Knit Nation - Part 2 The one where I learn to spin.....

On Saturday afternoon I attended 'Introduction to Top Whorl Spindling' with Carol and Pete Leonard. In October I took a spinning class and failed miserably, I didn't give up but I got very frustrated, watching 'Respect the Spindle' and trying some fibre bumps from HilltopCloud resulted in a breakthrough and I was able to 'park and draft' (which means I could spin the spindle and draft the fibre but not at the same time).

This class consolidated everything I knew and I can now spin! (small round of applause) Here is what I produced in the class:

Two little skeins of slightly thick and thin but most definitely YARN.

The class was great, the teachers were friendly and knowledgable, I also learnt how to ply and was inspired by the lovely finished items knitted from spindle spun yarn which were on display

Inspired, I visited the market place and bought a braid of fibre from Old Maiden Aunt, I started spinning in on Saturday night and even managed a bit on the train journey home on Sunday, this is my progress:

The fibre is black shetland and tussah silk and it's really lovely, I think I'll probably knit it up in to arm warmers and maybe stripe it with something else.

To practice plying I finished spinning the little samples that Megan from The Thylacine very kindly sent me:

Not perfect but it's ok, I did get in a tangle towards the end and had to abandon a little bit, I couldn't save it from it's knotty fate.

I'm really pleased that I've conquered a new skill and you can expect lots more spinning from me in the future!