Twisted Wool

A few years ago I picked up the book Spin-Dye-Stitch and was quickly inspired by the primitive simplicity of the craft.  I thought learning to spin my own yarn would be a fun, easy way to truly customize my knitting...until I tired it.  If you have never used a drop spindle let me create a visual for you:  You have a big ball of fiber that you attach to your drop spindle while at the same time keep the spindle spinning the same direction and consistently draft the fiber without over twisting or breaking the fiber or getting all tangled up in it.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well I would equate it to patting your head while rubbing your stomach while jumping up and down with your eyes closed, and oh yeah, chewing gum.  The coordination required to spin nice, even yarn was something I failed to obtain so I threw in the towel and put the book on the shelf.  Until recently....

A few months ago my husband and I were having dinner with my cousin and her husband.  After a few glasses of wine the conversation began to gravitate towards starting a business.  My cousin being a knitter herself came up with the idea that we open a yarn shop (something we would still love to do someday), but with little to no start up money we began to brainstorm ways to make some money on the side while still building a name for ourselves within the artisan world.  Thus the idea of making our own yarn was born!  

I picked the book up off the shelf, bought some new fiber and reconfigured a drop spindle to fit my needs and we spent all afternoon yesterday practicing spinning.  

Before:

We caught on surprisingly quickly!

After:

We still have a lot to learn but are making great progress!  The freedom of creativity that comes with spinning your own yarn is easily comparable to the infinite possibilities of a painter.  There are many different types of fibers, countless fiber blends, dyes, beading, etc.  You are only limited by the depth of your imagination and I am glad that with the coaxing of my cousin I gave it another shot!  Thanks for reading!

-Amy L.