Spin those samples

...and then start your project.

I picked up some fiber from Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins a while back. They started carrying a new line of fiber from a local dyer, MJ Yarns. It's an 80/20 blend of merino/silk and it spun up nicely. The color is called Cerulean Twilight. There are different hues of blues and green along with some hints of purple.

Since this is for a hat, I wanted the yarn to be nice and warm, so I spun it up woolen. It's a close to worsted weight yarn for the hat Karenin by Woolly Wormhead. I already started knitting the hat and it's looking good! I love how the color changes throughout the knitted fabric. The hat is going to be so pretty!

I've also been busy doing my homework for a Spin to Knit class that I am taking. We are learning the step by step process for spinning for a project. The project we're making are some fingerless mitts by Roxana Designs.

The first class was a blast! We practiced spinning woolen, figured out the number of plies we wanted for our mitts and determined the WPI. I decided make mine a two ply.

For colors, I picked out a bright blue, pink, purple, and green. I wanted the blue to be the main color with more pink and purple and then the green as an accent color in the mix. Once I picked them out, I ran them through the drum carder (note that the use of the drum carder was a first for me... I've seen them used in videos and in person at a fiber festival, but never used one). Can you say WOW?! Oh my, this was such a wonderful and exciting first for me! I had the best time running all of those pieces of roving through the drum carder. The blending that took place and just watching all of the colors come together so beautifully was so cool! I didn't think it would be that much fun, but it was such a treat! Now I want a drum carder, well, actually, I need a drum carder.

The end result was a beautiful batt that I spun up, plied, and drooled over during the entire process. The fiber prep made an immense difference when spinning the fiber. The carded fiber was so airy, it practically spun itself.

The first skein has already been knit up into a cuff, waiting to transform into a mitt. The second skein was plied and washed yesterday. I hung it up to dry last night, so it should be ready to go today so I can start knitting the second cuff.
 What do you think of these colors? I really like the way this skein turned out.

I can't wait to finish these fingerless mitts!

Spinning Away

It's been almost a year since I've posted anything... where does the time go? 

I started spinning in October. A friend of mine knew I wanted a spinning wheel and she knew someone who had one. I had no idea what I was getting. They sent me pictures and it had a sticker on the back of a red maple leaf. I Googled "Canadian spinning wheel" and low and behold, I was looking at a Lendrum spinning wheel. I've always seen people spinning on the traditional spinning wheels, not familiar with any of them. Like most people I talk to that are not familiar with spinning wheels, everyone thinks of the giant wheel from Sleeping Beauty and being pricked on the finger... well, that wasn't the case with this beauty. 

I brought it home and placed it in the middle of my living room. My only experience spinning has been on a drop spindle, a supported spindle, and a Navajo spindle. My new adventures in spinning was soon to begin.

I signed up for a beginner spinning class at one of my local yarn shops. That first day of class, when we practiced treadling clockwise, and then counterclockwise, developing a rhythm so serene. The hum of the whorl was so soothing. When the fiber was added to the equation, it got a little tricky... I suddenly felt like I was learning how to drive. 

Do you recall those first days behind the wheel? I learned how to drive a stick shift. My mom had me sit in the car, which was off, and practice shifting from first gear and up, pushing the clutch in and out so I could become familiar with all of the gears. We weren't going anywhere. It was just practice and it felt fine, just like treadling felt fine. Well, then adding the fiber was like putting the car in motion and driving. You feel so uncoordinated. I'm spinning the fiber, drafting it out nicely and then I'm treadling so fast, I'm getting all this twist in my yarn and I don't know what to do. The tension was too loose on the wheel and the yarn wouldn't wind onto the bobbin fast enough, and I am still treadling... and treadling... and then my yarn breaks. I felt out of control! I had the drafting of the fiber down, but I didn't have that spinning rhythm going, not yet anyway. That took some practice, just like driving. 

After sitting at the spinning wheel every night after work, and what seemed like all day and all night on weekends, I finally figured out what I was doing and I was loving it! I found a new love! 

These past few months, I have been busy spinning, knitting, reading, drawing, and enjoying myself. I took a spinning 2 class, which was a great experience. I like to spin a lace weight yarn and this class challenged me so that I could spin thicker yarn. I learned about the scotch tension on my wheel and how sometimes you do want to just shove the fiber into the orifice to make those big and fluffy yarns! Then, since I love to knit anything lace, I also took a spinning fine lace class. I have knit with fine lace yarn, specifically gossamer, and never thought of how it's spun, but there I was, sitting at my wheel, spinning a very fine gossamer yarn. 

Being part of the knitting world, I have met so many wonderful people. All of us seem to be "related" because of that knitting link. I always seem to make a new friend when I am in a yarn shop and now that I am spinning, I have met even more wonderful people. 

So what's are you spinning on your wheel? Is it for a project, or just for fun?