I'm back from a great little vacation with the family. I made a trek down to St. Louis, MO
for a my sister's wedding reception (another one). There was quite a fuss - it was a 'big fat Italian wedding' reception with kids, aunts, cousins, grandmothers, uncles and food and wine. A lot of food. I ate so much that I was feeling rather large and lethargic for the majority of the weekend.
I brought my knitting and knit furiously through Iowa - cruisin' on my sleeves until I came to the increases and realized I had left my pattern back home. 
Hmph. It was a little like torture to look at that knitting bag and know that I had nothing to knit. To make it worse . . . I was about 2 miles from The Loopy Ewe and never made my way over there! I didn't have my own car and the family was too busy preparing and entertaining. Bringing myself to ask someone to drive me to a yarn shop (which was probably closed anyway) was out of the question. AND we stopped in Hannibal (the boyhood town of Mark Twain) briefly and as we were about 15 miles out of town I read in a brochure that they have a knitting shop with hand-painted yarn. OH, the misery.While up in Ely, I did the rest of my spinning. It was about 3-4 oz. of creamy soft alpaca roving. My results were . . . well take a look.
It's a spindle full of strange, fat and skinny, soft alpaca yarn. Now what? I have no idea what to do next? And how do I know how much yarn I have? I suppose I can wrap it around something and measure it. As frustrating as it is to spin, I think I have found another passion. It's really fun. I have a wad of colored stuff here:
...but I'm not sure how to separate it and proceed. I'm going into my LYS (local yarn shop) for a lesson this fall. My family was watching me with my awkward drop spindle and said, "Why don't you get a spinning wheel instead?"A spinning wheel is $600. A drop spindle is $10. That's why. For those of you who don't know what a drop spindle is - it looks like a top with a long handle. You hang some fiber from it and spin the top while letting it hang in the air. That's it. Sounds easy, right? Yeah. Right.
Just keep spinning, just keep spinning . . .
10 comments:
Yes, keep spinning!
I'm doing my best to stick with the drop spindle and hold off on the wheel investment. At least until I can justify my investment in that sewing machine I have yet to use :)
Well! Your spinning looks great! If you were me, you would be winding that onto an empty toilet paper roll while you spin another single strand on your spindle...at least until you get the bug and snag another spindle to spin on. Then ply the two strands together, but that will come after you've spun your second single. If you decide that you only want the one strand, then it's time to make a skein and tie it in several places to keep it from turning into a tangled wad. I'll find a good website with step-by-step instructions, pictures, and maybe some arrows to get you rolling with this process. But, for now, you can free up your spindle for more spinning by winding your single around the toilet paper roll for storage purposes, if you want.
Okay. I'm back. Go to youtube.com and do a search on "Abby Franquemont." Abby's like the spindle goddess when it comes to answers and technique. You'll find a plethora of videos that Abby has made to help spindlers. you'll find the intro to spinning 1 & 2, plying, and a BUNCH of other stuff. Check those out and see what you think.
If all else fails, wrap your yarn around the backs of 2 chairs that are spaced a little bit apart, and tie the singles off, spaced about a foot apart. Then run some hot hot water in your bathroom sink, submerge the yarn in the water, and add a bit of shampoo. GENTLY swish yarn in the water, let it soak till the water cools, then whack and wring out the yarn. Hang it up to dry with a light weight on it - an empty coat hanger would do. Then, make something interesting with your yarn!
Me again. http://www.theartofmegan.com/finishing_handspun_yarn_and_winding_a_skein_video_tutorial
Hey Hey! Good to see you back, was wondering if you would make it before I have to run to the hospital! Your spinning is coming along nicely, I have to say I would have recommended that you started spinning with a nice long easy fibre, which wouldnt make the nicest wool, but makes for easier learning, till you get used to your spindle.
Sorry to hear about your narrow misses with the yarn shops.... drat!
Ok... so get your sleeves finished for the sweater and you'll be laughing....
I've discovered I'm too lazy to stand there with a drop spindle- and I get only ugly, uneven yarn....You've been doing so well! I'll check out Kathleen's suggestions too, btw.
Ah! Welcome to the World of Spinning! For me, it's JUST as addicting as knitting, and I think I have equal stashes of yarn and fiber . . . mwah-ha-ha!
:O)
I do think it's one of those; "the more you do it, the better you get at it" kind of things. Not that I speak from experience, at all!
Your spinning looks mighty fine! I've been on a sweater kick, so no spinning for me. I should really pick up a spindle, though, just to make sure I haven't forgotten anything!
Re: Paris. What a fun trip to plan! How exciting!
Keep up the spinning!! It looks great!!
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