my yarns have grown thinner and more consistent; at this point, when spinning at my rhythm of comfort, one particular sort of yarn (what you see below) emerges. i'm still at the mercy of the spinning process; to spin well at all, i fall into a particular groove. i'm now working on a bit of control; i'd like to be able to spin any yarn at will--thin, thick, lumpy, smooth, lofty, dense. also, some experimentation with the effects of tensions and ratios is in order i think.
while picking up the dear Joy wheel from Deep Color Studio, Claudia suggested drop spindle spinning. she knew it would be a long while before i could afford a wheel of my very own, and a drop spindle would allow me to keep spinning. i was hesistant. drop spindle spinning somehow didn't have as much appeal. my instincts were it would be awkward for me. Claudia talked me into a $6 Ashford spindle (student top whorl), and i'm glad she did.
after a bit of practice, i was surprised to find drop spindles just as meditative and satisfying as a wheel. it makes a smooth, strong yarn. Claudia recommended knitting right off the spindle for springy, elastic socks, so i thought i'd compound new experiences by hopping into sock knitting, which i've researched and pondered for a while now. here is my first spindle of yarn; see the mushy stuff in the layers beneath, before i got a feel for things?
i'm thinking of this as a practice sock, footy or tennis sock rather (it'll be short). that's a comforting perspective--swatching but in sock form--since i have no idea how it will turn out. it's a toe-up pattern using Stasia's Sock formula. i threw in some cables just for fun:
i have other knitting on my plate. there is a sheer (alpaca laceweight) cardigan in the works, and i'll also show you my Lelah... next time.
the spinning is beautiful and i'm glad the ashford joy is back with you! i went to a drop spindle class last summer and it was great and i had this little kit with some roving, but i've been too intimidated to give it a go since then - but now seeing yours, i might just try it tonight
ReplyDeletealso, bring on some lelah! ;)
Oh how beautiful! I cannot wait to see the whole sock. I have never heard of knitting off the spindle. What a cool trick. Lets see the sock!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhere is Lelah?????