ladysprite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladysprite) wrote2013-10-13 08:59 pm
ladysprite) wrote2013-10-13 08:59 pm
Progress
So one of the relative upsides of having a sudden surplus of downtime is that I've had plenty of opportunities to catch up on reading and, most of all, crafting. I treated myself to some new yarn, and I've got a cross-stitch project on the frame, but I've also taken a decent chunk of time to play with my spinning wheel.
Spinning is the newest hobby I've picked up, and the first thing I've done in a long time that has a measurable learning curve. Cross-stitch is dirt simple; it's making a ton of tiny x's on a piece of cloth. Once you can do it at all, you've mastered it. And crochet isn't much harder; other than learning to pay attention to gauge, I don't think I've actually noted any change over time in how I do it. Maybe in what sort of patterns I'm willing to tackle, but not anything else.
Spinning, though, takes time and practice and patience to learn. Which means that it annoys the ever-loving hell out of me. The only reason I keep up with it is that it is more fun than it is annoying, at least most of the time. Well, that and I'm incredibly stubborn.
Even with that, though, I get frustrated sometimes. It's hard when I try to work with a new fiber and I can't make it hold together, or I try to practice chain plying and wind up with a twisted lump, or when the yarn I've spent days working on turns out lumpy and weird and not really anything you can actually make something out of.
So, given that, it's a good thing it's also a hobby where I can see measurable progress over time. I have a hank of fiber that I use for practicing, when I'm trying to work on learning before I go back to playing with stuff I'd actually like to crochet with someday, and it's exciting and reassuring to see how much better I've gotten over time...
The skein on the left is one of my first attempts at spinning, from about a year ago. The one on the right I just finished spinning and plying tonight (chain-ply, even; though not a stellar example of the technique).
So. I'm not actually good yet. But I'm getting measurably better, and that's something.
Spinning is the newest hobby I've picked up, and the first thing I've done in a long time that has a measurable learning curve. Cross-stitch is dirt simple; it's making a ton of tiny x's on a piece of cloth. Once you can do it at all, you've mastered it. And crochet isn't much harder; other than learning to pay attention to gauge, I don't think I've actually noted any change over time in how I do it. Maybe in what sort of patterns I'm willing to tackle, but not anything else.
Spinning, though, takes time and practice and patience to learn. Which means that it annoys the ever-loving hell out of me. The only reason I keep up with it is that it is more fun than it is annoying, at least most of the time. Well, that and I'm incredibly stubborn.
Even with that, though, I get frustrated sometimes. It's hard when I try to work with a new fiber and I can't make it hold together, or I try to practice chain plying and wind up with a twisted lump, or when the yarn I've spent days working on turns out lumpy and weird and not really anything you can actually make something out of.
So, given that, it's a good thing it's also a hobby where I can see measurable progress over time. I have a hank of fiber that I use for practicing, when I'm trying to work on learning before I go back to playing with stuff I'd actually like to crochet with someday, and it's exciting and reassuring to see how much better I've gotten over time...
The skein on the left is one of my first attempts at spinning, from about a year ago. The one on the right I just finished spinning and plying tonight (chain-ply, even; though not a stellar example of the technique).
So. I'm not actually good yet. But I'm getting measurably better, and that's something.
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And thank you! :)
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I don't chain-ply, and I am croggled at how much people praise yarns I hate. My first skein (IMO) looks awful:
but people tell me they'd buy it.
One of my more recent (the first yarn I really tried to design) looks better:
I still have some problems with keeping bulk constant (esp. when spinning woolen, worsted is a lot better), so my 3-ply looks better than my 2-ply.
For a lot more of my spinning photos: Spinning (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pecunium/sets/72157632361662098/)
I find the learning curves are manageable, but some things are just awful to spin (heavy silk ratios in alpaca are prone to getting loose; they also tend to be long, and slick, so the twist gets up in the drafting zone quickly, and refuses to stretch out. My current project is going to have one strand of it... I'm hoping I'm better at it than the last time.
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Also, looking at your other pics, I *really* need to get a Lazy Kate and some extra bobbins....
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Yes, you want a lazy kate, and some bobbins. I can make recommendations on the lazy kate.
You'll also want a niddy-noddy (I love the terms of spinning).
Tomorrow I'll be giving one of my co-workers a lesson on how to spin.
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I have a niddy-noddy, and the 3 bobbins that came with the wheel; I just need a few more so I can work on more than one project. And any recommendations on lazy kates would be much appreciated; thank you....
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My lazy kate is ok, but I think I want to get the slightly more expensive one, and if I'd been more patient, I might've. Then again, I thought about it at the time, and decided I also wanted one which was more portable, so I forwent the extra hundred dollars.
A home-made one will suffice, but if you want to do that talk to me; I've got some ideas on how to not do it, and some thoughts one what one needs to have to make it more than just a thing of minor use, and moderate frustration.
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(wool/silk/sparkle blend; chain-ply, probably...fingering weight, I'd guess?)
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Plying reduces twist energy in the yarn. Ideally it balances the energy and the yarn becomes "twist neutral". I'm getting better at managing the "ideal", but it's not always perfect.
If you put yarn into hot water (120°-160°F) it relaxe. Well, no it doesn't, actually, but the effect of the cross-linking which happens in the mild agitation gives that impression.
Combined with the contraction that the hot water causes, any over/undertwist in plying is greatly reduced, as is any interest the yarn might have in unplying (which a single will do, unless it's contained by being knit/crocheted).
So, the short answer is no, but it's usually better to dip it into some really hot water, lay it on a towel, roll it up, twist it, and hang it to dry.
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