If you think my yarn looks ugly, you’re right. I’ve been spinning for a grand total of seven days. Seven. It feels like a lot longer than that, probably because I have already acquired four spindles and four bits of top to spin. It’s been pretty intense.

My First Yarn (Singles) from Roving

I started spinning with little packets of roving intended for needle felting, which makes for super-ugly bulky yarn (as do inexperienced spinners).

It was a whole new world when I first tried the smooth, fluffy combed top that finally came in from Etsy, but even with that I’m still not sure if I’m making yarn or making the “rope” of which the elders on Ravelry speak (caused, they say, by extensive predrafting). At this point, I don’t care. By next week, if it has not improved, I will care. Hopefully, this will not all end in wailing and tearing of hair.

I’ve already mentioned Respect the Spindle, but there was also this video, which is just fabulous. And, while Learn to Spin with Anne Field is mainly about spinning on a wheel, it does have a chapter that includes information on using a drop spindle, as well as several chapters on different fibers and their properties.

Spinning is strangely addictive. (Have I mentioned that I don’t know how to either knit or crochet?) In Women’s Work, Barber observes that producing yarn from shapeless fleece is a creative act on par with producing something from nothing. It is certainly a very productive form of fidget spinner, starting with an amorphous cloud of fiber and finishing with a product that can be made into all manner of useful items, up to and including clothing.

Now, I just need to somehow acquire a loom. And practice. More practice.