My First Handspun Yarn

It's my very first handspun yarn! In between all the packing and all the things I have been doing to get ready to move soon, I have actually picked up my spindle and spun my very first ball of yarn! I've been thinking about doing this for a while now, but each time I seriously get ready to do it, I chickened out, fear of doing it wrong I suppose. But I decided to dip my toes in the water and just go for broke! I was inspired by Abby Franquemont (who has her own book called "Respect the Spindle") and her video on You Tube showing the basics of how to spin. It's actually easier than I thought it was going to be, and I took to it like a duck to water!

Granted, my first batch of yarn is overspun in most places, very very thick and thin and totally uneven, but hey, I DID IT! I am sure I'll get better with time, but using a spindle isn't as hard as I had anticipated it might be (hence the fear LOL). I have been wanting to get a spinning wheel for the longest time now but finances just won't allow it right now, so instead of dwelling on not being able to buy a wheel, I figured I would get myself started on a spindle, like women have been doing for centuries on end, well before the spinning wheel even came into existence.

Once I got my head wrapped around the idea that "WHEN THE FIBER SPINS, IT HOLDS TOGETHER AND MAKES YARN" I felt like I got over a huge hurdle in my path to spinning glory. I was having problems imagining how the fluffy fiber that pulls apart so easily could turn into strong twisted yarn, but is's all in the TWIST! Something changes when the fiber is spun, it really is a bit "magic". The other thing I didn't "get" until I actually did it was the twist of the fiber and how to prevent it from coming unspun again. It's all in setting the twist when you are done spinning it. Once the yarn has gotten wet and then dries again, it's like the spinning has set and it doesn't come unspun as I had worried it might. Thank you Abby for your book and the fantastic videos on YouTube.

Now to crochet something with my new yarn. I have no idea how much yardage this is, I know it isn't much because I was pretty much just spinning odd ends and leftover fibers rather than a long strand of roving. I used tons of colors and different kinds of fiber in this yarn, it should be fun to crochet with. I can see right now though that Merino is the sweetest fiber to spin, it spins up really easily.