Keep Spinning

I’m back home from my conference. I learned new things and was able to see friends who I only see at these events. I was even able to get more reading done than I expected. Overall, the trip was a success!

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the success category was that I was able to keep up with Tour de Fleece. I didn’t break any records, but I made steady progress over the first ten days.

I haven’t mentioned it before, but I spin on spindles, not a spinning wheel. Spindles have always been more appealing to me. Friends told me that after I started spinning I would want to make the switch to a wheel, but here I am six years later and I still love my spindles.

I think the biggest draw for me is the portability of spindles. If I only used a wheel, it would have been much more challenging to spin on my trip; I was able to tuck the spindle and fiber into the bag with my conference materials and steal a few minutes here and there between sessions. It’s a great conversation starter, too!

This Malabrigo Nube Roving (100% Merino) was a gift I received two years ago, and I’m excited to finally work with it. I've spun 0.9 ounce so far; the yarn is turning out as I’d hoped and I still have just over 3 ounces left. I wasn’t expecting the purplish tone that’s coming out as it’s spun but I like it.

The other fiber I've been spinning is a Mystery Wool Roving that was passed along from person to person until it ended up with me. The original gray fiber is a bit dull but each year after my children dye Easter eggs, I pull out some of this wool to use up the remnants of their dye. I spin some up from time to time, and have yet to create the same yarn twice. It’s a fun adventure to see what new effects will emerge from the same dye colors.

My goal for next week is to have a plied skein of the Mystery Wool. I'm sticking with slow-but-steady!