b natural. c sharp.

So with some practice and a little bit of work every couple of days, I’ve pretty much gotten the hang of the spindle. It’s thick in some places and thinner at others which makes the handspun interesting, but for the most part I’ve been able to keep it even as I’ve gotten more comfortable.

I brought my progress into our Sunday sit and knit so I could get some feedback. The verdict was that I’m twisting the yarn a little too tight in some spots, but we plied it together and got pretty decent results for my first go! I also learned a neat trick of spinning the spindle off of my leg to make it spin longer. Here is the mini skein of yarn we made today:

My journey into the world of spinning is a new one. It all began after watching an episode of one of my favorite knitting video podcasts “Let’s Knit Together” with Wyatt last winter. Yes, Wyatt is amazing and not only found me knitting podcasts but also watched them with me for hours. I digress… The host, Cat, gives a crash course in using a drop spindle and outlines the other methods of spinning. This spiked my interested after remembering that my aunt used to raise sheep and spin their wool. Sadly, I was too young to really care at the time and I’m kicking myself for it now. She used a wheel, which I aspire to use as well, but I figure a spindle is a good jumping off tool rather than dropping at minimum $350 on a decent spinning wheel.

I decided to do strictly research on spinning at the MD Sheep & Wool Festival this year (ha!), but ended up coming home with a free CD spindle to practice on and some pretty roving.

After practicing on the free roving I got a decent hang of it and put it down for a while to pursue other interests. However, now that I’m working at a local yarn shop I’m surrounding by the temptation again. We’ve got some great hand dyed roving, spindles, and even a few spinning wheels which I have yet to try. After chatting about trying out my pretty roving, one of my new Sunday sit & knit pals from the shop gave me a push and let me borrow one of her many drop spindles. I promised her to post pictures and blogs and things so that leads us to now!

It’s definitely not as easy for me as it was the first time but I’m sure I just have to get used to the different feel of this spindle. Not surprisingly, it’s a little heavier since it’s beautiful wood instead of two CDs shoved onto a dowel.

Many profanities have been exclaimed so far, especially when connecting a new strip of roving to the twisted fiber. The yarn I’ve spun so far is thick in spots and thin in others, with awkward bumps where I’ve reconnected the roving. Hopefully it will smooth out a little as I go along and by the time I’m done and turn into usable, pretty yarn. I have a long way to go (I bought 4 oz. of roving) but stay tuned to see the final results of my first handspun yarn.