Handspun and knit sweater in greens and tans with handmade cherry wood buttons on a purple background. All handmade by Cynthia D. Haney

Projects: Including Spinning, Knitting, and More

I am a spinner not just a spindle maker.

Example Projects

Scarf from Roving

Photo of a Classic Branch Size Beginner Friendly Top Whorl Drop Spindle with a Black Walnut whorl, Maple shaft, and a Bronze hook. Spindle has a cop of handspun single in pastel colors wound in an oval shape. The unspun roving is attached to the end of the single ready to spin further. Spindle and fiber laying on a table with purple tablecover.
Roving looks like a soft fuzzy rope. It is an airy jumbled fiber preparation. It spins into a fuzzy yarn with natural irregularity. This roving is from Mountain Top Fibers called Unicorn Fluff and is 80% Mohair and 20% Merino. I spun it demonstrating my drop spindles at SAFF, Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, several years ago. I did not allow twist to enter the fiber before drafting, choosing fibers for the yarn.
Skein of pastel colored two ply handspun yarn secured with pale pink scrap yarn, twisted into a hank. Background purple crushed velvet.
I plied two branch size spindles worth of singles on a trunk size top whorl drop spindle. It is a fuzzy somewhat squishy yarn. Average Wraps Per Inch 9, 139 yards from 4.56 ounces. Spun roving is fuzzy from the fiber ends poking out of the yarn. The way I spun it made for a firmer yarn than if I had allowed twist to enter as I drafted.
Skein of pastel two ply spindle handspun yarn and skein of white two ply handspindle spun yarn on a purple crushed velvet background.
One Fall Fiber Festival I demonstrated my drop spindles using a batt from Geek Chick Knits in white Corriedale, sparkle, and llama. Batt preparation is airy and jumbled like roving but not drawn out into the rope shape. I spun it just like the roving. Thickness varied from 7 to 9 Wraps Per Inch, 120 yards from 2.43 ounces.
Since both yarns are fuzzy with similar average wraps per inch. I choose to use them together.
Scarf on a purple crushed velvet background. The knit scarf has a zig-zag shape alternating pastel handspun with white handspun yarn.
Pattern by Nancy Lekx 23-11 Zig-Zag Handspun, I chose to keep the Zigs and Zags the same length and change yarns in the transition row. I used US size 8 knitting needles for these yarns and was careful to keep my tension loose with the thicker white. I used up the white Geek Chick Knits and have some Mountain Top Fibers leftover. I enjoyed using the pattern written for handspun. I plan to use the scarf as an example of the spinning method.

Spinning Top

Top looks like a long smooth dense rope, all the fibers are tidy running parallel with the length. It can be fat, like a glasses case, or not like a highlighter. I am referring to commercially processed top, hand combed is less dense and much thinner. Processing and storage compact the fiber along with dyeing. I teach how to wake top up for spinning in my classes.

I usually split thick top it in half lengthwise spinning for a two ply yarn. This fiber is from The Fiberists called Ball Top 40% Superfine Merino 40% Rayon from Bamboo and 20% Cultivated Silk dyed color Specimen 429.  Being a blend the color varied in intensity on each fiber and it compacted more than normal.  I spun it demonstrating my drop spindles at Powhatan’s Festival of Fiber 2018.  I did not have time to wake it up all the way.  The resulting single is lumpy.  Later I split it 6 times and woke it up, then it spun like a dream.
Spindle hand spun two ply yarn skein in peach and pink shades shiny from silk content. Skein secured with white scrap yarn ties and laying on a purple crushed velvet background.
Top spins into a smooth dense lustrous yarn if you control the twist. Pinching to stop the twist while you draft, choose how many fibers will be in the yarn, then smoothly letting it enter pinch and repeat. This is a worsted style of drafting resulting in a worsted yarn structure.
You can see the shiny smooth two ply, all spindle spun. Thick areas from the compaction and distracted demo spinning.
Handspun and knit scarf in pink and peach colors laying on a purple crushed velvet background. The scarf has a zig-zag shape and the yarn changes from semi solid pink to the peach shades as the zigs turn into zags.
I chose use that yarn along with one spun, same method, in a 100% wool top dyed pink by Wild Hare Fiber Studio during another spindle demonstration. The pink single is featured on the spindle in my Intermediate class picture above.
I knit Nancy Lekx’s 23-11 Zig-Zag Handspun pattern. I chose to keep the Zigs and Zags the same length and change yarns in the transition row. I used US size 8 knitting needles to stay consistent with the other scarf. However the second yarn in this scarf is thinner on average instead of thicker as in the first scarf, blocking kept it consistent enough. It did not use up all the yarn, I had ~4 oz. of each fiber. I plan to use the scarfs as an example of the spinning methods.

Older Projects
Spinning

The drop spindle gets its name from the fact that it hangs from the yarn you are making and gets closer to the floor as you work. Using a spindle lets you have full control over the yarn your making and allows you to make it most anywhere. Once your learn the basic motions involved in spinning your body does the rest. This makes spinning incredibly relaxing, even more so than knitting or crocheting. Shown below are some of my projects. There are many more but these made it in front of the camera at the right times.

A drop spindle of Tulip Poplar holding two ply yarn being spun from a pair of plying balls. Also a top whorl drop spindle of Sycamore on Maple with singles being spun. Fiber from Kid Hollow Farm, spindles and spinning by Cynthia D. Haney.
A good side by side view of two ply on the larger drop spindle, made of Tulip Poplar. Next to it the singles in progress on a spindle with a Sycamore whorl on a Maple shaft. The fiber was grown, dyed, and blended by Kid Hollow Farm a mohair wool blend.
Roving blended in shades of blue, pink, and purple by Kid Hollow Farm. Being spun into singles on a top whorl drop spindle made by Cynthia D. Haney of Sycamore on a Maple shaft.
A better look of the roving used for spinning the singles that were also shown in the first picture.
Roving hand dyed by Unplanned Peacock spun into singles on both a dogwood on walnut and walnut on maple top whorl drop spindles. Spindles and spinning from the hands of Cynthia Haney.
In progress view of singles from roving by Unplanned Peacock, a local independent dyer. 4oz. of fiber in the firefly colorway. Spun half on my dogwood on walnut drop spindle and half on my walnut on maple drop spindle.
Ball of hand spun single and poplar top whorl drop spindle with two ply result. Fiber is a superwash top hand dyed by Wild Hare Studio. Spindles and spinning from the hands of Cynthia Haney.
Singles in the ball ready to be plied, two ply on the tulip poplar top whorl drop spindle. The fiber is a hand dyed super wash top from Wild Hare a local independent hand dyer, 4oz.
Spindle hand spun merino silk blind two ply on dogwood hand turned niddy-noddy.
So I did get a picture of this project as I finished the last of four skeins for a total of over 1,000 yards of two ply. Still all spindle spun and plied. This is a blend of merino & silk from a de-stash. Shown on my Dogwood niddy-noddy Already in progress of becoming a raglan sleeved pullover.
Three skeins of hand spun two ply yarn, spun and plied on drop spindles. One ply is natural Tunis sheep's wool the other natural colored llama. Spun by Cynthia Haney.
The results of a great deal of spinning in public. The one ply of white is the natural shade of Tunis sheep’s wool. The other is natural colored llama fiber.
Two ply hand spun yarn on drop spindle hand turned by Cynthia Haney in progress of skeining onto a hand turned niddy-noddy
This is Corriedale roving bought already dyed. I spun it all with my spindles and as you can see used them to make the two ply. The dark purple and lavender creating a barber pole effect. Spindle is walnut on a maple shaft and the niddy-noddy is dogwood. Ended up with 388yds from 4.25oz.
Chain plying in progress using single hand spindle spun from lamb's wool top by Wild Hare Fiber Studio. Drop spindle hand turned by Cynthia D. Haney who also did the spinning.
Left spindle dogwood whorl on walnut shaft holding what is left of a single that it spun sitting in an oak stand. On the right walnut spindle with poplar shaft holding the chain plied results sitting in a walnut stand. The fiber is hand dyed lamb’s wool top from Wild Hare Fiber Studio (of Etsy and Virginia fiber festivals). It is the first fiber I bought but this spinning took place later.
First three ply still on the spindle
My first three ply from Bluefaced Leicester, BFL, roving, on one of my plying spindles.
Dogwood niddy-noddy with skein of three ply hand spindle spun BFL wool yarn. Both made by Cynthia Haney
Same three ply on my first niddy-noddy hand turned from Dogwood.
Knitting

As a knitter I get to use my own hand spun yarn.

Celtic knot mittens from hand spun and dyed yarn
Mittens from my first three ply hand spun BFL that I dyed after plying.
Hand spun alpaca yarn hand dyed and knit into fingerless gloves in purple with blue and pink accents
Pair of fingerless gloves in hand spun three ply alpaca dyed with food dye and vinegar into vivid pink, purple, and blue pattern. Entered finished gloves in Fall Fiber Festivals Skein and Garment Competition 2013.
Tam hand knit from yarn hand spun and plied on drop spindles hand turned by Cynthia Haney.
Using some of the yarn I spun from the first fiber I bought, shown above, from Wild Hare Fiber Studio. I knit this Tam. Pattern is Cafe au Lait Tam by Kathryn C.
Orange hat knit by with yarn spun by Cynthia D. Haney. The fiber was dyed by Unplanned Peacock.
After I made a two ply yarn with the orange Unplanned Peacock fiber, pictured further above, I knit it into this freeform hat. My inspiration was the fun hats seen during football season, the color being close to one of my alma matter’s colors, and the need for a warm fall hat.
Sweater hand knit from yarn hand spun and plied on drop spindles all made by Cynthia D. Haney.
After finishing the grey merino silk blend two ply, shown on niddy-noddy above. I started this sweater a basic top down raglan sleeved knit pullover. Knowing I was going to run out of yarn I planned to use a different handspun for the sleeves. The dark purple Wild Hare Studio superwash that I also made as two ply coordinated well. I striped the two together near the top of the sleeve and then used the last of the grey for the cuff. My first sweater knit entirely from my handspun, all the spinning and plying on my own spindles.