My spinning [image heavy]

[DecemberFlower]

So back in May, I decided to take some of my birthday money to buy myself a drop spindle and some wool so I could try spinning. Here are some pictures of the results of that adventure.











So, there's my first adventure in spinning, summed up in a couple of pictures. It was a lot of fun, and I'm already part of the way into my next set of fiber, although I'm trying not to end up with super-bulky yarn this time.

It's definitely one of my favorite hobbies, and I would totally recommend giving it a try. 3nodding  

[Lee Kushrenada]

that's cooler than heck!
I know I have been thinking a lot about spinning in the past couple months, but I don't know about the drop spindling... the weel look's like a lot of fun, but the spindle just look's like a real pane to me. what do you think?  

[gemini6184]

oh my gosh the colors are so PRETTY!! You have to show us pics if you knit something with it 4laugh  

[Catcheen]

Very awesome!  

[~neko neko kitty~]

I love the results of your first try. The colors are beautiful. I'd love to see what you make out of it.

I've been really wanting to learn to spin lately. Once I get an income again I really think I"m going to pick it up.  

[Peppermint Elf]

SQUEEEE!!! I just made a drop spindle yesterday. I finished my first ply of white and right now I'm working on my blue/green wool. How hard was it to ply like that? I'm tempted to just leave my yarn on the spindle and make a lazy kate out of an empty cereal box (so I can just ply off the spindles).

It's a little harder to spin the colored stuff. sad I'll have to pre-draft a little better.  

[DecemberFlower]

Lee Kushrenada: I think the spindle's a pretty economical way to get into spinning. Of course, it probably takes A LOT longer to spin with a spindle than with a wheel, but it's not as bad as it would seem. If you roll the spindle off your thigh, you can get a pretty good spin that lasts a while. I'm kind of in the habit of flicking my fingers, though, just because I had a really bad bruise on my thigh for a while. xp

Peppermint Elf: Honestly, I found that plying was actually really easy. The singles practically jumped together for me as they released some of the s-twist. It's just a little weird trying to control two strands with one hand. I also need to find a good way to contain my singles next time. They kept escaping from the mugs I was using.

I've also gotten a lot better at drafting since I started on my second batch of fiber, so my singles are a lot finer and I don't have to pre-draft quite as much, although I'm still splitting my fiber up into strips.  

[Blue-eyes-green]

Wow, you are much better at getting the thread an even thickness than I am. Admittedly, I spin pretty much for stress relief, so that probably has quite a bit to do with how bad my spinning is. My spinning goes from barely thicker than thread to extreme worsted in weight. I used my yarn to make a really loosely knit scarf for my mother, on the theory that she'd love anything I made for her.  

[Peppermint Elf]

Blue-eyes-green

Wow, you are much better at getting the thread an even thickness than I am. Admittedly, I spin pretty much for stress relief, so that probably has quite a bit to do with how bad my spinning is. My spinning goes from barely thicker than thread to extreme worsted in weight. I used my yarn to make a really loosely knit scarf for my mother, on the theory that she'd love anything I made for her.

Mine used to do that too, until I figured out what I was doing wrong. It's coming out more and more consistantly the more I spin. 3nodding  

[firrantello]

Would any of y'all be willing to write up a tutorial on how to do drop spindle spinning and put it in the tutorials sub-forum? I've no idea how/where to start with it, but it looks like an awesome thing...  

[DecemberFlower]

I'd like to, when I get the time and after all my family leaves. xp

I'm no expert since I just started not that long ago, but I can at least transcribe what I did when I learned and what I do now that I have more practice with it.