If you’re new to the world of spinning your own yarn you may be confused about what the term “ lazy kate” even means. Who is Kate? Why is she lazy, how will this lazy woman ever help me with my spinning? Perhaps a distant cousin of Lazy Susan? Well I’m not sure why this spinning tool is called a Lazy Kate but I do know that they are one of the most useful tools I can think of for spining. The long and short of it is that you use a Kate to hold your bobbins full of single ply yarn so that they can spin freely while you are plying your yarn. This is useful no matter if you you are doing a basic double ply or something more fancy like a chain ply. In a pinch you could just put your bobbins or balls of yarn into a shoebox to keep them from running off but this is not ideal at all because they will still be bumping around and possibly damaging fine delicate singles. If you are newer to spinning your singles may not have a firm enough twist and could start to come apart on you with all of the bumping around. This is where the Lazy Kate comes into play. The standard Lazy Kate will hold your bobbins up right on rods letting you ply easily while they free spin. Some spinning wheels have an attached lazy Kate like the pollywog, bullfrog, or bees. The Modular spinning wheels, Echo, Firefly, and Monarch are best used with the attachable standard lazy kate. This accessories can be used either attached or free standing on the floor.

There is just something special about spinning a woolen style yarn. They are rustic and airy and look like they were handspun which is kind of the whole point I think! Let’s Learn how to Spin a Woolen Style Yarn!

Worsted Style spinning -I just love a well planed out worsted style yarn. This type of spinning makes well behaved singles that are great on their own or even better plyed together. Because they are nice and compact they will create a lovely even yarn and are great for show off those fabulous colors from a dyed braid! Let’s Learn how to Spin a Worsted Style Yarn!

Blog on the topic of what wool is best for spinning for different projects.

"This step-by-step tutorial breaks down the traditional Andean plying technique, empowering spinners with the skills to create beautifully plied yarns with ease."

keywords: "Andean plying, spindle spinning, fiber arts, yarn making, handspinning techniques, thread plying mastery, spinning wheel, fiber crafts"

Master the Art of Andean Plying: A Comprehensive Guide for Fiber Artists

Do you love the idea of making something that is truly unique and all your own? Well this is a great time to try. My lovely and super talented friend Jessica Jane Patterson of Spinning Shadows YouTube Channel is a pro at using simple at home tools to create really top notch fiber arts projects. I just love her ability to really walk a project though from beginning to end with a well thought out plan. I loved the idea of being able to not just spin your own yarn( shown on a drop spindle) but weave your own belt with simple at home tools.

The question for todays topic was, what can I do with raw wool locks that's not big chunky art yarn because not everybody's into crafting with art yarn. I love art yarn and like to use the chunky lock spun stuff in certain projects but it’s defiantly not something that is suitable for every project so it would be nice to have a way to spin those beautiful wool locks and use the yarn in a different way. .

When I first started on my spinning journey 17 years ago, the internet was in its early stages and

YouTube was nonexistent (at least to my knowledge). In researching a small acreage fiber animal,

Angora rabbits were the animal that came up over and over again in articles and blogs. I didn’t even

know they existed. I went on a mission to find out everything I could about them. The one thing that

came up over and over again was the “fact” that you could not spin 100% Angora. Being the rule breaker

I am, I got two French Angoras and said “watch me”. My “farm” knowledge at that time was riding on

the back of my grandpa’s tractor and chickens. All these years later I have my own little “flock” of

beautiful Angoras.