The lingering want to Spin

I do have a pretty strong want, to spin. I think it started when I was playing with the quilt batting. No. Now that I think of it, it was later.

A friends granddaughter was over while grandma had an appointment and she wanted to know how to spin. So we played with fibre, and I showed her the magical thing that happens, when you draft wool and how the strands slip alongside each other till a mass becomes as thin as air and how from the mass, you could see individual strands of fibre and how you could make those delicate strands become strong again by adding twist. Yeah, that is when it happened. I think I fell in love all over again.

And now that I know more, I know exactly what it is that fascinates me. It is watching those strands slip beside each other. I could watch that all day. The drafting is it.

When I last felt the urge to spin, it was more to clear up a lingering problem. I had bobbins sitting on my bookcase and that bugged me. There is no decent way to store bobbins on a shelf. They fall. They shift out of position. They roll. So I took the time and turned the two bobbins into what they were meant to be. A nice 2 ply yarn to match the hank of yarn I did so long ago. It took hours.  I think I knew that going in.

It was spun quite fine so it needed care while plying.  It was also pretty entrenched on the bobbins after having sat there for a couple years. 

About a sport weight I think.  Or that is what I am going with. 

There was some left and I made an executive decison.  I am tossing it.

And the yarn after finishing.

Looking at it now, there seems to be a lot of places where it could use a little more twist on the ply.  I might run that through again sometime.  I seem to recall the other hank from this fibre also has this problem. 

Then I did what I really wanted to do all along.  Spin this.

 It was getting dark when I took the picture, so you really can't see the lovely colours.  It was a braid from Fleece Artist that Frazzled Knitter gave me.  She had one too and made a hat of it, a lovely bouncy yarn and marvelous striping.  I don't think that is going to happen here, not even in the green and gold section.

I was having a bit of a problem opening up the fibre.  It was a very tightly packed braid so when I was pre-drafting, I ended up with small piles of short sections of colours.  I decided to go more colour specific.  I want it to not be so barber poled once it is plied.  I would like to have sections where the colours are a little more true.  All the green and gold sections are spun and then the blues and turquoise sections.  A sort of faux gradient is what I am aiming for, I suppose, though I have let the colours play out in these general colour families.  I can't wait to see what it looks like when it is plied. 

There will be only a little time to spin today.  I have company coming today for a few days so I think sock knitting or other simple things, like the rest of Magrathea's lace and then the bind off.  And before the good stuff a job interview.  I think this one would be a very good fit.  A mat leave postion, so not permanent but it would be a good placement none the less. 

I am a little nervous but you know what?  No matter how the interview goes, I am going to have a great day!  Kathy Mary Jones is coming to play!  A very good thing.