This month saw a new addition to the collection of crafting tools at Wheel of Fate: the blending board! As the name suggests, this board allows you to blend different coloured fibres together before spinning them into yarn.
I've stuck mainly to merino, with some bright recycled sari silk here and there.
The first fibres you lay on the board are going to be the ones that show up clearest on the finished product. A good first impression matters, so I like to lay down the sari silk first, or whatever accent colour I have chosen.
Then I start dragging the other fibres I want to feature on the outside. It's best to do it in wide uneven bands, in my opinion. This gives you a chance to show off the colours you've chosen when you spin from a rolag.
Once I can't fit any more fibres on the board, I take my hand carder and gently brush it down so I can get more on the board's teeth.
Now for another layer! I will tend to focus more on the unifying base colour here. I just keep going until the board is too full to fit more on.
There are two main formats you can spin with: rolags and batts. Rolags are like a tube of wool that you can spin from. You take your two dowels and do the old pinch-and-twist, while creating tension by pulling the dowels toward yourself. I find I can get two or three rolags off one board. And they LOOK fantastic!
Batts on the other hand are a big pillowy square/rectangle of fibre that comes off the board in one. Take the dowels and do that same pinch-and-roll, but just roll it right the way up the board this time. These are great if you normally spin from roving. You will just want to pull it into strips before spinning.
Here's a less attractive example of a batt. I got the chance to blend some hair from a highland coo together with some sheep's wool last weekend. It certainly did not come out as beautiful as pure wool, nor did it like being spun!
If you want to check all this out in action, head over to our instagram and check out our reels.
Because we are still finalising things before getting keys to the new property, I'm doing everything from my flat, which means quite a bit of chaos! But it's nice to be able to wake up and just create. I'm getting the keys this very afternoon, and I wish I could tell you all about our location and opening date, but it will have to be a secret for now!