Spinning, Knitting, Crocheting, Organic Gardening, Living off-grid, and chasing sheep - because- I'm, like, NOT SANE!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

My alter spinning ego

Okay, I think I've taught a handful of spinning classes. And I'm pretty sure that I've said, at each of them, that the hands never lie. I've joked and casually mentioned that 'stressed out crazy woman spinning' is really best left to bulky wgt yarns because the hands are a sort portal for such tension and it WILL show up in your yarn. Still, I have not listened to me! LOL.

spice tradeSo in a place of totally neurotic stress after a completely long and trying day and in front of a not so relaxing movie with the the kids, I, naturally, jumped into my 'spice trade' batts in the hopes of making a gleaming Navajo Plied sock wgt. yarn. I was actually very excited about it and the idea of getting to spin these batts was sort of my personal reward to myself for making it through said day of trial and testing without succumbing to my deep desire to take the apples and oranges out of the fruit drawer and hide in a corner of the room that would give me greatest advantage and start lobbing them at people randomly and whilst wildly cackling. I'm trying this whole 'growing up' concept out, though, so such outbreaks of looniness are kind of not part of that life plan. I mean, there's a good deal of silk in there so, you know, it has an almost immediately soothing aspect to it. Then, there's like maybe 6 or 7 shades of greens with all manner of spicy sari silk additions and some peaks of other colors to make it, well, spicey. There was serious spillage of sparkle as well and I can only say - ya'll - sparkles do alot for a person who is grinding their teeth and unable to focus and see without growling like a rabid cat. It was a good plan, non?

I'm not really this neurotic:)Apparently, I freaking seriously slightly overlooked how much time I'd need to feel the effects of the batty yumminess and started spinning like a madwoman. Oh, was I making haste in getting through those batts! Ah, yes.....(she says as she twitches and spasms and spins like a crazed lunatic) it was over before I knew it. So, I did what any deranged slightly excited person would do and set right to plying them as well. Now, I will admit that whilst n-plying them, I did realize I was a little to fast and twisty and, well, deranged. But, I was on this lovely trip down the denial river (the scenery is awesome there - just sayin') so I just kept right on going - sure that the kinky string part was just my imagination. Okay, they were plied in a snap - I went to bed and woke excited to skein them up right away. And.....brt brt brrrrrr! I took them off the skeinwinder and....uh.....cried very loudly! Woe! Woe! I think I messed it up.

spice tradeSo, after crying for a while, I decided to try to fix it. I ran it back through the wheel 'unplying' it. Only, so deeply in regret for mucking it up in the first place, I, of course, overdid the whole 'fix it' thing and, essentially, un-plied it. Urgh. Woe! Woe! So, I ran it through again (hmmmmm...this is really saving lots of time, isn't it?) and finally got it to something that resembles yarn. I love it. I love the colors, love the spices, and love the feel of it. I'm willing to love even it's small flaws of looser parts here and there, of skinny pieces where I really mucked up the 'fixing' it job, and I've really only learned one thing I didn't know before - liars shouldn't n-ply. LOL. If you're used to being able to spin any yarn you want even on the ugliest of days, and you overlook the semi-finality of Navajo Plying - you could end up like me - a total neurotic sobbing mess. Consider yourself warned:)