Thursday, May 20, 2010

Something I've learned about Spinning so far...

Expert spinner I am not, but I am now on my fourth yarn and am learning more and more, mostly by trial and error and experimenting, and though I'd share my thoughts...

1. Sometimes its easier to work with a little portions.  I've found when I try to work to big a piece things get a bit more complicated.  The fiber gets caught on yarn I'm spinning or something else like that.
2. Some pre spinning prep can make life easier.  Trying to draft from a large clump of fiber can is hard, its getting easier for me, but I find that splitting up roving or doing some predrafting makes it easier for me to get the yarn I want.  At this point I'm really just trying to be consistent.
3.  Having the spindle spin at the same time you're drafting is a pretty exhilarting feeling.
4. Relaxing is key.  So this one night, this one really special night, I *might* have had some wine before I picked up my spindle.  I stopped worrying about whether my fiber would get tangled or if my spindle would drop and all the sudden I was drafting at the same time my spindle was spinning. AND IT WAS AMAZING! Seriously, it made me really happy.  Of course I ended with some funky parts that were over or under spun, but I stopped worrying about it and went with it and that made a huge difference.  Since then I've been able to practice more and gotten a lot better.  I even got myself a new spindle as a little birthday/graduation present to myself


This a Spindlewood redheart square mini.  It weighs in at only .7 oz and I was kind of amazed by how tiny it is.  I already spun up the little bit of test fiber it came with it, and it is fast.  Its so different spinning with something that is half the weight of my Kundert and I had hard time keeping up with it.  In the background you can see my other little present for me, Corriedale Cross fiber in Playful from Fiber Story.  I love the colorway and am excited to try a new kind of wool to see how I like it.

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