Somethin’ from nothin’

One of the things I love so much about the art of spinning is that you take something in a fairly raw form (for those of you who actually take the fleece and turn it into processed fiber for the rest of us you REALLY know what I’m talking about.) and turn it into something beautiful that you can now use to make something else with. It’s just one more step away from our overly commercialized and mass produced world. Spinning my own yarn means not only do I get to make a beautiful one of a kind hand crafted item, but that the materials that item is made from are also one of a kind and hand crafted. I love that I can create something that can never be exactly replicated. Hand spun yarn is that thing. Every fleece is as unique as the animal it came from, the person who processed it, the dyer who dyed it and the spinner who spins it. It’s a remarkable journey that fluffy stuff takes from sheep to spun.

That said, I’ve done a lot of spinning the last few days. I hurt my back awhile back and it’s just now getting to the point where I can stand to sit at the wheel for any length of time and not be in excruciating pain. I’ve taken advantage of that fact and have managed to produce a few little hanks of yarn. I also rearranged the area of my room that I use for spinning. My wonderful better half Mike bought a new flat screen t.v. this week so we got rid of the monolith that we had before and it’s freed up a whole bunch of space in our bedroom. Here’s the new spinning space:

It’s not much but it’s a dedicated space and it’s better than what I have been working with. That’s my Ashford Traditional wheel that I am tolerating politely until the new hottness (the gorgeous Majacraft Pioneer) shows up next month.

I spun up that beautiful roving I got from Feeling Sheepish and plied it with some brown wool top from local yarn shop Wooly Wonders. I really love how it turned out.

I’m calling it Ninilchik and it’s available in my Etsy shop. Ninilchik is a small town in Alaska that I used to drive through on my way to spending summers in Homer, Alaska.

Then I did this super squishy bulky hank out of some Ramboulliet and BFL rovings I got from Vines awhile ago.

This one is Sprung and is also available in my shop. It’s really fun colors and very squishy.

Currently I have some great drum carded blended batts from Moonwood Farm on the bobbin. I got a package from her today with some other things I had ordered from her (including a new shipment of milk fiber and bamboo that I will be dying and should be up for sale in the shop next week!) and she had spoiled me as usual by including samples of her new batts in the box with me. I of course took two minutes to throw away the box and finish my sandwich I was eating when I opened the box and then promptly plopped myself down in front of the wheel to start spinning. I should hopefully have some finished yarn and pictures in the next day or so.

I think I may include samples of my handspun in an upcoming subscription of the Rock Your Socks Off club. And speaking of the club, remember to get your photos in for the Robert Smith Lookalike Contest!

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