Easy to Entertain

I have made a stunning discovery. If I actually sit at the wheel and spin, spinning gets finished. I know this must seem obvious to those of you brighter than yours truly, but considering how much time I’ve spent just looking at the wheel, sighing deeply and just thinking about spinning up some of the stash, wishing that bunches of spinning would get finished…. it is clear to me that I must have thought that inaction would get me somewhere.

2Singleshfy1505

I finished all of the singles, and was so completely taken with them that I couldn’t wait to see what would happen when I plied them up. I am a simple soul, and when I sat down to ply I was so entertained by waiting to see what two colours would end up beside each other next,

Finishedyarnhfy1605

that I plied the whole thing in one go. It was enchanting. Completely enchanting. I was spinning this to be a heavy sock weight, and I couldn’t stop looking at it as a pair of socks as it came together. I was absolutely charmed by whatever two colours were barberpole-ing around each other and practically hysterical with glee when the the two plies matched up colour-wise.

I actually sang out to Joe at one point “There are two blues! The two blues are next to each other! This part is just blue!” Joe looked at me like I was some sort of alien, then pulled it together and sort of mumbled “Good honey…that’s ….great.” I realized he didn’t get it. “Joe…” I said (rather emphatically) “This is sock yarn. That means that part of the sock will have a BLUE STRIPE.”

Finishedskein1605

He nodded sort of enthusiastically at me, but he was totally faking.

It’s good that I have you people to show this too. It’s so hard to get any sort of knitterly satisfaction out of regular people.

The best part (although the whole thing was seriously, seriously fun) was the end. You know how when you are spinning a two ply (or however many) that at the end there’s always more left on one bobbin? One always runs out before the other and you have this chunk of singles that you can’t really do anything with? It doesn’t matter how carefully you try to balance the bobbins out…it never comes out even? This time…

Whatwasleft1605

This was all that was left on one bobbin. As close to perfect as it can be. Dudes. It was a totally entertaining spinning experience, and I’m so excited about the idea of it being socks, but I’ll have to wait. It’s 250m of heavy sock weight, and it can be yours to make socks if you donate to Claudia’s Knitters Against MS Drive. It’s a prize. Claudia’s big bike ride effort (two days, 150 miles) is near and dear to my heart, and I’d consider it a personal favour if you gave her some money. Give early. Give often. Win prizes.

Onward.

235 thoughts on “Easy to Entertain

  1. I love the way your yarn came out! And how cool that you were so close to the same amount on each spindle!

  2. If we put as much effort into doing stuff as we put into thinking about, gosh, think of what would get done.

  3. So that’s why glaring at my sink isn’t getting the dishes done! Rats.
    Beautiful yarn! I can totally understand why you had to keep going until it was done. So, what’s up for next Tuesday?

  4. I was surpried by that very same thing this weekend: when I actually sat down at the wheel on Saturday instead of just looking at the wheel and looking at my roving, I managed to fill a bobbin in a few hours… Funny how that works!

  5. Oh, isn’t that lovely yarn! I do the same thing with knitting/spining “look honey, it did . . . ” and my husband (thanks to an acting background) has gotten very good at faking enthusiam. He has even memorized a few things like “gauge” and “raglan” so he can pretend he knows what I’m talking about!
    Hey, that could be your next book – a guide to faking it for those who live with knitters! We can all buy it and leave it in the bathroom so they read it!!!! Wouldn’t that be fun?

  6. It is rare that our Muggles get it. Mine knit a row on my sweater sleeve last week. His interest was completely unbidden. I almost cried. And he did it well.
    Awesome colours.

  7. Steph! You were in the spinning zone! My trainer keeps wanting me to try spinning, but I have the strange feeling she means the kind with the stationary bike, and not the spinning wheel! Now if I could get exercise from spinning yarn, I would totally be there!

  8. Mmmmm….I want to eat it! What yummy colours! It’s good to know that I am not the ONLY one that is totally, happily mesmerized by colour (not to mention texture…) =)

  9. The yarn is stellar. It just seems like everything fell into place perfectly- maybe your stash was on its best behavior so you wouldn’t neglect it 🙂 Whoever recieves that yarn better post a pick of the finished socks.

  10. WOW! Check out all those shades together! Colour me impressed (yuk yuk yuk). This is almost enough to convince me to take up spinning. (almost, I’m still holding out). What a fabulous MS donation.

  11. Lovely yarn! I get the same feeling too when plying hand painted yarn.
    As a newby spinner, self taught, I just unwind the rest of the left over single (being careful not to break the single still attached to the plying bobbin), find the mid point and fold it back on it’s self and continue spinning to the end. I am probably committing the ultimate sin, but nobody told me I couldn’t, and it knits up just fine. You can’t even see where the ends meet, and I don’t feel sad about the loss of my beautiful spinning (even if it is only a few metres)
    Can’t believe you’re willing to give it away!

  12. “rattle, rattle, rattle”
    (that’s me nodding enthusiastically) I DO get it, even if Joe doesn’t. (Ian doesn’t either…)
    Off to Claudia’s – if I can’t spin my own, I want to see what other’s handspun is like…

  13. What IS it about color doing that thing to my heart…I could stare at your yarn for hours 🙂 How incredibly pleasing.
    I went to the MS fund-raiser and sent some dough; thank you for directing our attention and thank you to Claudia for making time in her life to help others.

  14. Take that bit of singles left on the bobbin and wind on a ball winder. KEEP YOUR THUMB IN THE MIDDLE of the ball when you pull it off the winder. Then ply the two ends. You can do a fair amount this way and only sometimes get a horrible tangled mess. Great for workshop samples and when you can’t locate a free bobbin…. You can also just wind around your hand, being careful not to wind tightly and turn fingers blue.

  15. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I already donated to Claudia so I hope I win it. Soooooooooooooo pretty!

  16. I don’t even know HOW to knit socks but your yarn is so beautiful I was momentarily picturing myself – knitting socks! It’s too funny – I had to pull myself back. But I will make a donation any way and hope that who ever does win the yarn will send you a picture of the socks that they knit so that I can see their loveliness.

  17. I donated. I want to help. I even want the yarn (to give lie to the more altruistic side of this little venture).
    Right now, I mostly want to know how to spin my own sock yarn.
    Does this make me a bad person?

  18. Ellen and Ella both have the right idea–if you ever come up with a lot of singles left over on one bobbin, you can even do an Andean plying bracelet and splice the ends, then ply from that. It’s the real use for so-called ‘andean plying’ in the first place. 😀
    I am thrilled with those colors. 🙂

  19. That is so gorgeous! I loved the way the roving looked but I never would have expected it to end up like that. I know nothing about spinning so it’s still completely magic to me!

  20. Gorgeous yarn! And isn’t it just so cool when the bobbins come so close like that.
    Best of luck to Claudia on her ride. Anything that supports medical research! I have a daughter doing a PhD in immunology, and funding for research has been drying up all over the country and they’re really hurting. She’s been wondering why it’s not making the headlines, it’s getting pretty critical, labs in mid-project are threatened with being shut down for lack of funds. If it’s not going towards the war, the Bush administration isn’t funding it.

  21. I’m so happy (and entertained) to see you spinning again! I was so inspired by yesterday’s post that I stayed up til almost midnight spinning and plying, spinning and plying! I’m a huge fan of barberpole too, but love the surprise stripes when they happen.

  22. You are making me want to learn to spin. There are two antique wheels in my parents’ attic and my father (a carpenter) has offered to restore one for me. I’ve declined up till now but you’re making it tough to resist.

  23. in regards to the plying: GET OUT! That’s amazing. And yes I got exactly what you were excited about. I’ve gotten those looks too.
    I want to wish Claudia the very best. I went and donated — as a daughter-in-law of someone with MS I know the need for research and appreciate Claudia’s effort so very much!!!!

  24. Your yarn looks brilliant! I’m feeling quite inspired by you, so I think after work i’m going to go home and ply up the two bobbins that are patiently awaiting some attention.

  25. I wonder if these sorts of experiences were the mother of the phrase “you’re so twisted!”?
    Sorry for the bad pun.
    Muggles. Just. Don’t. Get. It.
    But, my muggle is kind about it anyway. OTH, He gets very excited about carabiners and knots in ropes. Like THAT’s fun!! Depending on a tiny little knot to prevent you from hurling down a mountain… Woot.
    Suz in WA

  26. Wow, you have totally inspired me to figure out why my spinning wheel isn’t spinning so I can get my arse in gear and spin. Gosh, its been almost 2 years since I’ve had a go at it…

  27. Absolutely stunning! Thanks for sharing with us. I have the same problem as you…looking at the wheel, looking at the fiber, and then not spinning. I might take a clue from you and set aside one evening a week for spinning.

  28. I was going to suggest that the three of us be beneficiaries of your first-spinning-Tuesday-in-months, but you had to go and donate it for a charity prize. Can’t argue with that, but…dude. Nobody believes that you came upon this “stunning discovery” all by your lonesome.
    Told you so.

  29. I was going to suggest that the three of us be beneficiaries of your first-spinning-Tuesday-in-months, but you had to go and donate it for a charity prize. Can’t argue with that, but…dude. Nobody believes that you came upon this “stunning discovery” all by your lonesome.
    Told you so.

  30. BEAUTIFUL Steph!
    How do you get your plying so even? I plied for the first time this weekend, and let’s just say I’m going to have to pick my project veeery carefully. Sigh.

  31. I just love spinning these lovely handpainted rovings. This one is just spectacular and I cannot wait to see it knitted up.

  32. That yarn is absolutely gorgeous! I hope we’ll get to see it knit up even though it’s being donated…perhaps a guest blog? And I can totally understand the ‘maybe if I look at it longingly enough something will happen’ mentality. If only…

  33. Stephanie:
    Thank you for plugging this biking event for MS. One in our family has recently been diagnosed and she is an avid marathon runner. As a mother I appreciate Claudia’s efforts and your promotion of anything to do with MS. Again Thanks a million. PS Hope I win your lovely skein that you just spun!!
    Anita

  34. What a wonderful yarn you have! This should motivate you to continue with Spinning Tuesdays.
    How can Renee the Sequel stand to have TWO spinning wheels in the attic and NOT SPIN??? Lack of wheel is MY only excuse.
    Just returned from a trip where I literally ran into the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show. Arrived home with more additions to the stash, full of enthusiasm, and with orders (4 sock, 1 shawl, and 1 sweater) from my family. My local friends (Muggles all) have failed to appreciate my good luck, but I know you do!
    Best of luck with your future projects. I await your book in the mail. Thank you for your interest in Claudia’s MS event.

  35. Stephanie:
    Thank you for plugging this biking event for MS. One in our family has recently been diagnosed and she is an avid marathon runner. As a mother I appreciate Claudia’s efforts and your promotion of anything to do with MS. Again Thanks a million. PS Hope I win your lovely skein that you just spun!!
    Anita

  36. I literally grab the bobbin and run to show my husband when there’s only a smidge of one single left. It fills me with far too much glee for it to be healthy.
    Lovely spinning, ma’am.

  37. Stephanie, that wool is beautiful! I just wish that I had someone to show me how to spin. No, I don’t! If someone did, then I’d have to start spinning, and I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do as it is. I bow to you, of queen of yarn!
    Katherine

  38. Ha HA! Looky there! The fiber gods are obviously smiling down upon you, rewarding you for your spinning Tuesday with some lovely blue stripes and very little unused yarn at the end. Exciting! I suppose that’s what happens when you listen to your own great ideas. Congrats!

  39. Your skein is awesome! I would have been squealing with delight too! I have had the same conversation with my husband whose eyes started to glaze over as I tried to explain. Muggles!
    Already gave to Claudia last week.

  40. That is some beautiful yarn! I love how the colors came out and the contrasts between some of them. As I looked at it I thought, “Gee, I wish I could buy something like that (or that),” and then read about donating on Claudia’s page for a chance to win it. So, you know what I’ll be doing after posting this comment….Thanks for sharing.
    Leah

  41. Golly, what cute yarn! I made a donation– I seriously hope I win. Hey, it’s cheaper than hand-delivering brownies to Toronto.
    I don’t even knit socks. I just like pretty yarn. Would you mind terribly if I made it into a scarf? I think it’d be cute in the Harlot’s Waffle pattern.

  42. “It’s so hard to get any sort of knitterly satisfaction out of regular people.”
    Hahahahaha. Too true.

  43. Absolutely beautiful!
    I acutally tend to avoid looking at my wheel/fiber. If I look at it, then I spin, and then the dishes don’t get washed. Last night I made the mistake of looking at my fiber when I was heading to bed. Next thing I know I’m sitting on the floor, and I’ve been dehairing qiviut for the past hour. Good thing I live alone, so there’s no one to complain 😉

  44. I’m afraid I have no appreciation for the spinning (inspiration instead), but that yarn is beautiful! It is going to make a wonderful pair of socks.
    I donated to Claudia – that’s great that she is willing to ride 150 miles! Another inspiration. And I love her kitty Igor!

  45. I do love Joe for trying to fake it. It’s gorgeous… I can’t wait to see the socks, whoever makes ’em!!!

  46. That turned out a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Holy cow. Er, Sheep. Gorgeous. Before I had a chance to scroll down, you had me wondering…is there a trick to estimating whether you’re close to having the same amount on both bobbins? (If anyone knows any tricks, please email me!) I guess the answer is no, not really, LOL. First the sweater, now this. You’ve developed a sixth sense about yarn wastage 🙂

  47. i don’t have anything constructive to add, other than OMG THAT IS THE COOLEST FRIGGIN’ YARN I HAVE EVER SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!

  48. Am I the only one who finds it totally fascinating and downright magical that you can take roving that looks like a 4 year old colored it while you weren’t looking, work some pizaaz on a spinning wheel, and come up with absolutely stunning YARN!? Crazy…and oh so cool! Very nice. 🙂

  49. I can give you credit (blame) for inspiring me to try knitting socks and lace. After watching/reading your recent spinning episodes, I figure I’m within a few months of trying my hand at spinning. Any advice for someone who might want to just dabble a wee bit? without getting too carried away from the get-go? is that even possible?

  50. WOW – that is some gorgeous yarn – almost too pretty to knit. I’d probably have to admire it & pet it for a long, long time before I could bring myself to knit it!!!

  51. That is some gorgeous yarn.
    Three of my friends have MS so I’ll donate but I don’t want a prize. Just a cure.

  52. Lovely yarn, I love when I see knitters helping a cause & each other. I’ve got a faker too & he’s successful in varying degrees. He gets very excited for me if a pattern gets published, he understands the blog stats excitement but no matter how excited I am when I show him, he just doesn’t get the attraction I have to knitting minatures.

  53. WOW that yarn is fantastic!! Thanks for linking the Claudia blog, I am definitely donating. Especially if that gorgeous yarn might be in my future!! 😉

  54. Wow, that yarn is amazing. I wish I knew how to spin and ply. Wait, no I don’t. Wait, yes I do. No I don’t. Yes, I do.
    I feel a budding addiction coming on …

  55. The yarn is fabulous! What a great prize (her other prizes a pretty great, too).
    The wheel reminds me of my treadmill..just because I paid cold hard cash for it and trip over it in my family room too often, I won’t lose weight unless I actually use it for its intended purpose!

  56. That is practically a spinning miracle. I’ve never gotten it that close (mostly because I don’t measure or weigh anything). That is amazing!
    Oh, and I’m dying of love for the colors over here. I’m thinking of getting some of that roving, but I have a ton of spinning stuff (including the project on the wheel right now) . . . *sigh* But that’s so puuuuurrrrrty!

  57. Beautiful colors! I so understand the barber-poling excitement. What a wonderful donation!
    I can relate to the even bobbin glee, but I usually just make an Andean plying bracelet with what’s left of the other bobbin, tuck the other end in (drafting it out so it kind of disappears), and keep going. I feel pretty smug when I use up every last bit. Wasting perfectly good singles is infuriating!

  58. I SO want to try spinning more than on a drop spindle (no patience… none at all) but i haven’t been able to justify the cost of a wheel yet. 🙂
    And NMS is now richer by one dontation. 🙂 The yarn is absolutely GORGEOUS steph!!!

  59. I am so impressed. When I saw the fleece (is that what it’s called?) yesterday, I thought yuck. But I can’t believe how beautiful it turned out.
    Could I ask you a favor, dear Harlot? Since I (and probably many others here) are not spinners, could you write a post on the process of spinning? I understand the process of plying, and I guess a single is a single strand of yarn, but how do you know how many plies? Where do you begin?
    I confess the posts of the last 2 days have got me thinking about learning. And it’s all your fault.

  60. YUMMY!! That yarn looks like one of those lollypops that is all spiralled like a unicorn’s horn. It’s giving me a sweet tooth just looking at it. . . either that or it’s my monitor gone crazy like with Bohus.

  61. And the purple is next to the green, and the orange is next to the fuchsia… how can he not be excited about this?
    I have to try your spinning method (spin and see if spinning gets done). When you called me a dumbass you knew not how right you were.

  62. Doesn’t it warm your heart when your family members at least TRY to get into the spirit of your projects, even when they don’t have a clue why you enjoy it? My husband tells me that all my hobbies, near as he can tell, are just work. Either winding, knitting, cutting, gluing, etc. where his hobbies involve PLAYING. Meanwhile, I don’t see the fun in hitting a small ball across acres of grass to a tiny hole I can’t even see. To me, THAT’s work!
    Gee, what lovely pattern would I choose for the socks made of your amazingly beautiful yarn? The colors are stunning.
    ~ Dar

  63. Oh, I just started spinning and your last two posts have made me want to go home and drop my spindle on the floor some more. My first dyed wool just came in the mail (whoever said that, once you start spinning, your knitting friends randomly send you fleece was right) and I can’t wait to get started on it.
    Thanks for the inspiration and the smiles!

  64. The yarn is absolutely gorgeous! And I totally see how exciting it would be when the colors match up…it’s like when you knit some socks with self striping yarn and they match stripe for stripe!

  65. Thank you so much for the link to Claudia’s MS ride. I lost my dearest friend in the world to MS a year ago. She was also a knitter, and I’m so happy to see someone doing this.

  66. I donated – thanks for the link! As a knitter with MS, I dread the day when my hands won’t let me hold my needles anymore.
    I don’t want the yarn, though — it should go to someone who would USE it. I haven’t ventured into sock territory yet.

  67. Just lovely stuff. If you would come out even every time, learn Andean plying. It only works for two ply, but it works really, really well, and it’s fun to do. That you came out so close this time is a minor miracle, and I share your giggling, demented delight that it did.

  68. Darn it, spinning was one thing I’ve successfully not succumbed to (I don’t need another stash or more projects to do) but I think you’re going to get me into this yet. The yarn is gorgeous and will make wonderful socks.

  69. Gorgeous! And LOL about the faking it. When I show my DH something, he doesn’t even pretend to look and then says “that looks nice”.

  70. That is amazing about how little is left. I have a tendency to make an andean bracelet to ply what’s left on one bobbin.

  71. OMG! I would be ecstatic if that was all that was left on my second bobbin too. That is just beautiful! I wish I could spin that well. 😀

  72. Nice yarn, makes me want to spin, too…but… another fiber related hobby might push certain members of the family over the edge. Donated to Claudia, seemed like the right thing to do, although, yarn as a bribe didn’t hurt.

  73. blah, blah, spinning, blah, singles, blah plying, blah, colors, blah, “There are two blues! The two blues are next to each other! This part is just blue!”…….yada, yada, “This is sock yarn. That means that part of the sock will have a BLUE STRIPE.” And so on, prize, MS, Claudia, Win. Oh I want the blue stripe!

  74. Wow, I can’t believe that you’re willing to give that away! After all that work and wonderment? It’s inspired me to donate some yarn to Claudia’s cause, too. Now, if I can only locate my cord to download the pictures….

  75. So fun to see you spinning again. Yowza that’s some gorgeous yarn! I thought it was pretty pre-plying, but plied it is absolutely irresistibly gorgeous. And the thought of that one wondrous blue stripe appearing randomly somewhere on a pair of socks . . . I am enchanted. (Joe apparently has more of an actual, er, life than I do.) I purchased my very first spindle and fiber (hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester from Carolina Homespun) at Stitches West back in February. I had been so excited to get started spinning, but there they have sat, no spinning yet attempted. You have revived the spinning lust in me. Twirl on!

  76. I can’t even stand how GORGEOUS that yarn is! I’m almost wanting to learn to spin. Almost.

  77. OK OK— the wheel guilt and temptation is overwheling me— I swear I hear both the Rose and the Ashford in my living room crying in despair “The Harlot finds time to spin” They whine….
    I will give them some love.
    When will the audio book be available?????

  78. Wow. Here I was reading this post and looking at that yarn and drooling, and trying to figure out how I could get my mitts on it, and you bring in the Claudia factor! I couldn’t click my Paypal button fast enough, I tell ya.

  79. Wow, that’s gorgeous! This yarn is going to knit up into some amazing socks (I like stripes and mismatched socks, so I’m a bit biased)!
    It reminds me of that fibre-optic wire they use inside telephones. On acid. 🙂

  80. Dude. I am on my knees. Would beg for mercy but the drooling is non-stop. Amazing. Beautiful yarn. Love all those colours and what they’re doing…

  81. Holy cow Batman! A blue stripe! Awesome! And those gorgeous shades of colours – who’d have thought that could come from that ‘rather festive’ roving? Amazing!
    I love it when you spin. And it is giving me the urge to scrape the cobwebs off my wheels which is good as I have lost my knitting mojo and have unravelled three projects in a frogging frenzy so far.
    So can you make two ply from the two ends of a centre-pull ball of singles? Wouldn’t one of the singles be winding in the wrong direction because it is backwards? Is my head going to explode if I think about it?
    I think yes.

  82. So beautiful. Can’t afford a new hobby, don’t need more to stash, but oh, how seeing things like this make me want to!

  83. I was so excited by the mere sight of it that I actually yelled “Yes!” when I saw the last picture and how close to perfect your plying came out. This, *this* is why I bought a wheel.
    Also…I want to lick the yarn.

  84. Stephanie,
    Again, I love the pictures of the yarn! Good job!
    Marly
    knitthing.blogspot.com
    knitthing.mypodcast.com
    yarnthing.blogspot.com

  85. Ok, I have never knit a sock. However when I saw that yarn I was so moved that I donated to Claudia in the vain hopes that your lovely yarn might be my first pair of socks.

  86. I’m not a spinner but I do LOVE me some beautiful sock yarn. And, Stephanie, that is some BEAUTIFUL sock yarn!!!!! OMG, I would So love to win this yarn. I am going to Claudia’s right now to donate. Not just because I want the yarn, but because MS is near to me, since I have 2 dear friends stricken with this horrid disease and an aunt who suffered with it for years and recently passed. Yes, what Claudia is doing is a great thing.

  87. I’m not a spinner but I do LOVE me some beautiful sock yarn. And, Stephanie, that is some BEAUTIFUL sock yarn!!!!! OMG, I would So love to win this yarn. I am going to Claudia’s right now to donate. Not just because I want the yarn, but because MS is near to me, since I have 2 dear friends stricken with this horrid disease and an aunt who suffered with it for years and recently passed. Yes, what Claudia is doing is a great thing.

  88. I’ve had those conversations! “Isn’t this great honey? Look…what a cool pattern…and when I do this, it does this…”
    “Uhm…yeah. Looks…great.”
    Ah…the internet and my knitting peeps…the only place that understands me…
    It looks AWESOME Steph–the plies are FABULOUS and it looks SO yummy. How AMAZING to be able to spin that–it’s PERFECT!!!! See? We understand!!!!

  89. It. Is. Gorgeous.
    Now. Repeat after me:
    NA VA JO
    NA VA JO
    (no, I am not calling you a ho. But given your excitement on the blue on blue, I’m hunkering under and boosting. Good thing you’re little.)
    NA VA …

  90. Oh my friggin’ god–you are going to give that away?! You ARE a saint, my dear! (I’ve been trying to take the same approach with my dissertation. I keep looking at the piles of research and hope it will magically turn into a 300 page work of academic brilliance. Maybe I need a spinning wheel…)

  91. Beautiful sock yarn! Hmmm… Didn’t I just use that word in my last comment? But hey, if it’s the right word, why knock it? (Where’s that blasted Thesaurus anyway?) Ahhh, here we go. Attractive, beauteous, bonny [chiefly British], comely, cute, fair, gorgeous, handsome, knockout, lovely, pretty, ravishing, sightly, stunning, taking. Bonny yarn Ms. Stephanie, bonny yarn!

  92. That is absolutely gorgeous! So pretty, those colors plied together, just looking at them makes me swoon.
    I understand about sitting in front of the spinning wheel and waiting for something to happen, though. I used to be disappointed when my takehome exams didn’t do themselves. I mean, they’re takehomes, so I took them home. That should have been it. But somehow, nothing ever finished itself, and I had to cave and do it myself. Spinning is sort of like that, I guess. Having the wheel and willing the fiber to turn into fiber doesn’t appear to do the trick.

  93. Good for you! I would personal horde it for myself and wouldn’t be able to give it away!
    I am going to learn to spin and you just made the urge so much worse!! 🙂
    Thanks!

  94. That yarn is absolutely gorgeous…I have been trying desperately to avoid learning to spin properly, but an outcome like that really, really makes me want to…In spite of the fact that I need another fiber hobby like I need a pair of chocolate scissors!

  95. About the thinking being the same as do-ing….that happens to me all the time. Like, I read a ‘get rich’ book, and expect the $$ tree to sprout right then. Or, a weight loss book and I expect all my extra weight to be gone by the end of the book. I also knit vicariously through others. I will never make an Icarus because I have read about too many others getting bored part way through, or a Clapotis…and there’s so many great sock patterns on the internet now, I just read blogs and see other people’s socks…and expect them to turn up in my drawer, LOL.
    That’s gorgeous sock yarn!!

  96. Stephanie, I am so envious of you that you can spin. I have a spindle and some fiber, but I can’t get it to work for me. I don’t want to invest in a wheel until I can sort of get it with a hand spindle.
    Thanks for showing me that it can be done. Your yarn is gorgeous. I can’t wait to see the socks you make:-)

  97. That’s the sort of color fun that could get me spinning yet! I will settle for buying yarn, dyeing some of it, and helping Claudia so I might win that beautiful skein.
    The Tuesday plan seems like a winner – keep up the good work!

  98. Hi- Carla here- yes, blogless Carla I am so psyched about the chance to win that yarn! It is amazing! LOVE it!

  99. That is some serious pretty going on there. I know Claudia has some cool prizes..but man oh man this one is going to be hard to beat. It’s so beautiful!!

  100. To balance out the fact that there will be a blue stripe, you know that stripe will appear on the -sole- of the socks, where no one will see it. The world is cruel that way. 😉

  101. I donated early, and I’ll donate often! I love, love, love the sock yarn. Sign me up.

  102. You always kvetch about how you’re not that skilled a spinner, but GEEZ you had just a little wad of singles left over! Cut yourself some slack. An impressive feat of spinning prowess!

  103. You always kvetch about how you’re not that skilled a spinner, but GEEZ you had just a little wad of singles left over! Cut yourself some slack. An impressive feat of spinning prowess!

  104. You always kvetch about how you’re not that skilled a spinner, but GEEZ you had just a little wad of singles left over! Cut yourself some slack. An impressive feat of spinning prowess!

  105. Wow! You sure are dedicated! Just look at what you spun in 24 hours! I’m impressed and it is beautiful! My husband also does the token “thats nice sweetie.” At least they try, right?

  106. such a gorgeous thing to sacrifice. How happy I am that I already gave so I don’t have to feel greedy!!

  107. Absolutly fabulous yarn! And isn’t it fun??? I have been spinning a L…O….N….G time and use the ball winder technique to ply my singles all the time. So far my head hasn’t exploded. Just be sure to keep your thumb in the middle of the ball, and gentle control on the ends, and ply away. Nary a left-over inch, you always come out even. Plus, you only need one bobbin. Be sure to not fill that bobbin more than about 80% because when you fill it with your two ply it takes up more room than the singles and you can find yourself trying to squeeze all that yarn onto a too-full bobbin. Spin on!

  108. Beautiful yarn! Here’s my spinning hint to you to avoid left over singles when plying. Spin a full bobbin, wind off into a center pull ball, take the two ends and ply together – the entire length gets folded in half!

  109. Beautiful yarn! Here’s my spinning hint to you to avoid left over singles when plying. Spin a full bobbin, wind off into a center pull ball, take the two ends and ply together – the entire length gets folded in half!

  110. Oh the excitement yes I know it well. Though the spinning wheel hasn’t seen much outside of the closet for months and months. That and you are a much, much more proficient spinner than I. That is barber-poling loveliness that my wildest fiber fantasies are made out of.

  111. You’re lucky… Mine ignores me unless I press, and then I get a “I’d rather see the Laundry/dishes/vacuuming/etc get done, then I’ll look…”
    I just wait until next day and stalk my co-workers until they eewww and aahhh over whatever it is, and usually make them feel, too. They humor me, and I ignore any faking!
    Looks FANTASTIC!!!

  112. A few months back (January 4th is the date of the blog entry), I finished plying some soysilk/wool that my husband got me for Yule. I showed you through the wonders of the interweb, you commented, and I’m still in love with this yarn.
    I did the exact same thing when I plied. I got a little thrill when the combination of colors changed. I giggled. I couldn’t stop plying.
    I’ve finished the first glove and started the 2nd. It makes stripes. I giggled again when the middle finger turned out bright bright red. I giggled more when I remembered that these gloves are for my mom.
    Sometimes my sense of humor is not unlike that of a twelve-year-old.

  113. Such beautiful colors! If your really into spinning sock yarns, you should get a charkha. I love my baby.. it’s constantly in use. 🙂

  114. But…. but… it’s Wednesday… Why are you still spinning? Oh well, whatever floats your boat. But still… It’s lovely. It’s sad to live with someone that doesn’t understand how lovely and exciting it is to spin and knit.

  115. I love your yarn! I found a solution for the small bits that don’t match up when you’re plying. This spring when I have smallish left-over singles, I’ve been loosely tying them to things outside for the birds to find and use for their nests. I also leave out the tiny wisps of roving that I inevitably find hiding somewhere in my work space when my spinning is done.

  116. Gorgeous!!! There’s a common problem with multicolored rocing, that it looks better as roving than spun up. (Same problem with handpainted yarns.) When I hit “page down,” I was sure the same thing was going to happen… but no, that yarn is every bit as gorgeous as the roving. Clearly the Fates were conspiring to make it a happy spinning experience. They being fiber people too and all.

  117. Being able to weigh the bobbins sure helps avoid the leftovers. Also if you don’t have scales you can estimate by using same lengths of predrafted roving. If you can predraft to roughly the same diameter and either break at about the same length or measure the lengths you can get a fairly reasonable calculation so that each bobbin will have about the same amount on it. This assumes that you are inserting the same amount of twist per inch (treadling over the same length of fiber including the treadles required to do the takeup).

  118. Being able to weigh the bobbins sure helps avoid the leftovers. Also if you don’t have scales you can estimate by using same lengths of predrafted roving. If you can predraft to roughly the same diameter and either break at about the same length or measure the lengths you can get a fairly reasonable calculation so that each bobbin will have about the same amount on it. This assumes that you are inserting the same amount of twist per inch (treadling over the same length of fiber including the treadles required to do the takeup).

  119. Apparently, I, too, am quite simple. You know what? Watching yarn change colors is even more fun if you are listening to Pink Floyd.
    One of my cousins had MS, so I don’t need much prodding to donate, but I confess that I covet the yarn (I covet the roving even more!)
    What’s not to get excited about with the race to make the ends match? I do *almost* the same thing as Ella …I unwind the remaining yardage, spit-splice the ends, and continue plying until I reach the midpoint, and it ends in a nice little finished unravelable end. If there is more than a half-dozen yards or so left on the spindle, I unwind the remainder, put it on the ball winder,
    stick my finger in the middle before pulling it off, spit splice the ends and use the wound yarn as its own bobbin.
    Gawd I hope that makes sense.
    Anyway … yay, blue stripe!!!

  120. Oh my – laughing so hard here.. my partner just finally got it about why I get so excited about spinning our fiber.. you’re a hoot, Stephanie, and told the story perfectly about how our guys react. (big smiles.. oh how cool honey.. as we are going totally gaa gaa over two blue together.)
    thanks for the grin..
    can’t wait to see your gorgeous socks. The spinning looks wonderful.
    And Claudia? well, already donated. what a great cause – what a nice lady. 🙂

  121. Yep – absolutely delicious yarn! Very cool on only a small amount left over, too; I love it when that happens.
    And when you post about spinning, remind folks that if they have a fast connection, there *are* hand-spinning videos online. If they’re still on dial-up, they should check with their local library, or inter-library loan. Or tapes/DVDs for purchase. Plus many cities have spinning guilds, and if they join up, guilds have their own libraries. (Although if you find a guild, it usually means you’ve found teachers. [g]) But if you just can’t get it from a book, and can’t find a live person, there’s no need to despair – there are resources out there!

  122. WOW! That is just beautiful! The colours… the evenness (is that a real word?)… the colours. Did I mention that the colours are gorgeous?

  123. You’re making me want to spin. I’ve been trying to resist buying a wheel for months. Looking forward to seeing the socks.

  124. Wow! Beautiful fibre dyed in amazingly gorgeous colours and so little waste left at the end of plying.
    I think that just about qualifies as a ‘spinner’s orgasm’!
    You’ve just motivated me to get my wheel out again instead of looking at it and chasing after my toddler who runs around with the ends of the spun singles from my bobbins.
    P.S. I can’t wait to see the socks!

  125. Yes, I do find this kind of thing endlessly fascinating. My in-laws think I’m a little odd.
    Beautiful colors!

  126. Oh, baby, that is gorgeous! It is dangerous, too, since I’m sure I’m not the only one tempted to walk down that slippery slope of “maybe I’ll just try to spin a little bit, just once, just for fun. I can quit whenever I want….”

  127. LOL You go girl! I’m absolutely with you, only that my husband is blessed enough to actually have a smidgen of “hey that’s cool!” in him, bless his soul. I totally understand where’s Joe’s coming from though, when my husband goes on about computer stuff I have to smile and nod too. 😉
    Beautiful yarn too, btw! Have you tried the Blue Moon Sheep 2 Shoe kits? I did my first one, bought at Rhinebeck, in February and it came out similar, but with three plies and wooot! It was fun. I’m jealous as to how even your bobbins were.

  128. Oh My Gosh!!! I LOVE THAT YARN!!! I’m obsessed with it. Will you make me some? 🙂

  129. Does a Robins nest just look to ME like it’s been spun from twigs??? Maybe I’ve been hitting the fiber a little too much;)
    Hmmmm if n*r* can spin twigs… I suppose birds can too;) DId I say that? Why yes, I did.

  130. I am soooooo totally in awe, and completely envious! The yarn is gorgeous, and I just may take you up on your offer. Can one really learn how to spin yarn with a dro spindle…..as in can I know that I willlove spinning with a wheel if I can successfully use the drop spindle? Sooo many questions and possibilties!!! Living on an island in maine can really be horrible at times!!!

  131. That’s gorgeous yarn.
    For the first time EVER, a spinning post has made me covet the yarn intensely. It has also made me want to haul my spinning wheel out and see if I can’t remember how to do the spinning thing.
    Thank you!
    But, I’m not happy to learn that looking at things that ought to be done is insufficient to get them done. I guess it was too much to ask of the dryer to fold the clothes.

  132. I love andean plying and the little bits left over are why. so, when plying from two bobbins, which is much easier for lot of yarn, any left overs i wind off the bobbin into an andean bracelet and ply that way.
    by the way, the yarn is gorgeous…and since i spin more than i knit, my husband has that glazed look really often!

  133. I love andean plying and the little bits left over are why. so, when plying from two bobbins, which is much easier for lot of yarn, any left overs i wind off the bobbin into an andean bracelet and ply that way.
    by the way, the yarn is gorgeous…and since i spin more than i knit, my husband has that glazed look really often!

  134. GOODNESS! That home spun simply yells for socks! I absolutely love how the colors are bright and cheery! And the finished product is so very consistent! WOW!

  135. I just made a donation–thanks for letting us know. I love that barber-pole style yarn. It’s so happy looking!

  136. That is beautiful yarn and totally my colors. If I saw that in a store I’d buy it immediately! Nice work Stephanie.

  137. My god, that is so beautiful! What a fantastic job! You should be swelled with spinnerly pride!

  138. You are too funny because that is exactly how I would react if I were doing the spinning. I remember reading the phrase ‘fabric from air’ regarding knitting and it comes to mind again watching you delight in the spinning process. It must be fun to be you!

  139. Hi..I am sooooooo excited because I am going to learn to spin in a couple of weeks. And, part of that is in thanks to your posts over the years about spinning…ESPECIALLY this one!!! OhmiDawg, what beautiful yarn..oh that I would be worthy of such beauty. I am very anxious to learn to ply hand-dyed yarn..and ya, that’s new in my tool bag–dyeing yarn– thanks to you and several like you…I hope you keep to the spinning EVERY Tuesday..and maybe, we should all spin on Tuesdays…a parallel universe thing…Do you think that if a lot of us were spinning on Tuesdays, it would do have any effect on whirled peas? 8-}

  140. The scariest part about your discovery…it works for all manner of other things.
    Like dirty dishes. The ironing. Making the bed. (Okay that last one is totally insane. I maintain that if you’re just going to get back into it later on in the day – say at night – there is no point in making it.)
    Anyway, if you just stare at the chore or think about the chore or even (my favorite) ignore the chore…nothing happens.
    If you do it, it gets done (except for that whole making the bed thing).
    One of the more evil laws of the universe, IMHO.

  141. I absolutely love it!!! Totally killer!!! A friend of mine sent me a sweet mom’s day gift. It was a drop spindle and some roving so I can learn how! I can’t wait until I have the time to sit down with it!!!

  142. That is absolutely gorgeous! And it *should* be yours. If I were the kind of person who ever won something, I’d make the socks and send them to you.

  143. Me again. That yarn looks like SweeTarts, and I wish I could go for a 150 mile ride on my bike. Long story short, I donated. Kudos to everyone for being a positive force in the universe.

  144. Spinning from painted rovings is such fun! It’s fun to see how the colors line up when they are random. The yarn you are spinning has beautiful colors! I remember you mentioning weighing out your roving, and that should get you pretty even bobbins, but if/when you have leftover singles on one bobbin, don’t just break off the extra singles when, wind what’s what’s left over onto your hand, join the two ends, and andean ply it. This way you use up all of your singles from both bobbins.
    I swore that I was never going to get into weaving, too (I don’t need one more hobby!), but I’ve found that the little handheld Weavette looms are magical with these yarns. If you weave stripey yarn you get plaids! They’re a fun way to use up leftover sock yarns.

  145. That is incredibly beautiful yarn. I looked on the website for fleece in that color, but they didn’t have any listed. I really want some. I’m very much a beginning spinner, but I hope to be producing usable yarn before the end of the summer, and it would be lovely to spin that.

  146. Sorry for the repeat plying suggestion — I didn’t read the other comments until after I posted. I should know better!

  147. I have a question, that hopefully you or some spinner who reads my comment can answer… I’m intrigued by the two photos of your fiber the one out of the box (so to speak), then the photo of it all fluffed up — I’m assuming you drafted it prior to spinning.. how do you draft it like that? I’m wondering if that isn’t some of my issues with spinning.. Can you give us a little tutorial? pretty please? PattiO

  148. That yarn is beautiful. And I just had the same conversation with my husband this morning… I’m spinning up some wool that I dyed before carding, so even the singles have little tiny stripes of color, and I was trying to show him “look, tiny stripes!” I showed him the roving with big stripes, and the singles with teeny tiny stripes, and explained that there would be even more colors when it was plied… he just smiled in that “I am totally playing along because I think you’re a lunatic and don’t want to upset you” kind of way. But it’s so much fun, darn it!

  149. What? What? You KNOW that after she sits in a corner and curses a blue cloud around herself and terrifies Millie and has to treat her daughters for eye-rolling syndrome (a smack upside the head usually does it) that she will produce glorious Navajo-plied scrumptuosities. I’m performing a public service, here, really.

  150. Would it be possible for you to put up a large high-res version of the second photo? It’s so scrumptious, it would make lovely wallpaper for the computer!
    (e.g. 1024×768 or 1900×1200)
    Gorgeous yarn.

  151. Spinning is lovely. I admire the creativity of others, since I know that I am unlikely to even try spinning.
    You might be interested to see how the person who introduced me to your work, managed to combine knitting and university coursework:
    http://shaxophile.blogspot.com/

  152. That yarn is gorgeous, and I covet it. Sadly though, I just left a hefty chunk of my bank account at the vet on account of my under-the-weather kitty, so I can’t throw in for Claudia’s fund-raiser. 🙁 Sometimes being an unwealthy twenty-something sucks. Maybe next time.
    Did I mention that the yarn is gorgeous?

  153. My question(s): Given your strong affinity for matching socks, how can you manage this with homespun sock yarn? Do you just resign yourself you unmatching-yet-gorgeously-homespun-yarn socks (accepting that “gorgeously homespun yarn” trumps “matching”)? Or do you give it away to avoid the conundrum?
    🙂

  154. I don’t spin but do appreciate your enthusiasm for the colors lining up nicely during the plying. Great job and lovely colors.

  155. I feel like a kid in a candy store, trying to decide which flavour of those old-fashioned candy sticks to choose!!! Yumm-o!

  156. So, you have to post those pictures and push me over the spinning edge when I am on yarn lockdown! I have to spin now.

  157. Any chance there might be a spinning book or a knitting book that includes spinning? I started out crocheting, then switched to knitting because it “consumes less yarn”… HA! what a joke for once knitting I starting going broke on yarn, so I figured I’d save money by spinning my own… it’s a rabbit hole… a horrible addiction! At least it is legal and the treadling is actually good for my knees (gentle exercise) and I drink less because I’m less stressed… just broke.

  158. Enchanting sums it up, exactly. Heck, that almost makes me want to take up spinning. And that’s saying a lot.

  159. That yarn is superfantastically beautiful! I can’t wait to see what you turn it into! happy yarn

  160. D*mn… I love the yarn. I have MS. I walk (so to speak) for MS. I’m donating.
    All that, and I might still not get the yarn? Oh cruel, cruel, fate if I don’t win.
    Do you take bribes?

  161. That yarn is so lovely!! I have always admired your spinning abilities. It is a skill I have never learned—I don’t think I’d have the patience. But I imagine there must be the neatest sense of accomplishment when you knit something with yarn that you had spun out yourself. (You don’t have sheep in the back yard, do you?…)

  162. Steph, I think it’s possible that you may have some indirect personal control over events in the Universe. It just occurred to me that you were spinning Teletubby-colored yarn when Jerry Falwell kicked the bucket. Hmmmmmmmm…….

  163. That is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could get a handle on how to get spinning…Mine always looks like some of the really expensive syuff with the uneven blobs in it…YUCK. I would love to be able to spin sock yarn…

  164. That is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could get a handle on how to get spinning…Mine always looks like some of the really expensive syuff with the uneven blobs in it…YUCK. I would love to be able to spin sock yarn…

  165. That is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could get a handle on how to get spinning…Mine always looks like some of the really expensive syuff with the uneven blobs in it…YUCK. I would love to be able to spin sock yarn…

  166. NOte for Panhandle Jane…(I went to your blog site but couldn’t leave a note or find an email address…so sorry for sharing it here)..Interlacements based in Colorado has stunningly beautiful colored rovings…same company with the gorgeous colorways in yarn (Toasty Toes, Tiny toes, etc..)

  167. NOte for Panhandle Jane…(I went to your blog site but couldn’t leave a note or find an email address…so sorry for sharing it here)..Interlacements based in Colorado has stunningly beautiful colored rovings…same company with the gorgeous colorways in yarn (Toasty Toes, Tiny toes, etc..)

  168. Beautiful! I want to know where the roving came from and what the colors are! I am slipping further into the Dark Side and am going to try my hand at spinning this weekend. My husband is going to divorce me for sure!
    Go Claudia! Auto-immune disease is rampant in my family — lucky me I have two A-I diseases myself — so I applaud her commitment and incredibly generous spirit.

  169. Beautiful! I want to know where the roving came from and what the colors are! I am slipping further into the Dark Side and am going to try my hand at spinning this weekend. My husband is going to divorce me for sure!
    Go Claudia! Auto-immune disease is rampant in my family — lucky me I have two A-I diseases myself — so I applaud her commitment and incredibly generous spirit.

  170. Hahaha!
    “… a stunning discovery. If I actually sit at the wheel and spin, spinning gets finished.”
    I have heard a rumour that the same thing holds true for housework. I’ve just never tried to prove or disprove it; preferring instead to file the silly notion under “urban myth”.
    Happy knitting,
    Janey
    janeyknitting AT yahoo DOT ca

  171. 1. i’ve been missing in action due to several things.
    a. my husband’s hard drive crashed
    b. i took a part time job (being the admin chipmunk for miss violet of lime & violet fame)
    c. i started spinning sock yarn for someone else
    d. i’m just a lazy person
    2. i ADORE that sock yarn! as soon as i get some more money, i’ll be donating to claudia’s ride (i’m also going to donate some handspun yarn as well. as soon as i get the commissioned stuff done, oy!)
    3. i never end up with bits & bobs of singles. if it’s regular wool/alpaca/feltable stuff, i’ll wind the long one into a center pull ball, and spit splice the tails together, and ply until it comes to the very end. if it’s superwash, i do kind of a split tail splice (go see teyani’s blog, she has a nice way of doing it).
    4. there was a 4, but be damned if i can remember it now!

  172. OK, that? That has sent me over the edge, and now I vow to learn to spin this year. I have the same determination that had me first knitting socks (turned my first heel because of Knitting Rules and an encouraging e-mail from you, after casting on a year earlier and an entire summer of no knitting due to wrist surgery.) That yarn is so yummy I want to shove the entire skein into my mouth.

  173. Whoa! Your sock yarn turned out fabulous! I can’t wait to see your knitted sock pics from this yarn!
    I have never spun yarn, but seeing your spinning storylines always makes me yearn to spin. One of these days I need to take the leap into spinning land, because I LOVE handspun yarns.
    ~Nessa

  174. Hey I just read that bottom part about Claudia! I really apprecuate & applaud her for what she is doing. My mum has MS too. Thanks for putting this up on your blog so many many people will see it and donate to this most worthy cause.
    ~Nessa

  175. I love that fibre and the way it turned out.
    I also love it when you have roughly the same amount on each bobbin. What I do if I have some left on one of the bobbins is pull the remainder yarn off the bobbing and put the hold the end against the end of the wool that ran out first. I then ply it as if it were from 2 bobbins. You end up with a “folded” end on your yarn and no waste. The join usually dissappears as you ply.

  176. Wonderful… I wish I knew how to knit. Having just began reading your archives last month, and finishing them today, You can imagine how aggravated I am at knowing you passed through Chicago a few weeks ago. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!

  177. absolutly beautiful. what or where did you aquire that roving? thank you for sharing the link to donate. i did. i hope she surpasses her goal. i will be donating again, every week if budget allows 🙂

  178. You have Mike Harris to thank for both the shortened high school years and the community service requirement.

  179. Yes, I know I’m the 4-billionth comment, but I just hadda say – that sock yarn is about the beautifullest thing i’ve ever seen.

  180. Beautiful yarn. Very good cause. I have donated. Now, I want to win (I typed wind – freudian slip – I think not) that yarn.

  181. Thanks for inspiring me to schedule my spinning time. I’m going with Tuesdays and Thursday nights and it’s been fun so far!

  182. That is seriously pretty yarn! I wouldn’t have thought so upon first glance, but spun up and plied? Oh my!

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