IT BEGINS

Rosewood 43g top-whorl spindle. 50g one-of-a-kind Merino “Custom Blend”. Took around 45 mins to spin.

I was going to leave it, because aren’t you supposed to let the twist set or something? Three hours later…

Plying was quick, pulling from both ends of a centre-pull ball. I know I’m not working with much fibre here, but I always thought drop-spindles were timesucks and it would take a year and a half to spin enough yarn to make anything but a knitted bikini (and I am not the knitted bikini kind of girl…not least because it sounds — and looks — like a ridiculous waste of time to me). But even considering I probably made about enough yarn to complete the thong portion of the bikini (ugh, a chunky merino thong!), it went surprisingly quickly. Remember, this was my first time even touching a spindle. I’m pretty damn proud of myself!

I haven’t knit with it yet, though; it’s still under tension in the bathroom.

I need more fibre.

And I need to get good at spinning fast (uh, both as in “a small amount of time” and “performing the task quickly”) because I’ve got about a pound of this stuff on its way to me. *drool* I think I’ve just got time…

Much as I enjoyed the drop spindle today, I’m still filling my imaginary piggy bank with pennies to save up for a wheel. Unfortunately, the balance as of this afternoon is -$160, after the spindle and fibre…and this:

This is why I spent so little at the Frolic last weekend; I’ve been dreaming about a Truffle Cardigan of my own since I first stumbled upon the pattern on Ravelry a couple of months ago. I love Dulle Griet’s grey version (it’s so atmospheric! especially since I always think of this as a late fall/late winter kind of garment) but I just couldn’t resist this red! I’ve been doing my internet homework, and this is the exact shade of Araucania Chunky I wanted most. And I found it! You win this round, The Purple Purl! *shakes fist in a loving way*

the Lady Says:

May 4, 2008 at 1:45 am

Congratulations on your first spun yarn!!

By the way, you don’t need that much weight on your yarn when it’s hanging. Depending on the amount (weight of the hank) of yarn, you shouldn’t ever need more than 8 oz. of weight – think a can of tomato soup – . For example : I just skeined, washed, and hung my yarn today, and since they were 2 oz. hanks, I needed less weight, especially less weight since the hanks were pretty balanced after washing. One hank was totally balanced after washing, and I didn’t put any weight on that hank. The hanks that were still in need of a little balancing I put only 4 oz. (113 grams) of weight on.

In case you’re wondering what I mean by a balanced yarn – it’s a yarn that doesn’t twist on itself when skeined, because it’s neither over nor under twisted. When a yarn gets washed, the water energy helps distribute the twist (stored energy in yarn) more evenly throughout the hank, and if it still needs some balance, the weight can help even things out. Hope I didn’t tell you too much of what you already know!

Have fun spinning, isn’t it great?!

May 4, 2008 at 1:47 am

p.s. – beautiful Nature Wool color!