Spin Spin Spin!

 During my week in Feb of classes bonanza, I ended the week with learning how to spin on the spinning wheel! I've only ever spun using a drop spindle and didn't care for it. I come from a family of weavers and we have a spinning wheel at least in the gallery (and I believe my aunt has one too) but no one knows how to use it so I wanted to take the opportunity to learn. Fiber Circle Studio had a class which let you rent out a wheel, so I went for that option since getting your own wheel (especially when you are unsure if you'll like using it) is very expensive (this one I'm using ranges 400-600 USD depending on the finish you get). Needless to say, I really enjoy it and will be saving up for a wheel of my own.

The wheel I ended up getting was the Ashford Kiwi 3!

A wheel and a cat, with a box of roving in the background. 

We were given some roving to practice with which I went through pretty quick. I did ply them (twist strands together, in this case 2-ply ie two strands twisted together to make a sturdy yarn) but I have yet to block them (soak them to clean them and shape them/add weight in the event it twists on itself) so I don't have any finished photos yet of that. Afterwards, I did go ahead and start on my stash of roving which I've had since 2010 when I went a little overboard buying a bunch of roving for drop spindle that I never ended up using. I started with roving I didn't think I liked because the colors were too bright with the intention to use it for practice. 

Roving not yet drafted (pulled looser). It felt like it was going to be too bright

I ended up being very wrong. As I drafted the roving (ie loosening the fibers by pulling them a little apart but not completely) in preparation for spinning, I discovered that it was much more pastel than I had previously thought.

I was very wrong. It was dreamy.

It was quite a dream to spin, as I didn't have too much trouble drafting at the spinning stage. It ended up being really colorful and fun!

2 bobbins of colorful happiness.

I spun two bobbins worth with the intention to ply them aka spin them together to make a sturdy yarn. Since I was still learning, the strand is uneven, but honestly I prefer it that way. I really enjoy bulky uneven yarn. 

2-ply yarn just spun! 

I quickly plyed the yarn and blocked it. I didn't hang a weight from it or anything because I didn't end up overspinning it so I didn't' have to compensate too much for it. I dried it just in time for a crochet class with Spacecraft where I learned how to make a hat! I had joined the class last minute because a friend was in it, and had just enough of this yarn to try it out for a hat!

Blocked/cleaned and ready to be used!

I ended up crocheting it once, realized I had tried to make the hat too long and my hook was the incorrect one for the class/project (completely my fault) so I ordered the correct one and restarted the hat a few days later. 

My first attempt at crocheting this uneven yarn before I undid it.

I'm super happy with the result, and ended up doing a hanamusubi (flower Japanese knot) with the little that I had left over and added a little glass bead.

The finished hat!

Now I'm furiously spinning for the next week to try to get through as much roving as possible. I'm doing a little better physical health wise (due to monthly stuff and weather I felt pretty awful) and mentally I'm still hella rocky but I feel motivated to stream and spin so I'll continue focusing on that to get through the roving. Today I had a bit of fun during stream trying a 4-ply and starting on another color. 

I've been working on this pink roving for a week

This is but a tiny bit of what I have made and I still have a ton to go!

I'm hoping to get some cool color combinations with this pink. I'm currently working on combining the pink with burgundy. I've already done pink on pink and pink x cream. Wish me luck!