Sung to the Credence Clearwater Revival song Proud Mary…..”rollin’ down the river…”
I had been thinking that my attention span is about the length of the life of a fruit fly — not! That’s 40-50 days…my attention span isn’t even 40-50 minutes! And, that is what may explain my ongoing issue with spinning yarn. When I knit, I’m able to let my brain go to something like OM chant space, and the next thing I know, more than an hour has passed. With spinning, I have not only to deal with keeping the twist ahead of the drafting triangle, but trying to draft similar clumps of fiber repeatedly, and treadle s-l-o-w-l-y to prevent corkscrews in the yarn.
My wheel, a Schact Ladybug, was my mom’s. She was able to make gorgeous yarn on that wheel, which of course brings out the competitive side of my nature. Although I am improving (somewhat), I still make lumpy strings that ply into even lumpier yarn. No amount of “thwaking” evens it out, so I’m gathering piles of wooly string that might do well as attic insulation if I can’t think of anything else to do with it. Mom tried to give me a spinning lesson at one point, and was immediately convinced that my talents lay in other directions.
After consulting with my resident rocket scientist, we decided I needed to use the extra slow whorl to see if it would slow things down and even out the tension a bit. Yes, he was right (he usually is, especially when it comes to analyzing the physics of a situation). But I have a long way to go. It’s not that I’m trying to make perfect yarn (I can buy that). I would, however, like to be able to knit with it and have it look like I had a plan in mind rather than an –oops, the dog chewed on this.
On the other hand, I’m in love with my Electric Eel Nano. Bruce has added a foot peddle so that I don’t have to change the spinning speed when I want to stop. The stand keeps it from moving around, and the end stop allows me to place it between my feet, end up, if I don’t have a work surface (or if I want to use it in a meeting). He also added a dampening band on the end of the flyer to keep it from rattling, and a little piece of light-weight velcro to park the end of the wool when I stop spinning. I still have somewhat of a tendency to overspin, but the Nano is sufficiently forgiving of my incompetence that I’ve been able to spin a mix of fibers including wool, alpaca and mohair and have it come out looking reasonably close to yarn. I have almost 2 bobbins filled and am looking forward to seeing what it looks like as a two-ply (you can see the fleece and one of the bobbins in my last post).
Meanwhile, I thought perhaps I needed to take a break from machinery and go to smaller, simpler tools. I’ve been pretty successful with the drop spindle, so thought I’d give a supported spindle a try. It’s pretty amazing how far that puppy will fly across the room when unrestrained by fiber! I’ve not gotten much beyond trying to get the feel of the spin in my hand. My friend Margaret showed me how to get started with some fleece. Like I said, it’s amazing how far I can make the spindle fly. I’ve watched a few Youtube videos, but the spinners already know what they are doing, and actually aren’t very good at explaining what’s going on. It may just be a magical ability.
MEANWHILE………
The weekend was awash in fibery goodness. On Saturday I took a spinning class that really made me feel like there is promise of better yarn to come. While this isn’t yet washed, I’m satisfied with the result, and I feel like I have a much better understanding of plying and how to achieve a nice, rounded yarn. Thank you Pamela!
Bag o’Fleece
There was also the Fiber Festival of New England with friends on Sunday where I actually failed to purchase a single skein of yarn. However, I did come home with an entire fleece from a Fin lamb, as well as a few other odds and ends of alpaca, silk, shetland……..and others. I realized in dragging all of my bundles through the door that I felt more ambitious at the festival than I did getting home and realizing how much work I’d committed to.
And then there’s the red sweater. Yes, I did cast on 30 stitches too many for both the back (which had been finished to the armholes) and the front (nearly to the same spot…..that would have made more of a tent than a sweater). rip rip rip.
Can you find a spinning Guild/group nearby? They will be of much more help now you know what you are aiming for. How very handy Bruce has turned out to be in so many ways. <3
Oopa <3 is supposed to be a heart!
I do go to the local group when I can, and I must say that they are VERY kind and encouraging. You know, Shelagh, I wasn’t going to take up spinning. I thought knitting was quite enough! This has really opened my eyes, and I’m so glad I dove in head first. I’m really looking forward to cleaning and processing my finn fleece. I still can’t believe I bought a whole sheep!