Monday, April 23, 2012

Rose Quartz

Ever since I cast on my Wholehearted Shawl the other day with yarn I spun a couple years ago, I've been wanting to sit down and do some spinning.  Yesterday my elbows were hurting from too much knitting the day before, so I decided to divert my energy to the wheel.

Ashford Joy, single treadle

Spinning is something I tend to pick up and put down - often for months or years.  I really can't remember the last time I did any spinning, but I think it's been at least a year.  I had started to spin the singles for a three-ply using Ashland Bay Merino in Rose Quartz.  I had one bobbin full already: 

The front bobbin is the one I'm talking about.

So I stared in on bobbin #2:


This is how much I've got after about a half hour each yesterday and today.  Once spun, it looks like a heathery mauve, but the top has so many colors in it:


I keep my fiber in a peach carton.  Mmmmmm . . . I wish I had one of those Eckert's peaches right now!


I'm hoping to actually finish this skein soon - i.e. not get bored and let it sit again. But who knows?  This is me we're talking about!

Are any of you guys spinners?

21 comments:

  1. Despite owning a really nice set of Ashford drop spindles, the only spinning I do these days is on a bike at the gym - ha! Handspun yarn looks beautiful but I never found the patience to do it myself. Your mauve skein is looking great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! That's the spinning I ought to be doing! For me, drop spindles are harder to use than the wheel for some reason, although I did learn on a drop spindle.

      Delete
  2. Er WOW !! You can spin?!?!? And look at your yarn, just beautiful ! Its like a Scottish hillside ! All heather and moss. Is there anything you cant do cos I notice you just casually threw this one into the mix ! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooooh, I may need to rename this Scottish Hillside! I hope I get to see one some day in real life!

      That's how I knew I hadn't done any spinning in over a year - I know I've never blogged about it, and my blog is just over a year old!

      Delete
    2. I still cant get over the beauty of this yarn, its A MAZE ING !!! that you spun it yourself. I LOVE the new name too ! I think it totally suits it, and I hope you get to see a Scottish hillside too sometime, they really are very pretty ! xx

      Delete
  3. Okay Gail that does it, either you need to take a trip south or I need to head north so you can show me how to spin! I would love to buy a wheel, but until I know what I'm doing I feel it would be a waste.
    Your talent is really endless! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be so fun! We'll have to see if we can work that out one day!

      Delete
  4. So you knit, you sew, you spin, and you're beautiful. Hurumph!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I think you might need to adjust your monitor!

      Delete
  5. Ooh fancy! I know nothing about spinning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I won't be surprised if you pick this up too though!

      Delete
  6. I'm waiting to find something you cannot do, LOL! I've never tried spinning, but it looks relaxing and fun. Your yarn looks beautiful!

    I miss Eckert's too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. There's plenty I can't do. But we don't talk about that here!

      Delete
  7. So cool! A friend let me borrow her wheel a few years ago to see if I enjoyed spinning. I love the idea of it and enjoyed learning, however, I found that I would really only go to it in spurts and there would be months that I wouldn't touch it. In the end, I decided that I couldn't justify the money for my own wheel.
    I agree with Tracey, your talent is endless! I bet that is going to make something beautiful when it is all spun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I probably wouldn't have bought this wheel if I hadn't been working in a yarn/spinning shop at the time. I got a nice discount :-) That said, I'm really glad I have it because it's fast AND it folds up, so I can keep it out of the way when it's not in use. I also have two very beautiful wheels that my father built me: an upright (Hebridean) and a Saxony. Sadly, they're in storage because I don't have room in my new house.

      Delete
  8. You spin as well?? Of course you do! :)

    I got a box full of lovely polishes today. :) Thanks, my dear!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gail, Gail, Gail,
    everyone has said what's in my thoughts about you.

    I don't spin BUT I do love learning about sheep breeds, fleece, fiber. I have a better appreciation now that I know just a tad more.

    I think your 'Joy' is cute!

    hugs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm kind of surprised you haven't done it! Years ago I took a spinning class from a lady in Potosi - I'd forgotten about it until just this moment!

      Delete
  10. Whoa! So cool! These colors are beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ginger! We shall see - the colors become a little muddled once spun. I've got 2 out of 3 bobbins now - getting close to finishing!

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.