I've had a hectic couple of days, so today was put aside for concentrating on learning to spin properly. Of course, it's going to take a while before I manage to produce a smooth, even yarn, but even today's effort was much better than Friday's. I've learnt that the key to good spinning is to relax one's posture, to draft - or tease - the fibres gently yet firmly, and to control the twist with the right hand; not easy when you're a beginner, but it clicked soon enough.
I started with some merino, which was lovely and smooth, but I got too much twist into it. Learning fast, I then turned to some Corridale, which was quite difficult to draft, but made a lovely dark brown yarn. Then it was back to some merino, in purple this time, and that spun quickly and smoothly. I've now plied the Corriedale and merino together, and I just need to set it. I'm really pleased with the resulting yarn (even if the colours are a bit iffy together); it's a little bit slubby, but that will add texture, and there's quite a lot of it, which was a bit of a surprise.
So, where to next? I'm going to practice, practice, practice, until I really know what I'm doing, and having fun with different colour blends. And then I get to knit it all up, of course :)
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This is very nice, a designer yarn. I have several wheels and use each for different reasons, try spinning with some of our native breed sheep and get a feel for top quality fibre.
ReplyDeleteThank you :) I've been practising a lot since this post, and my spinning's getting finer; I must post some more photographs. I've bought a couple of fleeces, and I'm looking forward to getting involved in the whole process...I'll be keeping sheep before you know it!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that's struck me is how friendly and helpful the UK yarn community is; the support that I've received has been invaluable in pushing me on in my craft.