I thought I’d set up a post just to keep track of my spindle(s). I reckoned I need a variety in the near future because the weight of the spindle affects the thickness of the yarn produced. At the moment, I seem to have a fascination for fingering yarn, which is to be expected when one uses The Baaa Spindle (yes, I have named my spindle!)…but that can always change! XD

Pic courtesy of Spinsanity

The Baaa Spindle
Bottom Whorl: oak, 3.5 inches, black-faced sheep
Shaft: unstained, sheep accents, tapered end
Total weight: 1.11 oz/31.5 gms
Total length (including hook): 11 inches/28 cms
Cost: USD18.95 + USD7 for shipping
From: Spinsanity

So far, I’m loving this baby! The spinning process is smooth, long and extremely user-friendly - which are important factors for a newbie like myself. I would have never been able to spin up such thin yarn with my first spindle which is much heavier and more bulky.

My first spindle can be seen here and was DIYed, thanks to help from Dad. It’s not fancy but it served its purpose as a practice spindle. Over time (and no thanks to the move here), the whorl dropped/loosened and spinning on it has become almost hazardous.

In the meantime, I’m going to drool over some gorgeous Butterfly Girl Designs spindles. I have my heart set on this gorgeous 0.5 oz shell-whorled spindle which will be great for spinning up super fine yarn which I could then ply into a laceweight or use as it is. But as usual, we’ll see…

Since I was a little behind on my spinning after a slightly-over-than-five-hour hike and knitting up a wedding gift (which is still a WIP) over the weekend, I thought I’d take this practice handspun yarn that I did last year off the box holding my DPNs.

While I like the colour, I’m not too happy with the texture - it’s too coarse - and overall spin-quality of the yarn - it’s, again, too overspun. I have yet to wash, measure and skein it but something tells me that I’ll most probably use it to knit something small like square coasters or something. We’ll see…

In the meantime, I’m heading towards the last 25 grams of Orange Sherbet and anticipating some fibre goodness (and some Addis) to arrive in the mailbox.

The first 50 grams of Orange Sherbet came out a little overspun for my liking and it didn’t help that I forgot to predraft prior to starting. After a while (and numerous predrafts), the spinning got a little easier and the thickness of the yarn was slightly better. It wasn’t exactly consistent because I was still getting used to drafting WHILE spinning.

I was amazed really at the progress I made. I started off with “park and draft” and then found myself drafting while spinning subconsciously. Nil thinks I’m making good progress and at the moment, I might just finish spinning the second batch over the next few days. The thing on my mind now is determining the length, skeining them and then deciding what to knit with these little babies.

The second batch is definitely better than the first - it’s more consistent and I’m trying to keep from overspinning it like the first. Hopefully when we wind it off the spindle, it’ll show. I honestly don’t know what to do with overspun yarn but never mind…third time could just be the charm (if it happens again, that is).

Oh, we talked about the anniversary plans yesterday during our evening walk and I mentioned how I’d love to either get more fibres, spindles or a weaving loom (it’s for future shop plans) - it’s heaps cheaper than a new laptop and I don’t really need a PC of my own since I’m always on the desktop during the day. We’ll see if I get any new additions to the fibre/spin/weave stash…

…with plenty of job hunts…I hope I can find more companies or at least hear from them…

…spinning…I must remember to predraft instead of rushing to do what the pros do. =.=

…and exercise, specifically more four/five hour hikes and evening brisk walks. I need to lose some weight (gained from every darn holiday trip!). BAH!

I know. I know. I really ought to stop picking up so many hobbies but seriously, when you are not working (writing about things like Austin Air air purifiers do not count!) and have heaps of time on your hands, hobbies are one of the things that keeps a person sane…not to mention occupied.

Anyway, this isn’t really a new hobby. I picked it up last year but somehow shelved it aside when work got crazy and never quite picked it up again when the wedding plans came like a storm. The fact that I left my DIY spindle and rovings at home after I moved to Switzerland didn’t help one bit at all!

Nevertheless, of lately, I have been getting that spinning bug and well, almost all my readers know that once I get a bug, it’s only a matter of time before I succumbed. I put some of my hard-earn moolah into getting a custom-made handmade spindle from Spinsanity. Shannon is a gem and excellent with her hands; she makes the spindles by herself and paints them as well. I got her to paint mine with a sheep…I know, how typical!

So while waiting for my spindle to arrive, I stopped by the local hypermarket (20 minutes bus ride to and fro from town) to purchase some squishy soft roving. They were for felting but can be used for spinning. These little babies come in either 25gms or 50gms and I ended up getting 200gms. After separating them and then braiding them into four bundles, they are now finally ready for some serious spinning. Oh, there is also my shopping cart over at Handpaintedyarn.com which contains three 100gms rovings. *drools*

Ok ok…I should stop.

Btw, I am experimenting with my photo displays so do bear with the change in text.

Remember that gorgeous hot pink roving I was talking about? I got addicted to it….horribly addicted. Don’t know whether to cry or not. Feel like spinning this light pink roving I got and plying them together. GAHHHHH!

While taking a break from spinning, I got Blue Dreams off the makeshift bobbin and onto the skeining process, which I think I screwed up because it looked like it was felted instead. I seriously need to practice on skeining stuff.

Hm…should I ply this with grey or blue OR both? Bah. Hate making decisions like this. This is less than an ounce so I can’t even knit anything decent with it. O’well…I ordered from rovings from Carolyn; she’s a gem! Taught me how to skein spun singles and stuff. Can’t wait for the parcel to come - I’ll be collecting it from Nil though. Having it sent to France instead. YAY for New Year spinning sessions!

So without the Net, guess what I did?

Yes…more spinning and knitting.

I didn’t exactly have much success with Blue Dreams - I think I ended up felting the wool while I was trying to skein it. Maybe I even put too much twist into my spins. Heh.

While waiting for it to set on this mooncake box which I turned into a temporary bobbin, I decided to practise spinning singles with this very lovely hot pink roving. The results? Delicious…like candy!

Now I know that knitting has become an obsession of mine…well, actually yarn to be exact. BUT…but my latest craze is spinning and the lovely gorgeous fibres that they come in! ZOMIGOD…SPINNING!

But wait, I haven’t exactly spun anything!

*cough*

Read the rest of this entry »