Learning to Spin (Part 2)

Yesterday I mentioned that Grace ended up buying her very own spinning wheel after we took our class. She fell in love with the Ashford Traditional single treadle wheel made in New Zealand.

The wheel that I think I'm interested in is out of stock until March. I'm just going to keep using Grace's since she will be heading back to Spain in a couple of weeks and then decided what to do. The one I think I want is a double treadle, which means that you use both of your feet, but after using the single treadle I'm just not so sure anymore.

The guy at the Wool Shop told Grace that it would take her about half a day to put her wheel together. He sure doesn't know Grace very well. She was determined to put it together as soon as we got home. With a little help from Alan and I she was spinning by 7:00. It really is a pretty wheel and she is already making some very pretty yarn with it.

This morning she let me give it a try and honestly I can't describe how much fun it is. Like I said before, there is a learning curve for sure and it's going to take quite a bit of practice to be able to spin the kind of finished product that I'm hoping for, but even the practice yarn looks nice. They call it "Home Spun". All of the thin and thick parts are what make it "homemade".

Grace spun late into the night and then started all over again Sunday morning. She finally took a break to knit for a while. I think it's because she ran out of fluff to spin.

Here is a picture of the yarn that I made. I'm pretty darn proud of myself. I can't wait to finish spinning this white practice wool so I can start on something with a bit more pizazz.

Sally