Spinning

I have been having a middling time spinning on the drop spindle. I think that my problem is that I was working really hard on getting thin singles so I could ply them into thin yarn because I am not a fan of bulky yarn and I wanted something delicate and hand spun, like a scarf or a shawl or something.

Well, I don't think my drop spindling skillz are really going to cut it.

I have a bunch of unplied singles that are lying around - they're some kind of wool, kind of soft (I wish I could remember what it was) in a heathered green color. I tried plying it and almost killed myself, my cats, my yarn, and the television in my fits of complete rage.

Boy, I like the drafting/spinning part, but plying just pisses me off.

So I broke up with that fiber for a while, and decided after a long hiatus from spinning that I would try the other fiber I got - this Interlacements color way. The dying is gorgeous, and I'm finding it a little nicer to spin - I think the staple length is longer than the other stuff. But I know that the plying is going to kill me again, and I am trying not to think about it.

I did improve my spinning experience by about 150% last night, after I decided to make a wrist distaff because draping fiber over my shoulder and then dropping it and getting it all caught on my spinning was infuriating me and making for some very odd furry yarn blobs.

Makes a huge difference. HUGE. Now I can contain my fiber and use my left hand just for drafting. I had no idea.

Chip is still making fun of me for wanting a wheel, even though I am bugging him nonstop about it every time the discussion of my birthday or Christmas comes up because seriously, it is all I want and I wish he would just get it for me.

I made the mistake of mentioning that as a long-term goal, after I became a proficient enough spinner on the wheel (which yes, I realize, will take years), I wouldn't mind learning how to weave, and maybe getting a loom.

Oh, the Amish jokes. They never stop being funny. "Ha ha, we should get you a butter churn after that."