Knit Sisters

In answer to a couple of questions:

Yes, I think any leaf-themed original design is fair game for the contest, even if it was designed at some other time. 

And Barbara asked about when I learned to spin and if it was hard.  The first part of that question is easier to answer than the second!  I taught myself to spin on a drop spindle in 2002, so I really have not been spinning that long.  I went to NY Sheep and Wool in the fall of 2001 and discovered that the yarns I coveted most were the handspun yarns that people had for sale.  Instead of buying these yarns, I bought myself a drop spindle, some roving, and a spindle spinning book.  I kind of put them aside until that winter, when I just decided that I was going to figure out how to spin, no matter how long it took!  I looked at my book, gathered a few little tips, and dove in.

My family jokes that they always knew when I dropped the spindle on the floor, because I would let fly with a “Shit!”  And I guess that leads to the second part of the question:  is it hard?  Like many things that you do with your hands, spinning takes practice.  Somewhere I remember reading that when you are learning to spin, you should spin at least a little bit every day, to really cement the feel and the process into your muscle memory.  Like knitting, it’s a skill that you hold in your hands, and no amount of studying is going to make you proficient without the actual practice. 

Personally, I think you just have to be determined to learn and make up your mind not to give up.  I also believe that it’s a good idea to learn on a top-whorl drop spindle, so that you can really get the feel of drafting before you have to learn to manage a wheel.  It’s also a much, much smaller outlay of money–you can decide if it’s really something you want to pursue.  (A decent beginner spindle can be purchased for $10 or $12–I learned on a $10 Louet top-whorl.)

And speaking of spinning, my progress on the lime superwash:

                                                         I’m getting there, slowly but surely.

I’ve been working on the sherbet socks, too.

                                  Halfway on the first sock.

Hey, here’s a funny picture of my little (ha, ha) feet wearing my one half-sock on the spinning wheel treadles.

 

Hugo thinks this whole half-sock thing is highly suspicious.

                                     “Do I have to wait until you’re done with those before you take me for a walk, or what?”

(I’m still working on the secret project, as well.  Of this we will not speak…)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Sock it to me, Spinning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.