Last Friday I went to (one of) Ithaca's LYS, Hickory's Knitting Etc. to get some buttons to finish a soon-to-be revealed FO. Hickory is having a super sale; everything in stock must go. Now, the Hubs went with me, but only once I had promised him that we'd pick out buttons, not touch any yarn, and thus be out of there in no time (that is, with enough time left to go to the soccer store and buy him a FIFA 2010 soccer ball). I do like to stick to my word, and after he (!) chose buttons we went straight to the register, next to which sat a basket full of discounted roving and one lonely drop spindle. Since roving isn't exactly yarn I had permission to touch, and once I touched... etc. etc... (fill in the blanks).
Fast forward to Saturday morning. It's 4:30, and it is so incredibly stinkin' hot and humid in the apartment I can't sleep. The windows are open, the fan is on high, we're on top of the covers, and there are no more clothes that could be taken off; still, I am miserable. Out of bed with me and, perhaps insufficiently dressed, onto the porch. Since I was wide awake I thought, what the heck, it's so hot that playing with a little bit of wool couldn't possibly make me feel any more uncomfortable. Wait, I don't actually know what to do with roving or a spindle, let alone with the two together, but I'm sure there's a YouTube video out there that can teach me how to spin. Our computers are on campus, but let's not forget about iPhones. Why not teach myself how to spin by watching an amateurish YouTube video on my cell phone screen in the wee hours of a brutally hot day? Brilliant idea, right?
Two and half hours later, with an empty iPhone battery and woolen fluff all over myself, this is what I had accomplished:
Please don't judge me too harshly, dear spinning reader, I know my results are pitiful. Blame the heat, the size of the screen, the quality of the video instruction, the early morning hour, my sleepy head, my absolute inexperience... My first try at spinning wasn't fun. Or relaxing. It was painful and angering. Should I ever touch the spindle again I promise I will get better, but in the meantime I think that spinning is crazy, that to spin is crazy, and that spinners--forgive me--are crazy, too.
Oh, yay! Another one succumbs to the dark side! And may I just say, your first handspun looks a thousand times better than the first stuff I made. :)
ReplyDeleteLovely - and now you are one of us!
ReplyDeleteI think there're a lot of spinners out there who had exactly that same experience the first time (barring the heat, maybe) - I for one can totally relate to your description, and I certainly didn't produce anything as nice-looking the first time, either (nor the second, to be honest).
ReplyDeleteLeave it be for a while, you'll get back to it in time and it'll go much much better, I promise!
Still looks pretty to me!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful and amazing results for a first time. I have not tried spinning yet. Will probably do it one day.
ReplyDelete