Tuesday, May 13, 2008

A New Hobby...Spinning...Hazardous to your Hair

When the gals at our local yarn store would bring out their spinning wheels...I said no thank you. The last thing I wanted was another pricey hobby. The wheels alone start at a couple hundred bucks and go well over $1000. Then you need something to spin...fiber....squishy glorious fiber in a rainbow of colors. I started changing my mind at Sheep and Wool Days at Middleton Place when I saw the ladies (and one guy) spinning. Hmmm - that looks like fun.

But still...no thank you. I already had enough hobbies and as my husband pointed out I hadn't gained any new hours in each day.

And then I saw this...

It looked sturdy, the red wheel was cute and the surprise was that somewhere on the wheel would be my own enamaled ladybug...no 2 would be on the exact same spot...or so they say. The reviews were also pretty darn good. A great wheel for a beginner but that it would grow with me, too, as my skills improved.

I was sold...but my dh needed a little work. My friend let me borrow her spinning wheel, a Fidelis, so that I could learn to spin...and so that dh could see that I was serious. It worked. He let me order my wheel.

"M'lady" arrived a couple days ago. I was a little intimidated by it. I had practiced a little on the Fidelis...but it hadn't clicked. My initial results were similar....a twisty curly q mess. But it was fun!


Then a local yarn celebrity came to my rescue. Chris from Sugarbee Studios http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=55462 came to my house and watched me spin. Well, we spent a lot more time talking then spinning! It was such a fabulous morning. Her kids are very close in age to my 2 oldest kids and our kids just seemed to hit it off. I think everyone had a great time. And I got a little help with my technique. Turns out that I was pinching and pulling vs letting the fiber pull apart. I really think I'm on the verge of a spinning break-through.

Having Chris here really was like having a celebrity in my house. Her yarn and fiber is fabulous. I've been a part of many conversations at my LYS about her 'Politically Correct' line. Sock yarn with names like 'It's All About the O,' and 'Fiber Floozy.' Last time I was at the store, I took home a one night stand...George. Poor George. I ruined him. He was no good for me anyway. I should have practiced on some plain old roving before I jumped to fancy batts. Now my goal is to get better at spinning so that I can take home another one night stand...like Collin or Michael. I also like Serge but that's Chris's husband's name and I couldn't do that to a friend.

It was just a fabulous day all around! While Chris was still here, the post man brought me a box crammed full of yummy blue faced leiceister wool...and a spindle, too. I also got 8 ounces of pink corriedale. I am now swimming in fiber! Later in the day, I learned that I won a lotto for a free embroidered cloth diaper from the creator of the Fatty Cakes diaper pattern. Then a knitting bag pattern I having been coveting went on sale. And to top my fabulous day...my MIL finally got an offer on her house. Wheee!!!

The yarn on the right is what I worked on when Chris was here. It's a mess but it's mine!


As I was finishing the last bit of this, I had to fix a little over-twisted problem. I leaned back from my wheel, held the yarn over my head and let it unravel. Only is grabbed my hair instead!! And it wouldn't let go!! Ouch!! I was able to separate it from my head and I then figured out how to ply the yarn. a bit later, my 11 year old came over and grabbed at my hair. Owww - again! She pulled out a few strands of my hair and a lovely poof of wool. LOL Thank goodness I didn't go anywhere like that.








3 comments:

Blossom said...

WOOOHOOOOOOO!!1
it sounds like such fun......but I'm not going there.............no way....
I will just enjoy your adventures......

Stephanie Suzanne Designs said...

Hey there Athena, What a beautiful spinning wheel!! Yep, I'm SABLE on the fiber too...love all that unspun wool to play with :o)

Oh, and thanks for visiting my blog! Come back to see me anytime.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful adventure you have begun!
I love how you are simply leaping into learning to spin yarn. Your LadyBug looks like fun.

I'm a beginner knitter, again, having knit for my grown kids when they were babies, and now with the arrival of grandkids I've begun knitting again And now I seem to having fallen into some kind of overpowering addiction to yarns and knitting patterns. lol And loving it!

I am intrigued by the spinning wheel too! So, reading your blog on acquiring your LadyBug and your first attempts at mastering the wheel is great fun for me.

You'll do great!

Marg