Hello Fellow Fiber Fondling Fiends!
It's been far too long since I wrote anything. Once I got the wheel (and then had two days off) I could not stop spinning. Without my dear friend, Pat McAlhaney, I would not have known what to do (still have a LONG way to go learning) but her serendipitous delivery of a Spin-Off Magazine (Spring 2010) amid a stack of Piece Work gave me just enough knowledge to attempt it on my own.
The moment I touched that fiber to the leader thread I was hooked. I mean totally, completely, and ecstatically hooked. In fact I believe there must be a new word to be developed that describes how I felt in that instant. I am addicted to spinning. I still have yet to get the thin, consistent sock weight I desire - instead I seem determined to spin at worsted weight and to add a little too much spin (which I discovered I could unspin slightly if I ran it back through counter-clockwise). I also treadle furiously instead of slowly (I am certain you are surprised by this) and keep my hands way too far apart.
I'm still pretty darn impressed with what I accomplished with 8 ozs of the most gorgeous merino/silk in a pale aqua shade of blue from Ewephoric Fibers. The very first part of which is shown here in the hand of my good friend Holly Zawoy who I gifted that little darling ball of yarn to... :-)
and all three spools full before the end of that day which I selfishly kept.
The three spool shot is before I backed out some of the spin going counter-clockwise so it ended up much better than this.
And then Saturday my Aunt and Cousin came...
I discovered my Aunt Eleanor loves Spring Green and I wanted to make her something for her birthday (the day after mine in July). So Bailey discovered I had a 4 oz hank of gorgeous green merino/bamboo/nylon also from Ewephoric Fibers. At this point I realize I'm like the drug dealer who needs their own fix... I'm pawing on my own retail inventory... but I still have to say THANK YOU GINGER -without you and JANE and EWEPHORIC FIBERS I would not have had something quickly at hand. We won't talk about how hard it is now to just look at it all hanging there...
So I spun the green crack.. um fiber. And it was luscious and a completely different experience with the bamboo. I loved it. It occurred to me then that every spin will be a different spin because every fiber spins differently and the better I get at it the better the results will be. Oh my. Now what? This little spin took about 30 minutes (again treadling way too fast from excitement) and resulted in just enough yarn to do something very skinny and lacey to hang around Aunt Eleanor's neck. Since she doesn't read FaceBook this will be our little secret until July.
And then the mail came...
So I frequently get on Etsy late at night and see something I cannot live without. Most of the time I live without it. This time I ordered it immediately. You see it was BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) in a colorway that matches my shop colors - plum and green. Holy Cow. I had to have this colorway and I ordered two 2 oz hanks of fiber. It just happened to show up in the mailbox an hour after I had spun the Spring Green merino/bamboo/nylon. OH my goodness.
Well, I'm sure you know what I did and here are the results of all three of my first major two-day long foray into the world of spinning after a nice hot wash in Eucalan and a "snap" and a little weight from a towel to pull the rest of the over-spin out. I can't stop touching it.
So, now you know why I've been so quiet. Now you know I've actually been doing RESEARCH. And, on top of this I'm getting ready for Diva Day in Lake City at the Fairgrounds this Saturday.
Call me crazy but I'd rather be addicted to this than anything I can think of. Until you've tried it, you will not know how awesome spinning can be.
Now I have to get back to that no wrap/no turn/no picking up wraps heel for my two at a time toe-up sock class on May 18th!
Happy fiber fondling,
Kim
