The Yarnarian Spins!

OK, she attempts to spin. Nope, I actually produced yarn. Blubby, thick-and-thin yarn, yarn I would never knit with because I like skinny yarns, but it really is yarn.

I took a 4 hour spinning class from "dragonflyducky", as she is known on Ravelry. So patient and nice and didn't howl with laughter. I have to take another class or two with her; clearly this is not a one-class activity for me.

She teaches on a Louet spinning wheel. Man, getting the foot to pedal in the right direction, drafting the yarn, adding new yarn - I'm basically klutzy, so this is a challenge for me. But I made yarn. Whoo hoo!

OK, sit down, stop drinking tea because you're going to snort it all over the keyboard, but here is my first attempt at spinning.




Look Ma, yarn!

And to reward myself for all my arduous labor, I went off to Coldwater Creek armed with a $30 off $100 coupon, and bought a pair of velvet pants to wear to a dinner dance, and a cute black fleecy pullover. And between the two of them and my coupon, I only spent $79.

I'm exhausted; I need to knit! Tee hee! I made yarn! I need to find a local spinning group!


Don't forget to vote in my yarn poll; I need feedback here.

moiraeknittoo - No, I don't own a wheel yet. I can practice on the wheel at the store for about $10/hour, which is very pricey, but may not be a bad solution. I have to explore other wheels too. Maybe go down to the Spinnery and check out what they have. I want to wait a bit until I buy, because what if I decided that this is not my thing. It was fun though. and I made Yarn!!

Carolyn - I had real doubts, but you told me I could, and I always believe you.

MaryAnn - I'm still pooped. All that tension that built up in my body has been slowly releasing. I'm not "energized" any more. BTW, I really do not like to knit on singles. And I'm not dyeing roving!

Skepweaver - I practiced treadling and practiced and practiced. It was so hard for me to get the wheel to go right. OK, so we finished spinning and then had to ply. So guess what, it was now OK to go left. Uh huh! Now the bloody wheel just wanted to go right. My yarn is a combo of S and Z spins. Told ya I made art yarn!

KV - Nah, I want a goat. They are such charming critters. Sheep are dumb.

Jen - My "yarn" is kinda cute in a clunky sort of way! ;-)

Sharon - I don't know if this shop sells wheels, but Judy can easily get me a Louet wheel if I want.

The Yarnarian Spreads the Joy! Fibers for Spinning!

"Ah," you ask, "the joy of what?" Wonderful etsy sites for dyers of fiber for spinning! I don't spin, although I'm so tempted to try, but I love looking at all these beautiful fibers that these magical dyers create. I just want to buy them and plop them on every available horizontal surface. (The poor Hubbo would lose his mind if I did that!)

So, in the interest of a bit of enabling and some serious eye candy, here are some wonderful dyers. I know I'm leaving people out. Not on purpose, just forgetfulness. So if I don't list you, email me and I'll put your goodies on another blog listing. Go check out their sites and carry a towel with you because you're going to drool all over your keyboard!

Here's Zarzuela, brand new to Etsy, and a wonderful dyer and the woman behind the Summer of Socks. Is this gorgeous or what!

Also check out Yarn or a Tale's blog. More serious fiber drool.

Then there's Dianne of Creatively Dyed. She does a lot of shows, so if there's nothing listed, stay tuned. She'll be back with more goodies!

I'm in awe of these dyers. They are seriously amazing artists and very, very lovely people.

Jessica - My you sell out your entire shop and then have to dye up more!

Sharon - You know we'll have to learn how to spin!