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Saturday, January 23, 2010

spinning a yarn.

i have long held an interest in yarn spinning from afar but wary of new hobbies i have suppressed it (while also trying to get leah to book a spinning workshop at the church of craft, so i guess i waffle). after spending some months following claire's exploits in spinning, i just couldn't take it anymore. i bought a pair of spindles on etsy (from here, in case you had an interest). they seemed well price and came as a set so i felt i would start with some flexibility and options while getting started.

my first attempts, informed only by youtube and bits of claire's blog that i remembered (no, i did not bother to reread, but i will) turned out...well, to be yarn at least. i started with a huge batt of that red stuff i got on sale at the knit cafe. it is very lumpy which made me feel totally useless compared to all those youtube spinning nymphs and their lithe threads. when i tried the scrap of natural roving i had, i realized that the lumps are a quality of the red fibre (or maybe a result of poor drafting?) there is something really fun about diving into a new thing knowing very little. the successes feel huge. like that red yarn, i even plied it! from a centre-pull ball.

what's more? leah has secured the lovely kristyn to teach one final spinning workshop with the church of craft before leah moves to berlin for good. i can't remember the dates but will surely let all you locals know when the grand event will be happening.

9 comments:

tina said...

I love the colours! especially the red. The textures is also kind of interesting. What do you plan to knit with them?

I would love to know the dates of the spinning workshop!! I brought a spinning kit from Kristyn at the City of Craft... hum... 2 years ago. Still haven't figure out how to spin yet... *embarrassed*

sweetie pie press said...

these bits are so short, i don't really have plans yet. but the red might work into the peak of one of my elf hats (it's a little on the bulky side but it might work).

and i am sure leah will pipe up soon about dates. she already told me but then i forgot.

kristyn said...

last weekend in february!!!

see you there.

Becky, first yarns are so charming in all their lumpy bumpy glory.

sweetie pie press said...

ha ha! i will still have some of that red fibre left, we will see if you can squeeze a smoother yarn out of me. i don't know. it might be for felting.

tina said...

last weekend in february! it's in my calendar. let me dig out my kit and probably dust it a little.

becky, what's gonna become of the church of craft once leah moves away?

sweetie pie press said...

leah will have to speak to the future of the church. i'll bet she is happy to take offers.

leah b said...

oh my! i somehow missed this post.

becky, those look beautiful! i'm so impressed for your first time out - my production via kristyn's last visit to the church of craft is lumpy no matter what i tried, but i can't wait to give that beautiful roving you gifted me with years ago another try!

as for the date, it's february 28th at the workroom starting at 3pm. complete info on the site, etc. is to come by this weekend.

as for the future of the church, i'm not sure...it's not a huge amount of work and we've built up nice relationships with people around the city that would like to house us for congregational meets (ie. craft-ins and workshops), but it's takes a little bit thought and time and get people together. also, an acceptance to a little bit of failure and an understanding when people don't get what you're doing.

anyone up for it?!

tina said...

humm. very tempting. maybe coffee and a talk?

leah b said...

absolutely tina!

get in touch with me: coldsnapbindery@gmail.com