a singular knitter

Spinning.  Need I say more?  After years of hearing of, reading about and now watching others spin and seeing the beautiful outcome, I really had no choice.  I mean really, I was practically forced into it… by my imaginary fiber arts friends that I hang out with all the time.

Okay, truth: I couldn’t resist the idea of how beautifully died fiber could be spun up in so many ways to create a completely different yarn. Whether it be the spinning or plying technique, how new or experienced the spinner is, or if a wheel or spindle was used.  There are just so many options.  So much to explore.

I did ease my way in to this new fiber challenge.  I thought about spinning for over a year.  I’ve looked at wheels for at least six months.  I even did the semi-sensible thing and bought a spindle first.  Afterall, a thirty dollar investment is much easier to ignore than a $600 one, especially if it turned out spinning wasn’t for me.  Plus, my local yarn shop holds one session drop spindling classes.  A perfect way to get my feet wet. I gifted myself a class and enlisted my father to watch M for the evening.  Not that I actually waited to take the class before starting.  YouTube, you saved my sanity.  While waiting impatiently to take the class, I watched videos one right after the other, until I felt the nerve to start.  Picked up my beautifully, hand-carved spindle and some variegated green fiber and attacked.  I spun an eighth of my four ounce braid of fiber my first night.  I quickly learned that my drafting needed a lot of help, but I was hooked.  Literally.  I kept snagging the hook at the tip of the spindle on everything.

Fiber Fancy's Jolly Citrus Hand Dyed Falkland

The spindling class was wonderful.  We were given/bought with our supply fee a spindle and what seemed like an entire fleece (but really half a pound of fiber is enormous).  Since the one-on-one help from the instructor and three days of practice on the gifted (it makes me happier to think of it as a present) wool, I was ready to tackle my green fiber again.  I had low expectations for the outcome, but I am so glad to say that, though my single (ie not plied for you non-yarn crafters) is about a sport to DK weight, it is much more consistent and even.

Now, what to knit?  I’m thinking a green monster that is pathetically constructed and super disfigured… since my yarn will be oh-so-varied in size, shape and twist.  It’ll be an heirloom piece for certain.