Just like to spin

harpmary wrote

on Dec 2, 2010 7:59 AM

I was curious if I am the only one out there who isn't really inspired to do anything with the yarn after it is spun. I just like to spin. I find it amazingly relaxing and meditative. I love the look and feel of the fiber - the colors, the textures, the way it spins into something fine or fat. But, once it is spun, it doesn't really interest me any more. I do know how to knit and crochet - and I've thought about investing in a small loom. I've also given away some of the yarn I've spun to knitters I know. Is there anyone else out there like this?

Denise Jackson wrote

on Dec 4, 2010 9:53 AM

Harpmary,

While I am not like this, I do have friends like this. Does this bother me? No. Will it bother some? Probably. It is your yarn, do with it as you wish. If you think of Olden Times, each person in the family had a job. The Spinster (oldest unmarried daughter) was the spinner for the family. It was her job to keep the family in yarn so others could knit, crochet, and (in some cases) weave.

What a luxury we have to use this as a relaxation.

galwaygirl2 wrote

on Dec 5, 2010 12:58 PM

I agree. I enjoy spinning its like breathing for me but we can relax at it. My husband & I use all of my yarns for weaving, knitting etc. so none goes to waste but we don't have to do it for our very exixtance. In this economy though, one never knows!

galwaygirl2 wrote

on Dec 5, 2010 1:00 PM

I do use all my yarns but I understand what you mean. I could just spin, really. I spin at night when I can't sleep. I spin to relax. I have baskets of spun yarn all over my very small home. I spin faster then I can use it.

jclay wrote

on Dec 5, 2010 3:14 PM

I also enjoy just spinning, but I do crochet or knit with my bigger balls.

Blanky wrote

on Jul 9, 2011 2:02 PM

I also like just spinning! It is so relaxing. Though I've crocheted and knit some bags (2), I rather spin and love all the different materials there are now to spin. Very different from when I started spinning 30 years ago, when there was only the dirty wool right from the sheep.

This was the most amazing experience for me when I started spinning again some years ago by coincidence!

Inge

austensibly wrote

on Nov 30, 2011 4:25 PM

Nice to see that I am not alone!  I have learned, over the years, to knit and to weave.  I used to tell people that asked me what project I was spinning for that "I spin therefore I am."  I guess I felt as though, yes, this yarn should be put to use.  But it is the ZEN of spinning that transports me more than anything else.  There is that feel of the fiber slipping from one's fingers into the twist and onto the bobbin, as if the yarn takes a little part of you with it.  I wound up doing contract spinning for weavers on occasion.  A lot of my yarn winds up in my one of a kind hats that are knit/fulled, and I cannot imagine making my hats from commercial yarn at this point.  I have moved on to other fiber pursuits that do not 'interfere' with my spinning fascination.  I started doing wet feltmaking, and design fabrics for upholstery now (alpaca, silk and wool combinations).

harpmary wrote

on Dec 1, 2011 8:03 AM

Are you by any chance a Jane Austen fan? I wondered when I saw your screen name. If so, you are a truly admirable person of impeccable taste :-)

I agree with the Zen sensation. Most recently I just finished spinning some very fine/thin alpaca. It was lovely to work with; the softest alpaca I've seen and a lovely dark chocolate color. I thought I might make kids mittens or socks out of it, but wanting it to be 3-ply, I going to add a wonder white merino to the mix. Now, I am just caught up in spinning the merino top. I can believe how fine and delicate I can get the yarn spinning with this merino. You are right about the sensation of the fiber slipping through the fingers and the way my brain drops into a more relaxed state. Sometimes I just sit and think of nothing but the sensations, other times I contemplate the process: how much pressure I am using to draft the fiber, how big or small the draft space is, how many single fibers might be in the draft space, etc. I have a feeling that this yarn will turn into a 4-ply, then 5-ply, then a 6-ply... :-)