Actual Space

I’ve finished a full week – plus a little, of Spinning First.  I went over by a few days because frankly, I didn’t make the progress I thought I would.  Don’t get me wrong, I met the commitment. I spun first every day, I spun first when I thought of sitting down to knit, I left the wheel front and centre in the living room for a week and a bit – and I was right to a certain extent. More spinning certainly got done than when I’m not… um… spinning – but there wasn’t this massive exodus from the stash that I thought was going to happen. 

Perhaps that expectation was just as nuts as what I was talking about yesterday. This crazed idea that I’m going to get so much more done in the time I have even though it’s essentially the same time I’ve always had?  Perhaps that expectation was also nuts because it was "Spinning First" not "Spinning only". Knitting has continued at the same time. (I’m bashing out another Color Affection. The urge overwhelmed me.)

Three skeins is what I ended up with, and they’re pretty skeins too, and three skeins is nothing at all like no skeins, which is what I would have had if I’d not done this, and I’m not sure why I thought there would be so much more.  (See above delusion.)

I can tell you one thing I discovered though – I’ve clearly played this "let’s make room" game in the stash before, because that collection of spinning fibres is super light on the fast stuff.  The big braids of BFL that spins up quick into bouncy big yarns? Gone. The fun batts that practically spin themselves? They did. What’s left up there now is mostly slow fibre.  Delicate things intended to be laceweight, precious things too expensive to knock off for fun.. or dear things, gifts, souvenirs, pretty fibres that haven’t revealed their destinies yet.  There’s the raw fibre too… fleeces that need washing or carding or both, before they can be spun.  Obviously a week of spinning first isn’t going to change all that. 

As I sifted through it I realized that what I’ve done is a little like what would be left in your stash if you decided to knit twelve hats in a few weeks. The chunky, fast yarn is gone. 

This is going to take more than a week.  I see that now.  Next up –

This oh, so pretty Fiber Optics braid that I’ve been in love with for a while now.  It’s going to take a while, and it won’t create a lot of space, but it will be worth it.
 
As for the three skeins that I did get done? I’m going to take the advice of several of you in the comments and turn them loose.  Send me an email (stephanieATyarnharlotDOTca) telling me you would like it, and which skein(s) you want, and the best offer of a donation to my Bike Rally efforts gets it mailed to your house. (Remember it’s just handspun, and not even the most excellent handspun. The blue skeins in particular have some thick and thin parts.)  The blueish-turquoise is 50/50 merino/silk,  and it’s about 300+ metres of a DK to light worsted.  The multicoloured one is a mix of merino, romney, alpaca, bamboo, silk, Angelina, Firestar, silk noil and Starbright. it’s got a little sparkle, and it is about 160 metres.

Turning fibre into yarn does make it take up a little less space. Mailing it out of your house? That’s actual space.