Spinning

I've been spinning off-and-on for about...a year, I guess. I didn't really spin anything worthy of note until a couple of months ago. The reason? The stuff that I spun wasn't perfect, and I was convinced I was doing something wrong.

As it turns out, I was doing something wrong. I wasn't relaxed. Unless a person relaxes, one can't spin. At least, not enjoyably. The single, at first, doesn't have to be perfect. It'll be thick, thin, overspun, underspun, and everything in between. That isn't bad. In fact, experienced spinners, I've found out, often struggle to get that varied texture in order to create special yarns for specific projects.

So, I began to spin again, without getting uptight because the yarn wasn't consistent. I tried my best and, sure enough, my yarn got better as I went along--not near perfect, but better, smoother and more even.

My first single--which was probably between 20 and 30 yards (I didn't measure) was overtwisted and certainly uneven. I made a case for my mp3 player (a picture of which I will post tomorrow) and am very happy with it--proud of the fact that I spun my own yarn and knit with it.

Now, for my next feat, I will spin a pound (yes, a pound) of silk/mohair that I have and Navajo-ply it. 'Normal' plying doesn't sound near as appealing as using only 1 single to make a 3 ply yarn. Hopefully, it'll be easy enough to do on my spindle. There's no way on this earth that I could afford the lovely Ashfords and the like that are so tantalizingly sprinkled over the Internet.

So, tomorrow will be the day I begin spinning. Right now, I'm working on the 'increase' rows of my first Clapotis. I'm knitting it in a lovely denim-color multi sock yarn on size 6 needles. I want to get the increase rows done tonight so I can really see how wide it is going to be. The origonal pattern calls for worsted-weight yarn and size 8 needles. We'll see how it goes.

Well, it's off to ravelry and to see if the new Knitty has been posted yet.