In my article "My Rabbit Hole: A 15-year journey to consistent spinning" in the latest issue of @plymagazine I shared the experiences I felt helped me improve my spinning consistency. One of the things I struggled with a lot was woolen spinning and spinning cotton. I've grown a lot over the past couple years and I finally feel comfortable spinning cotton and find it a lot of fun to work with. This was definitely not always the case. These four skeins of cotton show my progress. From left to right: Tahkli spun 2013, Majacraft Aura spun 2015, Magpie spun 2020, and Sparrow/Falcon spun and Falcon plied 2021. Last two photos are of the Sparrow/Falcon skeins with the last one being a closer view. I'm extremely proud of my progress and grateful to have wonderful friends like @longdrawjames who provided a lot of advice and encouragement. If you are thinking about learning to spin cotton, don't be afraid, go for it! The more you try and practice the more you'll improve. #plymagazine #writingforplymagazine #myjourneytoconsistentspinning #spinningcotton #handspuncotton #cottonspinning #tahklispindle #tahklispinning #majacraftaura #majacraft #daedalusspinningwheels #daedalusmagpie #daedalusfalcon #spinnersofinstagram #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram

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I finished my very first big cotton spin! It still needs washed but this is hands down the most cotton I’ve ever spun before. This is 5.35 oz of Sea Island cotton spun as a 2,140 yard 2 ply approximately 50 WPI. This project was split across my Sparrow with 2.5 oz spun last year and the rest spun on Falcon. I’m extremely pleased with how this yarn turned out. It still has some problem areas but overall this is leaps and bounds better than any other attempt at spinning cotton. I’m planning on eating a small amount of this on my Baby Macomber to test out what sett I’ll need to get the right look and feel I want for this woven up as a twill. This cotton will be the warp and the weft will be 2/20 silk. Once I get my sett sorted I’ll likely need to spin a wee bit more and then get it warped up for a 22 inch wide 3 yard long stole. The warp will be hand painted by my friend @longdrawjames. He’s eager to dye up some cotton warps and I’m excited to see how it turns out. Now to spin more cotton! 😁 #handspuncotton #spinningtoweave #spinningcotton #weavingwithhandspun #seaislandcotton #ashenflock #longdrawjames #igspinners #handspunyarn #handspinning #yarnspinners #daedalusspinningwheels #daedalusfalcon

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Had to make a run to the mailbox as I had two fibery related packages one from @stillyriveryarns and the other from @sock_slayer. Was a perfect opportunity to use my brand new umbrella from @ikeausa which reminds me of knitting. 💚 #ikea #umbrella #rainypacificnorthwest #knittedumbrella #knitting

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On Friday during my Twitch livestream, I finished filling up this Falcon bobbin with 2 plied cotton of around 50 WPI. I would describe this bobbin as quite squishy and even with the squish factor, I was able to fit approximately 1.75 oz onto the bobbin. This may be a smaller skein than what I'm used to working with but with this sort of yardage, it'll be great to work with. This cotton is destined to become a painted warp to be paired with a 2/20 Black silk for weft. During the Saturday Zoom Spin in I was able to nearly fill up the second Falcon bobbin and have approximately .35 oz left on one bobbin that I'll need to sort out how I want to ply. I may create a center pull ball and then create a plying ball from that to ensure the smoothest/safest plying experience to make sure I can ply every last bit up. #handspuncotton #spinningcotton #cottonspinning #spinningtoweave #handspunweaving #handspunhandwoven #igspinnersinspiration #spinnersofinstagram #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram #daedalusspinningwheels #daedalusfacon #electricspinningwheel #espinner

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On Monday I got an amazing delivery from @akerworks. The public testing prototype of the Travel Swift! I am loving all the updates from the prior version I was testing. The packaging looks fantastic and the new ClampyKates are AWESOME!!!!!! I could totally see using these for chain plying. Super portable and versatile! I've set up the Travel Swift on my new weaving bench which will give me at max 2 yards to work with which I think is ideal. More testing information from me soon and to read more about how testing is going there's a thread over on that one website I don't like to use anymore(r a v e l r y). I'll also be posting some information on the Akerworks Discord as well. 😁 #yarnswift #yarnswiftandballwinder #akerworks #akerworkstravelswift #akerworksprototypetesting #igspinners #handspunyarn #handspinning #yarnspinners #knittersofinstagram #igknitters #knittersofig

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OH MY SQUEE!!!! Ok first off Instagram is now allowing me to post photos via my desktop!!!! How awesomesauce is that! Ok, awesome new feature aside how adorable is this little bobbin? This is the Falcon bobbin. @daedalusspinningwheels estimates that it can fit approximately 2 oz of singles. The estimate is a general guideline as your capacity can vary depending on how you spin(WPI and draft) as well as your tension. I was able to fit approximately 2.5 oz of Sea Island cotton 80 WPI singles. I'm currently plying this spin on the Falcon so I'm eager to see how much I can fit of this plied onto a single bobbin. #spinnersofinstagram #handspunwool #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram #spinningcotton #cottonspinning #seaislandcotton #spinningtoweave #weavingwithhandspun #daedalusspinningwheels #daedalusfalcon #electricspinningwheel

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I’m only half an ounce away from hitting my 2.5 ounce goal! I’m hoping to finish the last of this cotton during the Live Q&A for the Falcon tomorrow on the @daedalusspinningwheels Facebook group! #spinningcotton #cottonspinning #seaislandcotton #spinnersofinstagram #igspinnersinspiration #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram #daedalusspinningwheels #daedalusfalcon

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My Outlander Wrap is officially finished and now I’m just waiting for the optimal conditions between the beauty of fall, dry weather, and the right light to get the perfect photos of this wrap. It’s been beautiful the past couple days but most of the leaves are still green. I’m hoping they’ll turn yellow at just the right time. The Outlander Weave A Long was hosted by @hookandshuttle. There will be kits available in the future and more weave a longs to come! #wovenwrap #outlanderwrap #weaving #weaversofig #handweaversofinstagram #babymacomber #floorloomweaver #janestaffordonlineguild #handwoven #handwoventextiles #handwoventwill #weaversgonnaweave #4harnessloom #hookandshuttle #hookandshuttlewal #hookandshuttleweavealong #outlander #outlanderweavealong

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I think my Falcon has enough floof food to last it quite awhile! This is all my cotton from various sources including @ashenflock(@longdrawjames), @hipstrings, and @vreseis. On the Sparrow I was spinning at 90% which with the Magpie power brick is about 1,880 RPM (Magpie power supply tacks on 50+ RPM to Sparrow). That speed is equivalent to 45% on Falcon which is where I started. I was shocked at how comfortable it was at that speed and felt so at ease that I’ve upped it so far to 47% which is approximately 1,944 RPM. I feel like I’ll be able to go faster so we’ll see where this birdie takes me. It definitely wants to soar! #easytospincotton #foxfibrecotton #longdrawjames #ashenflock #hipstrings #spinningcotton #cottonspinning #handspinningcotton #igspinnersinspiration #wemakeyarn #spinnersoftheworld #spinnersofinstagram #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram #daedalusspinningwheels #daedalusfalcon #electricspinningwheel #espinner

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That fiber floof rabbit hole was pretty deep. Here’s some more pretties I recently added to stash. This gorgeousness is by @woolfiendd and is a blend of Polwarth/Dehaired Llama/Rose. The colors are just so lovely. 🥰 #woolfiend #polwarth #llama #rosefiber #spinnersofinstagram #handspunwool #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram

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In addition to the floof from @longdrawjames, he also located the spindles he hadn’t sent me yet. The bowl and Supported Dealgan and UFO are all made of Granadillo. Next Is a Carob UFO on a Maple shaft and last is a Bolivian Supported Dealgan. Need to finish a few more projects and then I can start in on a flick spin. 😍 #spindlespinning #spindlersofinstagram #supportedspindle #supporteddealgan #dealgan #longdrawjamesspindles #woolenspinning

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Last Wednesday an incredible package arrived from @longdrawjames. I wanted to try out some of his new fibers he’s added to the shop and WOW, they do not disappoint! Left to Right: 2 braids of Cormo, 2 braids of South American with black Viscose Nepps, Cormo, Double Sorted BFL(the nicest BFL I’ve ever seen!), Cheviot(for making tiny sweaters for my sheep plushie), and three braids of A1 quality Bombyx Silk. Everything is so incredibly beautiful. I definitely would like to get more of the Double Sorted BFL as it is hands down the finest quality I’ve ever felt. It’s so soft and has such a beautiful shine to it. 🥰 #longdrawjames #ashenflock #cormowool #bluefacedleicester #cheviotwool #bombyxsilk #mulberrysilk #handdyedwool #handdyedfiber #igspinnersinspiration #wemakeyarn #spinnersoftheworld #spinnersofinstagram #handspunwool #handspinnersofig #yarnspinnersofinstagram

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The Falcon is everything I had hoped it would be! I was hoping for a wheel that would be even more ideal for spinning cotton than the Sparrow. This is how much #seaislandcotton I’ve spun between Friday and Saturday. #spinningyarn #handspun #handspinnersofinstagram #Spin15aday #easytospincotton #spinningcotton #cottonspinning #ashenflock #longdrawjames #electricspinningwheel #espinner #daedalusfalcon #daedalusspinningwheels

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