I went through a lot of hobbies as a kid – and my parents were always supportive. When I expressed an interest in learning how to make my own yarn, my dad went to Barnes and Nobel, found a spinning magazine, and located a store that offered lessons nearby. I started taking lessons in a tiny yarn store with a giant spinning wheel in the window. I was not a great student, but I carry those lessons with me.
I’ve moved on since those days and am a much more curious spinner! I’ve learned the difference between worsted and woolen, a couple of different art techniques, and I’ve even moved on to processing full fleeces. I might even own more than one spinning wheel… My stash is full of handspun yarns that need projects.
I bought a house a few years ago and lost the spinning bug in the move. Before moving, I had a few fleeces that needed washing and I decided to take care of that first. No one wants to move around sticky, dirty fleece! Unfortunately, I didn’t do a great job and my greasy fleece was still full of lanolin (not in a good way). I did a test spin and then the spinning wheel ended up in the basement. That was two years ago.
My hands started feeling the itch a few weeks ago. I broke out my greasy fleece and worked on fixing it. I scoured it an additional two times, then re-carded it on my drum carder. I’ve started spinning it and it is so soft. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on it!
In future posts, I’ll go through the process of working with my raw fleece, from cleaning to prepping the fiber to spinning and finally, knitting.
