindles don't have a notch, which can be a pain in the ass with slippery yarn. I finally figured out a way to wrap the yarn so it stays stable -- I wrap it below the cone of spun yarn and bring it straight up to the hook.