Spinning, spinning

A few weeks ago, on April 12th, I took a spinning class at the Ariadne shop in St. Henry. I have been wanting to learn to spin for a while, and finally got my chance to get my hands into it. I figured I should post about the class before the coming weekend, cuz I will surely have a new post next week after going to Webs (America's Yarn Store TM) to see the Harlot!

There were 10 of us in the class, so we were a bit crowded, but our teacher Leslie was lovely and helped us all get over the hurdles we had.

The pictures of the class were all taken by Mary of Ariadne, who graciously allowed me to steal them to post here. The photos of the actual yarn were done by me. Thanks Mary!

You can see my car parked outside, dutifully decorated with a Habs flag (go habs go!)



Here we all are learning to draft the tops.


There were some lovely treats and breakfast delights to be had.

Starting to spin.


Doing the Andean Plying so that I can ply the yarn into two-ply .



This is the first yarn that I made. I was quite proud of the results -- especially since I've never done any spinning in my life. It was a little lumpy, but I don't care.


I was so proud, in fact, that I called Jennifer (who was on her way home) and asked her to swing by just so that I could show it to her. Like a good friend, she did come by and politely said that the yarn looked beautiful - even though it was a bit slubby.



I did do what Leslie suggested and did more spinning the next night. I was supposed to do about 10-20 minutes a day, but wouldn't stop and spent the night spinning. I made yarn that was MUCH more even (above) and less tightly spun.


This second yarn is still a bit lumpy, but considerably better than the first. I currently have a third attempt on the spindle, and it's even better than number 2. I'm proud of the fact that I am at least improving each time. Now, I feel like I need to get a bit faster, and maybe try spinning with the spindle turning, instead of the park and spin method that Leslie taught us. Then, I'll have to move on to a wheel!!



Last but not least a picture of the two first yarns together. First attempt on the bottom and second on top. If you click for bigness, you can really see the difference in the two.