I suppose it was only a matter of time...

I have to admit, I've been "spin-curious" for quite a while now.  I like to make things.  I like yarn.  Add a little good-natured peer pressure, and soon enough, pretty obvious I'd want to learn to make yarn.  Enter a sunny afternoon on a good friend's deck, laughter and great company, and it all adds up to an afternoon (and evening) well spent. 

Gathering my things to leave, I experienced the previously documented "enabling" side of spinning.  "You'll want to try this; but it has a short staple length." (merino wool, the color of a camel after it has been dipped in butter) "This has alpaca, and silk, and rayon; the rayon will be the tricky part at first, take two." (gleaming bird's nests the exact combination of my childhood cat, a calico with olive eyes) A loaner spindle!  Resistance is futile.  I drank the Kool-Aid, pretty much.  (many, many thanks for all the tips and practice goodies! I brought the spindle to work today... not that I'm a little compulsive or anything.)

Aw, a little mini-hank of curlicued beginnger handspun! Experienced spinners, I'm sort of in awe of you lot.  It takes Time, doesn't it?  And of course, lots of practice and skill.  I kind of have... none of those things, but it's really fun to learn something new!  I think the next new thing I learn should be how to get by without any sleep at all, because I sort of really need to learn that right away.  I have so many projects in progress, it actually is a little bit hilarious...

Jacob had a good suggestion for me, after watching me practice spinning for a bit earlier this evening.  "That's really cool," he said.  "You know what you could do next?  You could grind some grain into a fine meal, and shape up some patties for the wood oven!  And then you could go out and herd the goats in the pasture."  That cracked me up.  

A (very very beginner, because that's where I am with spinning) question though, if anyone feels so inclined to answer:  can you pre-draft a lot of yarn at once, or is it better somehow to do it just before you spin? 

Comments

[Rossana]

Hi. I tend to pre-draft alot before I spin. I prefer to be able to keep going during the spinning, rather than stopping more frequently to pre-draft some more.

Your first yarn looks so sweet! Congrats on finding a new addiction! =)

[Julia]

You can pre-draft beforehand as much as you want, but afterwards be sure to store the fiber in such a way that it won't get mooshed down. Did someone send you home with a niddy-noddy or are you going to need to wind off on your leg?

[MJ]

Here's the opposite of Julia: I pre-draft only as much as I can spin in one sitting, which is about a yard of fiber. In this way, there's a set goal. It all depends. The pre-drafting, however, is the essential step in the process; don't rush through it!

It was great meeting you!

[Marnie]

It's kind of fun being the student instead of the teacher sometimes, huh? I think your yarn looks wonderful and that you should be both proud and worried because this can be a really addicting hobby.

Leo also wonders about the whole spinning thing. He's always suggesting ways I can mechanize the process. "We could put a motor here and keep it moving with a pendulum and..."

I love him, but he just doesn’t “get” it ;)

[kat]

ha ha ha Jacob's comment is hilarious. you'll be spinning yarn like a pro in no time. i love that you took it to work!

[Nonnahs]

Good for you! Your mini-hank is too cute! Oh, why do I feel on the verge of succumbing to the spinning gods?;)

[Jessica]

What a pretty little bundle of homespun! It is fun, isn't it? And there are so, so many fun fibers out there. Now you can start filling your apartment with big bags of fluff!

[amanda]

It looks much like my first attempts at spinning! Yes, by all means pre-draft it all and then pick it up and spin it. I usually pre-draft all my fiber, wind it into loose balls and then put it in a basket. While spinning I just have to reach over and pull one out and that means no stopping which is always good! Best of luck!

[Leah]

Yay! Another spinner. Resistance was futile anyway.

I'm like Amanda. I predraft a bunch, then I can spin consistantly without having to stop and predraft some more.

Have fun MH! We'll see how long it takes you to get a wheel.

[andrea]

yay for spinning ~ and yeah, your pics are adorable ;)

about the pre-drafting, i tend to only pre-draft what i think i'm going to spin up within the next few days or so. more than that, and my roving tend to get all compressed again anyhow and then i have to re-draft it, you know? it's so satisfying though to draft a bunch, roll up into cute little balls of fiber (i sound like a lunatic!) and put them in a basket - so pretty, you just want to put them on your kitchen table. awww.

;)