Yarn Balls

My baskets of yarn balls are getting a little heavier. I have taken my little learner hand spindle with a bag of fleece to events where I would otherwise be sitting idle and listening: bus trip to Anaheim while chaperoning my son's junior high band, various 4-H meetings, and even for that long waiting period between poultry breed shows at the fair.

At the fair, a man passing by my table stopped and was happy to tell me that he teaches drop spindle class. How cool is that? I felt like I wasn't so alone. If anything, I suppose I was entertaining those around me and the passersby who would stop and ask if what I messing with was wool. (It was alpaca.)

The spinning wheel is faster once a person gets the hang of it. I think I finally have the basics down. I did find this great video that helped me gain more confidence with the spinning wheel.

Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWiE8QOvynA

Part Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFksR5kG0EE

I highly recommend watching those if you're starting out with a spinning wheel and need some basic knowledge and a sense of courage to try the methods and fibers presented.

In other news, a man not too far from my little farm has a small flock of sheep that need shearing. I don't think he knows what breed they are as I was told his answer was, "the kind that taste good." Neverthless, I have agreed to shear them in exchange for their wool which looks pretty nice to me.

I'm not a fast spinner, and I don't make much more than yarn balls yet, but someday I'll have enough balls to crochet something warm and soft...like a blanket. After a long day's work at the farm and more work publishing and the endless work helping my kids with homework, I will gladly curl up under a blanket I made myself from the shearing to the spinning to the crocheting.