Over the past few years, I find myself journeying more and more into the land of spinning with drop spindles. Turns out it’s a happy place where I always feel at home.
Sometimes I set out on a new spinning project without a plan—I have a new roving and I just get started, deciding after it’s finished and plied what the yarn might become.
Other times, I’m more intentional and start out with a plan. The stand-alone singles I spun with Three Waters Farm Rambouillet for my Bluetta Scarf pattern are an example of intentional spinning.
My newest spinning project is also intentional. As soon as I saw Diana Niedobova’s Journey of Mind in the KDD My Place project, I wanted to cast on this beautiful stranded-color cowl.
I’ve decided to spin the two fingering weight yarns needed for the cowl. One color will be undyed mixed BFL from my stash. The other color with be mixed BFL in the Amethyst colorway dyed by Greenwood Fiberworks.
I used the undyed mixed BFL a few years ago for my Spindler Mitts pattern. I think its silvery grey-brown color will be a beautiful contrast to the purples and blues of the Amethyst yarn.
For this project, I’m using a couple of Snyder Turkish spindles; one weighs 25 grams, the other 22. I divided the roving into two halves and will spin one half from the teal end of the color sequence, and the other end from the violet end.
I don’t trust this plan to my memory, so I attached labels to each half. I’m also keeping track in my little spinning notebook where I log what I’ve spun, spindle and fiber weights, thoughts about the fiber, etc.
The project’s off to a great start. I’m really enjoying spinning with Turkish spindles—they might possibly be my favorite style. The “over two, under one” winding-on method for the cop is both pretty and fun to do.
They’re also quite portable. On my walk yesterday on nearby trails, I brought my spindle along and enjoyed spinning for a bit at a favorite peaceful brook.
With spring in the air, it feels like the right time to start a fresh new spinning project. And next winter, when the spinning and knitting are done, the cowl will remind me of the My Place project, of spinning outdoors in warm weather, and of the joy of learning a new spinning method.
If you spin, do you treat each project as an adventure, deciding what you’ll make with the yarn after you’ve finished spinning? Or do you start out with a specific use or pattern in mind?
