Thursday, January 26, 2012

New Endeavors and Frustrations

Awhile back I decided to try my hand at drop spinning. I was deeply inspired by CatReading's handspun that I always see posted on Ravelry, so I decided that I too wanted to give it a whirl (hehe, punny). I ordered some Frabjous Fiber and a Schacht Hi-Lo spindle from WEBS (which still hasn't arrived even though it is in stock...GRRR, WEBS). In the meantime, my boss generously donated a no-name spindle to me.

And...I suck.


The hardest part for me, I would have to say, is the drafting. I tried learning from a youtube video, but I kept pulling my fiber too hard and breaking it off. Nicole showed me how to park and draft this afternoon, but I still struggle with the drafting. I definitely did a bit better towards the end and I guess this is one of those things where practice makes perfect.

Defeat also slammed me today with some designing woes. Remember those wonderful colors I posted yesterday? While the idea makes so much sense in my head, I just cannot get my vision to appear. On the one hand, it makes me appreciate just how much more I still have to learn and accomplish as a knitter. In the meantime, I decided to cast on for a simple shawl in Fibre Company's (I got the fevah!) Terra in Belladonna, one of the new colors for Spring. Holy moley it is gorgeous. And I'll be sure to share the pattern when I'm done...I know this one will be easier. At least I think it will be. 

Also, my boyfriend is still at work and I miss him.

Happy knitting! And spinning.

-Ashley

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3 comments:

  1. JulieJanuary 27, 2012 at 2:03 PM

    Don't feel bad, it's just your first try! what about taking a drop spindle class and maybe learning some neat little tricks? I bet drop spindle spinning requires lots of special little techniques.

    And I hear you on those design woes. sometimes it's so hard to get it to work out!

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  2. Over-UnderWhelmedJanuary 27, 2012 at 2:09 PM

    Holy cow, drop spinning is so difficult. It's just like learning any new thing, except it's with fiber so you really love it and want to be able to take off with it right away. I just started spinning again myself (wheel spinning though, I'm not ambitious enough for the drop spindle yet...) and my yarns come out all kinds of crazy bulky thick-and-thin. That's what I like to knit with though, so I'm not making a huge effort to get more consistent.

    Just remember you can't possibly suck at anything you've just now learned. It's called learning, not sucking.

    And designing? I have tried and tried and tried many times, but never once came out with something I really liked. Best of luck!

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  3. AshleyJanuary 28, 2012 at 7:39 AM

    Thanks for your kind words, ladies!

    My supervisor just got back from TNNA and informed me that she ordered drop spindles. I'm pushing for a class at my shop :) They have offered them in the past, so I'm hoping I can convince boss lady that we need to have another one.

    There is a very fiber friendly shop a few blocks away that specializes in hand-dyed yarns and roving. Maybe I will check it out this afternoon :)

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