Having handled fibre since the ripe, old age of 3, I’ve finally succumbed to the call of creating my own yarn.  

In November, for my birthday, Lorie taught me to spin with a drop spindle.  Lorie has long been a partner in fibre crime for me, teaching me advanced techniques in knitting, and conferring with me on how to best communicate directions  in some of my patterns.  Now, she’s brought me into the fold of spinning my own fibre.

She showed up on my doorstep one cold evening with a fluffy ball of natural wool roving and a drop spindle.  An hour later, I was hooked.  Two hours later, I was scheming all the different ways I could put this new craft to use.  Three hours later, I was knitting with the yarn I’d just made.

Fast forward to February.  Lorie called to say she wasn’t going to be able to use her spinning wheel for a few weeks, and did I want to learn how to use it then take it home to “play with”.  My answer was unequivocally YES.  The spinning wheel came with a garbage bag full of undyed wool and a brief lesson.

Fast forward to last Saturday.  Lorie, Roxy, Shirley and I attended the Black Swamp Fiber Festival in Bowling Green Ohio.  A building full of fiber vendors greeted us warmly.  Shirley lost her resolve to stay away from spinning for a total of about 10 minutes.  I bought alpaca, blue-faced leicester wool, camel, and a couple other fibers, all undyed.  I also bought 3 shades of Procion Acid Dye from Winding Creek Alpaca Farm.  

Again, with some basic directions from Lorie as she headed out the door to work, I ventured into the world of fibre.  I spent the evening dying a sampling of my purchases for the day, trying different techniques.  Sunday was spent the same way.  The fruits of my labors can be seen above. 

Now I’ve started spinning the fiber with a combination of the drop spindle and the spinning wheel.  I’m hoping to have enough to make a sweater to wear to the Lilac Festival this year.

(the video won’t be available until Wednesday – YouTube is doing maintenance tonight as I write this)