I MADE YARN!

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at spinning for so long.  I finally found the inspiration I needed in the video Renate Hiller’s On Handwork.  If you have not seen this, please do yourself a favor and watch the four and a half minute video.  It is gorgeous.  How amazing it is to try a hand at something humans have been doing for thousands of years. To have a connection to knowledge that used to be so common, and is now so rare.

So I managed to get a copy of Abby Franquemont’s Respect the Spindle, and read it. Whew!  It’s a fabulous resource, and I’m not even ready for most of the information in that book.  That woman knows her spinning.  Next I bought myself a top-whorl spindle and some fiber from Mielke’s Fiber Arts.  After watching lots of spinning videos on YouTube, I finally gave it a whirl (har har).  It was challenging at first, but became easier with time.  This bit of yarn only took me three evenings to make.  It’s an ounce of New Zealand Corriedale wool.  I only wish the color in the photo was more true to life, because this color is the most gorgeous shade of teal.  I see myself buying a lot more of it.

I have no idea what I will make with this yarn.  It’s full of mistakes, but I certainly can’t get rid of the first yarn I ever made.  I’d like to spin another ounce of this color, then ply them together.

I was unsure if I would like spinning, but I can definitely see myself doing more.  I’ve already found myself pining for a spinning wheel.  And let’s not even talk about the sheep I want.  Yeah.  Because I really need more yarn.  And I live in Florida.