I've been trying to spin a little every day on my spindle. I've learned about what "drop" spindle really means, and kept trying. I learned about pre-drafting & pulled my fiber apart & couldn't get it back together even though the instructions and accompanying photos said I could & showed me how. I then read somewhere else not to pre-draft to the point where you don't have to draft while spinning -I'm trying that-getting lumpy yarn when before I was getting pretty happy about getting relatively thin, even yarn; my goal for the TdF. If I want very fine yarn that will ply (and I don't know how to do that yet either, so don't think that's not on my mind all the time) I'm thinking I have to start with thinner fiber...by the time I pre-draft I can get thin yarn...drafting while spinning after that & I get 'dropped spindle'. I don't have a notch in the spindle I'm working on (had one in 1st spindle but it was heavy so I went for lighter wt for thin yarn) and it's a b**ch to get it going. I made a call for help to my spindle maker asking about how I could make a notch & not worry about the balance. Next step is making a notch & hoping I don't crack the thing,put the notch in the wrong place, or make it impossible for the fiber to move smoothly.
I've still got a bunch of physical restrictions so I can't do much standing since it makes me raise my arms & I'm not allowed to do that yet. I work on it in a park & spin way when I can sit...and that's not too long either. I've tried doing it when I lay down, but that's just a hoot, so I can only do sock knitting then.
Nothing else could go wrong with my new spinning obsession, or so I thought. My latest misadventure is soooo unbelievable I had to turn to my Ravelry buddies for an answer - which, so far, I don't have. The fiber I've already spun into something resembling yarn for my Tour de Fleece groups has run amuck. I was happily spinning & during breaks I'd go to the TdF groups & look at the spindle spun yarns still on the spindle for the TdF. I'm trying to imitate how they get most of the yarn at the top & work down-it looks like a pretty triangle of yarn on a stick. I tried to focus on winding my finished yarn closer to the top but I guess it was too little too late :-( My yarn slid off the bottom of the spindle & looks like a fat slug or worm on a stake. I am not kidding here I promise you. But just in case, I've embarrassed myself even more by taking photos of my slug/worm & posting them. It may not be what my TdF teammates had hoped for, I sure didn't want it, but everyone deserves a good laugh!
I'm thinking that I'm going to use this mishap to prove to my family members that I do indeed need a Spinning Wheel For Christmas. I've been shopping around on line-there's nothing anywhere near me selling them & no spinning/fiber groups- and I'm looking seriously at the SpinOlutions. We'll see, but putting photos of this mess around the house may get everyone here thinking seriously about my needing a wheel - this has to be painful for them to watch. I'm counting on it.
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