Sunday, July 5, 2009

Spinning

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A very long time ago while at university, I took an arts and crafts course for primary/junior teachers. It was designed to pass on just enough of the fundamentals to teachers so that they could then incorporate the arts and crafts into their art curriculum . Of necessity much of the course included tips and tricks for creating the needed tools as cheaply as possible.

One of the crafts I learned there was how to spin fibre using a drop spindle. Spinning is a lot of fun and very, very relaxing. It also requires only a minimum of visual acuity and is not physically challenging. Despite what you may have come to believe you do not have to make a major investment in order to get started. So it makes a great craft if you are, like me, facing a number of physical and financial challenges to your own personal arts and craft program.

Remembering the fun I had taking that course made me decide to try spinning once again. A self-confessed fibre addict I love playing with new yarns and am drawn to new textures and colours. This was sure to be a rare treat.

I needed a spindle. There are a number of things you can do to make your own at home if you can’t afford to buy one. You can even make one from elastic or hair bands, a pencil and a dvd. Spindles vary in price but can be purchased for as little as $9.00. I decided to buy a type of spindle called a support spindle. The seller called hers 'little Jakie'. Support spindles have a point that is rested in a bowl or against a table top.

The lady who sold me the spindle included a few 'fingers' of cotton for me to practice on. Even though I'd learned many years ago how to do this, the fingers tend to forget and need to be gently reminded what they need to do. The cotton was oh so very easy to work with and spun so beautifully. I definitely want more of this fibre!
I bought an ounce of synthetic cashmere fibre from a local fibre arts seller. I found this a little slippery and a little more challenging to spin. I kept forming a 'death grip' on the fibre with my drafting hand (the hand that feeds the fibre to the spindle). Consequently I ended up with nubbies and nubbies of nubbies. I got better with the last bit of this that I'm working on and would like to do more of it - maybe enough for some oh so cool arm and leg warmers.

Kitty fur. I tried to spin the fur collected from my little tabby cat. Unfortunately she is a short hair and the fibres are teensy weensy - just a little short of what can be easily spun.

Bunny fur. This is on my next to do list. I have 2 ounces of white angora to spin up for a knitting project. This will be my first real time challenge as I must spin it so that I end up with sport weight yarn.

Wish me luck. And oh yeah, keep the bunny fur out of your nose until next time...

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