Spinning

No, I'm not referring to a popular exercise that involves stationary bikes. I am referring to the process of taking unspun fiber (wool, in this case), and turning it in to yarn. If we are more than passing acquaintances, or if you've read this blog much, you probably are aware that I knit. Rather a lot, actually. Recently I've expanded my obsession hobby to include creating my own yarn.

This really all started nearly a year ago now. Last year when coming up with things for my birthday/Christmas wish list, I found a learn to spin kit and asked for it. It included a top-whorl drop spindle, three bumps of fiber, and a booklet explaining what to do. My mother-in-law bought it for me, and I didn't touch it for about six months. I looked at it once or twice, and thought about trying it, but was intimidated and decided to stick with doing things I already knew how to do. Then, one night this past summer I couldn't sleep and was too restless to knit, read, or randomly surf the 'net. So, I looked at the instruction booklet in the kit, watched a YouTube video or two, and gave it a try. I ended up with three little hanks of yarn from that first attempt.


Then, I didn't touch it again for a couple more months.

In September I picked it back up, and since then I've been hooked. I still enjoy knitting, but spinning can be really fun. Here are my two current spinning projects:



















And here are some other yarns that I've spun:



For the record, I currently do all my spinning on top whorl drop spindles. I do not have a spinning wheel, nor do I currently plan on acquiring one any time soon (largely because they take up space, which is at a premium in my house, and cost a fair amount of money, and if I had $200 to spend on something not strictly necessary, I would get an iPhone 4). While I have not actually made anything out of yarn that I've spun, I could, I simply haven't yet.