After years of avoiding it, I finally did it – I tried spinning! My crafty friend loaned me a selection of her hand spindles, a book, and also a big bag of different types of roving.
Saturday night DH was at a WWII movie night, so I settled in with a Bluprint class on spindling and my supplies. The class I watched, Spindling: From Fluff to Stuff with Dru Pettibone, was OK, though it kind of skimmed on the actual spinning part. There was a good overview of fiber prep, which is more complicated than I would have thought, then just kind of breezed by spinning, then went on to give lots of detail about taking your singles and plying them in various ways, which is also pretty complicated. So I got a good overview, but needed a bit more info on just using the spindle to make singles yarn.
So I took to YouTube! And as you might expect, within minutes I had a lineup of pretty helpful videos. And then I just tried it. It worked! I am not an expert by any means, but by gum – I made yarn!
It’s not a lot of yarn, and what there is isn’t very even, but it is definitely yarn 🙂 I seem to want to spin it really fine, which is partially why there isn’t a huge amount of it. There is definitely a lot of refining I need to do, but like with all physical skills, guided practice make you, if not perfect, better!
From here I plan to keep practicing, and start looking for a spindle of my own. I don’t see this as being a major hobby for me, but it is definitely a good skill to have!
How about you – trying anything new lately?
Quite A Yarn 
That looks great! You caught on quickly:) I’ve tried a few times but haven’t put in enough time. I’m afraid spinning will eat too much of my knitting time.
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Thanks! I have a ways to go with it to be much good, but it’s interesting 🙂
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That is so cool! I love to watch the “Sheep to Shawl” competition at the farm show.
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I’ve never seen one of those, but it sounds pretty cool!
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They are timed. They shear the sheep, spin the wool, and weave (not knit) a shawl.
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So much to do in a short period of time! But a neat way to introduce people to the processes
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I’ve always wanted to try spinning, but I am a little bit scared to because I’m worried I’ll become obsessed. I have not tried any new hobbies lately. I haven’t even tried any new stitches lately. Summer has me doing lazy knitting and I am finding myself missing crafts that make me think.
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I was a little worried about that too. And it certainly seems like it can be absorbing if you let it. There is a LOT to it. Summer is a good time for taking it easy! There is so much outdoor fun to be had when it’s nice out. But fall will be here soon enough, and it will be time to settle in and be serious with our crafts 🙂
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i am not really trying anything new. Im too tired from the trip to Zion, then Bear getting sick and dying! But I am enjoying the peace of knitting a nice shawl in a sport weight yarn that is so so soft!
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Good idea to take it easy on yourself right now!
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I suck at spinning because I want to spindle too fast. I can’t seem to slow myself down. No new hobbies, but weaving is always there in my mind. I did throw some pots, but I had done that before, so it was really just a revisit.
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You already have a pretty impressive range of crafts/hobbies that you do!
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How exciting, how did I miss this post the other day? For a first attempt that looks brilliant. I’ve found the Smitten Mittens pattern on Ravelry to be ideal for using up small amounts of practice homespun yarn. If you look up Andean Bracelet videos you’ll be able to wind off your single and then ply it. It’s very satisfying knitting something you’ve spun.
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You are very kind 🙂 Thank you for the recommendations – I will definitely be looking for something to use my new yarn on!
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