Those of you who know me probably think this is going to be about exercise.
But no, I am learning a new skill – using a spinning wheel, turning fiber into yarn. Like pretty much everything in life, practice is required. So I am committing to practice spinning as close to every day as I can manage, and posting here about that as I go. Public commitment.
I took a class on spinning last Friday at SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair) and was immediately hooked. I had previously tried to learn to use a drop spindle, and just couldn’t get it. As I’d hoped, the wheel is a whole different story. I bought one like the one we used in our class – a Lendrum double treadle. I also bought 4.5 lbs of “practice” roving (inexpensive wool ready-to-spin) and at least 3 lbs of gorgeous roving to incent me to keep practicing. At an ounce a day, those 72 ounces of practice roving will keep me going for a while. And I can always get more if I need to before I start the gorgeous stuff.
Yesterday’s practice was frustrating. I think I actually did worse than I did in the class Friday. Although in fairness, I added a new element – NOT predrafting, but drafting as I go. That’s harder. So I was really pleased today that it was much smoother. The process – the rhythm of the movement – felt better, and my yarn looks better.
Until tomorrow.