A Little More Fiber Adventuring!

OK. 2  years ago my DH, Jim asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I wanted a drop spindle. I found one on Etsy made by Mainewoods. I ended up getting a Top Whorl and a Bottom Whorl and some roving to play with. I got the spindle in 2009 and tried to play around with spinning but had NO CLUE what I was doing. So I  put it all away and went on with my knitting and got into some dying and have had fun...

Recently, my BFF, DeDe decided to have a Fiber Adventure Week. She's been dyeing, spinning, weaving, playing with Silk, all sorts of thing having to do with fiber! So much fun to read her blog posts about what she was adventuring into each day. This spurred me on to doing a little creative dyeing myself with my daughter yesterday. Today I got a different bug.

My husband asked me later why I didn't tell him what I had planned when we came home from grocery shopping today. I scrounged my stash looking for those spindles that I had put away long ago...Ironically, it was Jim who found them for me! And then later had the nerve to ask me why I didn't tell him it was going to take up my time for the next 2 hours! Well what did that matter...he was content to watch the Detroit Tigers beat up the Chicago White Sox. Ah well. So I got on the phone and called up DeDe since she is the one who started all this Adventure stuff..

And I Predrafted fiber in preparation for spinning...I would have never figured this out if I hadn't had DeDe as a teacher...This is why I failed those initial tries 2 years ago! I had no clue how to get started! According to DeDe's instructions I predrafted a bit more...but found I was a bit afraid to really let the fibers slide apart to much. Need more practice!

Once it started to look like this, I was ready to start Spinning on the stick I had...this is practice for a brand Newbie spinner trying to learn over a phone...and let me tell you just having a Smartphone doesn't help in times like these!  Especially when that stupid Smartphone won't email or text pix while you are on the dumb phone...but I digress...

So I followed the instructions that I was given and within minutes I was creating the first steps of spinning yarn!! I was spinning it by drafting ( allowing the untwisted yarn to slightly twist while holding it away from the twisted, or spun, yarn) with my right hand and twisting it by rolling the stick on my leg with my left hand...I immediately changed hands and went the other way...much easier for me. Just a few minutes and some patient guidance via phone from DeDe and I had the beginnings of YARN!!!

I still have a long way to go and lots to learn. I was able to learn how to add more fiber to be drafted and then how to ply a short section together on my hand...I ended up with this...which has a long way to go and a lot of learning ahead...but I loved it!!  I am creating yarn! I still have yet to learn how to spin on my spindles...but I ran out of time..tomorrow is another adventure...

Oh...by the way...my first attempt has already been confiscated as a princess crown! High Praise indeed!