Chronicles of a Beginning Spinner: Short Staple Adventures

 I am a baby at drop spinning. and that's ok, because we all have to start somewhere!

Yes, it's addicting, even when you're frustrated with the short staple. The yarn on this spindle picture is my second try with this roving, so it's a little more even.

 I started out with this roving:

I think it's actually synthetic, as it doesn't felt, squeaks when wet, and leaves a hard residue when burnt. Also, it's short staple, which is giving me quite the challenge.

And this is the $h!t that is my first spun yarn. TA DA!!
I didn't have to ply it, I could have thrown it out. But .....I didn't, ok?

Later I Facebooked my fiber art friends to ask of spinning short staple was harder. It is, it's not just me!
Apparently I like to try to do things on expert mode right off the bat. But I also want to save my good, albeit still cheap, roving for when I know a tiny bit more of what I'm doing.

If I can do it so can you! 

"The master has failed more times than the student has ever tried."

 

 

 

Another update, and I think I'm getting better at it!

See? Getting better still!

Handmade Drop Spindle and Getting Addicted to Fiber Arts

I have many friends who spin and knit and do lots of fiber art, and it's very addicting. And contagious! These days, painting and fiber art are all I want to so, much to the detriment of my day job.

My friend also let me try out one of her drop spindles and taught me how to use it. I need a lot of practice to make anything that resembles yarn! But I learned a lot in the process. Fiber art, from sheep to sock, takes a LOT of time. If you paid the artist for their time for making you a pair of socks from hand spun, hand-dyed yarn, you would be paying at least a hundred dollars.


This is what I started out with. I found a hook later.

Because you tend to spend so much time with your spindle, I decided to make mine pretty. I started by burning a design in it with my soldering iron. This cuts the fibers in the wood to prevent the ink from spreading to a place I don't want it to when I stain it with india ink.










And I dyed it very brightly!!!
It's beautiful, and still I miss the simplicity of the natural wood. O well, I'll have to make more!
I dyed the stick that will be glued to the bottom as well. It's a tealish green. The picture you see here is the top disk while it is still drying from a second coat of varnish. I don't want the yarn to snag on the wood, or get colored by the ink stain. I will give it at least four coats. The varnish (polyurethane) will also bring out the ink stain and grain of the wood and make it pretty.

More pics when it's done!



UPDATE:
Here it is!