Summer Spinning

2006-10-02T17:09:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm tickled to death. I actually exceeded my goal. I have been spinning at the very least 2 hours per week. I'm also getting a much finer consistency on my singles. I'm signed on for the Twisted Knitters Dye/Spin/KAL and am looking forward to it. Hopefully, we'll do this again sometime. It's been great fun.

That's a Wrap!

2006-10-02T16:35:00.000-06:00

Well, the autumnal equinox took place last weekend while I had in-laws visiting. I had a rather unexpectedly eventful end of the summer and didn't keep up on my goal. I think some of you stayed on track or caught up though.

Please check in either in the comments here or make your own wrap-up post in the next week and I'll draw 2 names for those of you who kept up your spinning goals this summer and mail the roving out to you.

I hope you have joined Margene's Twisted Knitters and I'll see you over there. Perhaps we'll reinstate this if there is interest at a later date. Perhaps with a shorter time period that is more realistic? Let me know what you would be interested in!

2006-09-17T17:34:00.000-06:00

Another lousy shot, but the coin is a dime and this is how fine my singles have become. I've been working really hard at it. I'm slower, but more confident and this challenge has really helped me to focus on my process. I've also learned the long draw and wow, is it cool. Only a few more days for the challenge. Thanks Kristi for the terrific idea. You've had alot of other stuff on your plate, but thanks so much. I am spinning more (timewise) and doing a much better job. It was really just a matter of taking the time and working on the spinning itself.

I sure hope everyone else has had as much fun as I have had. I will continue because now I'm more determined than ever to spin laceweight consistently.

Way too Long...

2006-09-14T09:35:00.000-06:00

It's been way too long since I posted any spinning news. So sorry :( I thought I'd drop in and say that I've met (exceeded) my goal of 2 hours per week for the last several weeks and have some beautiful alpaca to show off.

This is baby alpaca combed top, that I bought at our newest LYS back in June. I had 8 oz, and what I've ended up with is around 400 yards of 3 ply. I haven't measured WPI, but it looks to be about sport weight.

This is also alpaca, but came in the form of a batt. The stuff practically spun itself, and really wanted to be a chunkier yarn than I'm used to spinning.

I'm having trouble motivating myself to finish up the Romney and haven't touched the Kromski wheel in weeks.

Last night I couldn't sleep, so instead of lying in bed frustrated, I got up and did some spinning. While at Estes I picked up a 2 pound bag of blended wool roving, various shade from white to black. In about 90 minutes last night I spun up about half a bobbin on the Ashford, and it is stunning----the colors are blending into a variegated charcoal color. It is spinning thin enough for a 3 ply yarn, and I have so much of it, I'm thinking there will finally be enough handspun for a sweater, or vest. Something more than a hat or mittens for sure. Here's a sneak peak:

Before:

After:

Must go for now---good luck in this final stretch! Happy spinning!

2006-09-10T15:13:00.000-06:00

Again, no picture, but I have been working on my spinning technique. I also began spinning my Maple Sugar roving I got from Copper Moose. It's not as soft or easy to spin as the coopworth, but it still is spinning up beautifully. I saw my spinning teacher, Carol, yesterday, and she was spinning a beautiful teal roving and had added crystals to one set of singles. She's planning on plying a plain single with the crystal studded single. It sounds gorgeous, doesn't it? Something else to put in my list of to-do's. I'm still on track with my goal and improving as I go. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Had a snafoo - but , I'm back

2006-09-07T02:55:00.000-06:00

I had such a difficult time getting anything done during our construction project. But at the end of July I rec'd my "Moosie" spindle and last week I rec'd my Jen Merrill original from Crowhill House with her exquisite painting of my beloved cat, George on it. So as my goal needed to include improving my spindle spinning, I've been having fun working on my technique. I'm trying not to, literally drop my drop spindle. I'm having a wonderful time although I'm not at the "relaxed" stage yet. I'm definitely showing improvement. Yeah me! Happy spinning ! :D

Enjoying the Process.

2006-08-30T12:15:00.000-06:00

Spinning has become such an enjoyable process for me as I can finally do it well! Daily practice has paid off and I just spun about 300 yds of a nice maroon roving as a gift. I was pleased as was the recipient. You can see them on my blog today. ;-)

Margene
http://zeneedle.typepad.com/

2006-08-30T10:16:00.000-06:00

No picture today. I have been spinning. I'm still making the goal in time, but productivity is nil. I think it's because I'm becoming more persnickety about my spinning. That, I consider to be an excellent step forward. I have been working on washing my fleece, but now it's too humid for it to dry, so that's on hold. I got a new DVD by Deb Menz about Fiber Prep and am hoping to watch it this weekend and learn bunches more about drafting and blending colors. Hope everyone else to doing well.

Keeping on keeping on

2006-08-20T17:17:00.000-06:00

It's not a pretty picture, but it is a much better spinning job than the past two tries. I'm feeling a bit more confident and that is helping me to work at the twist.

I have spent about 5 hours spinning this week which more than catches me up to my goal. I'm hoping this week to spin a bit more and see how it improves (or not).

Update - Still Keeping to my Goals

2006-08-20T06:46:00.000-06:00

I'm still managing to keep to my goal of spinning at least 5 hours per week. I keep up with most of the details on my blog, so don't forget to check there for the updates. I've been so inspired by everyone's posts! All the yarn look wonderful!

I'm currently spinning some white Blue Faced Leicester. Boy is that lovely to spin....it goes quite quickly. I'm a slow spinner, and usually spin Merino, so I've been quite pleased with the "speed" I've attained. I'm almost to the 3rd skein of this already! I want to finish this 1 1/2 lbs. so I can then try spinning some wool that I have with flakes of shredded blue jeans in it....I think that would make a really fun yarn.

Slow Going

2006-08-18T16:50:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd check in and let you know that although a lot of spinning has been going on---about 4 hours this week---there has been little progress. The Romney that I've been working on for the last several weeks is rather short stapled and neppy, making for slow progress. After getting the tension set correctly the other day, I spent about and hour and a half this afternoon spinning and watching TV. This is what 90 minutes looks like:

Pretty pitiful, huh? I'm finding that I'm stopping a lot to pick out the uneven bits and the neps, which in the long run will be worth it, but makes for tedious spinning.

On the other wheel, I've been enjoying some baby alpaca---I've about got one bobbing full, and so far I'm really pleased with how it's spinning up.

Pop on over to Black Sheep, to see my first handspun/knitting adventure!

Happy Spinning!

Gooooaaaall!!!!!!!!!

2006-08-16T09:07:00.000-06:00

My main goal (once I learned to spin) was to make a fairly even yarn. That goal has been reached! You can see progress on my blog today. I'm very excited about the progress in just 6 weeks. The next goal is to spin enough yarn to make socks. I'll keep at the deep maroon roving in the hopes of spinning enough to make Smith a pair of socks.

Margene
http://zeneedle.typepad.com

I'm Jazzed

2006-08-13T12:40:00.000-06:00

Wow. This challenge is an education. I'm enjoying everyone's posts and pics. I follow the links when applicable and marvel at everyone's abilities and spinning quests. I have been spinning so much this week. I'm on the second bobbin of a two ply that I'm working on. This is not a completion goal. This is a consistency goal and I'm getting there. It's slow going, but I am getting there. I will post a pic on my blog (which has changed to knitwonpurltoo.blogspot.com) as soon as I can get it finished. I actually have spun over 4 hours this week. I do believe I'm getting caught up. It's still hot, but not horribly so, so it's not an issue anymore.

I also bought a Turkish spindle yesterday at my LYS. I haven't even gotten out of the bag, yet, but I'm excited. I sure hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying it.

Exceeding My Goals - Finally

2006-08-11T22:57:00.000-06:00

I spun for 7 whole hours this week! I'm jazzed. I'm averaging 4 hours each week, which is right on my goal. Four of the seven hours were spent spinning at my Guild's Sheep to Shawl event. This was only my second time spinning in public and I loved it.

I've 'regressed' to inchworm spinning on my latest project. I'm working on black Merino laps and the only way I can control the fiber is to inch my way along. It's frustrating - it's difficult to keep the fiber from breaking - and my hand starts cramping after just a short time. So rather than quitting after only an hour or so, I set up my Lendrum for "fun" spinning. I'll work on two projects at once; when I get frustrated with the Merino, I'll move over to the other wheel and spin something more colorful and easier on my hands.

Has anyone ever heard of 'laps'? I was told it is what's left on commercial drumcarders when the batts are removed. Each section of fiber is about 4" wide and 12" long. I had never heard of them before. I'm wondering if my spinning trouble is because the fiber is Merino or if there is something about 'laps' that makes them more difficult to spin. Anybody know? Or have an opinion?

Pictures are on my blog. Happy spinning! (Oh, and Kristi? If you extend the challenge, as was discussed in the comments earlier, I'm *definitely* in. This has been a lot of fun.)

Catching Up

2006-08-08T10:48:00.000-06:00

With all the vacationing and emergency travel, I've not been keeping up on my goal of 2 hours per week----although I did say it was to be an average of 2 hours a week.

Here's the way I've figured it----I was gone for about 4 weeks, so in order to catch up, I need to do 3 hours a week for the next four weeks and I'm golden, yes?

Over the weekend I logged about 5 1/2 hours, 4 of those on Saturday with the girls from the knit group here for a spin in. You can read all about it here. I've not posted a photo of my progress because it looks just like the last photo; it's just the second bobbin.

Can't wait to see your progress!!

Back on Track

2006-08-07T08:06:00.000-06:00

I'm back on track. I spent over 3 hours yesterday spinning and washing fleece. I have 2/3 of a bobbin of pretty fine yarn spun. I'm very pleased with it and I am finally feeling like I'm making headway. I thought about getting out the spindle and working on it, but at this time I want to enjoy the spinning that I can do. I think I need to put the spindle back for a little bit. I really want to conquer my ineptitude on the spindle, but don't want to bite off more than I can chew during this Summer Spinning Challenge. So, I'll wait until the challenge is over to pull out my spindles.
I have a picture of Grant's fleece in the sink soaking on my blog at knitwonpurltwo.blogspot.com. No spinning pix as of yet, though. I'm having trouble getting good shots of the spinning with my new camera. OK. I can't really blame the camera. I'm a crappy photographer. Can't wait to hear from everyone else.

Fair Spinning

2006-08-04T01:12:00.000-06:00

I met my goals for the last 2 weeks; on average, I'm well ahead of my goal of spinning 2 hours each week.

On Wednesday, I spun for 3 hours at the county fair as part of my Guild's booth. This was my first demo and I found that I really enjoyed talking to people and answering their questions. It was a lot easier than I anticipated - probably because I love spinning and would be thrilled if I could tempt someone over to the 'fiber side'. I'm also participating in my first Sheep to Shawl event tomorrow, so that will count toward my goals for next week.

And best of all, the skein I entered in the fair took an Honorable Mention. WooHoo! I've only been spinning for a year, so I'm very excited. Details are here.

Happy spinning!

Bunny Crack Spinning

2006-08-03T09:24:00.000-06:00

This week I spun up an angora wool blend from Kim at Woolen Rabbit. It was so soft and easy to spin and with my new light weight spindle I was able to get 100 yds of fingering weight. It's my best yarn yet and I have enough roving for about 200 yds more. Maybe I can really knit with this!
You can see a picture on my blog as Blogger isn't allowing photos at the moment. And you might consider the Dye, Spin, Knit Sock Along I'm going to start in October, too.

Margene
http://zeneedle.typepad.com/zeneedle_process_of_art/

Still Meeting My Goals!

2006-08-02T20:24:00.000-06:00

Week 6 ended and I'm still keeping up with my goals! This week I managed to work in 8 1/2 hrs. of spinning. I think I have some lean weeks coming up though, so I may have to rely on "averages".

The multi-blue Merino for my mom's scarf is all plied! I'm a bit disappointed that I managed to spin 2 different weights.....I like the skein I finished this week the best (it's the one on the left). The skein on the right is the one I completed a couple of weeks ago. Other than that, I've continued to spin the brown Blue Faced Leicester (on Lennie 2) and the white Blue Faced Leicester (on Louie). I'm almost ready to ply a skein of the white....I have two rather large bobbins nearly full. I only have one bobbin about full of the brown. Next week I hope to have some plied BFL to show!

Update for August

2006-08-01T06:20:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to say that I've posted about my Summer Spinning progress and goals in today's entry on my blog. I've actually met all my goals now and am looking forward to continuing with them for the month of August.
Carole

Met my goal

2006-07-31T20:20:00.000-06:00

I met my goal for last week and got a start on this weeks goal. I spun the rest of my cotton samples from the cotton class I took from Jane, and that really helped me get some peace about her sudden death.

I also spun up 2 ounces of a green and purple roving i got from a lady named Diane with a business called Firesong. I spent about 8 to 10 hours spinning this weekend. Only an hour was this past Sunday so I have some spinning time ahead of me this week. I'm excited about my spinning again though and that is a really good thing.

Thank you all for your kind words about my teacher Jane.

Practice, Practice Practice

2006-07-28T10:46:00.000-06:00

Everyday I've set aside time to practice my spindle spinning and each day produces a better product. Spinning has become quite addictive and the process is very enjoyable. You can see my progress on my blog (and my new spindle, too) ;-)

Margene
http://zeneedle.typepad.com/

Reporting in

2006-07-27T14:17:00.000-06:00

I finally have something to report. I plyed and set the twist on 61 yards of Coopworth that I spun over a week ago. This weekend looks good for spinning some more. I kept the yardage low because I don't have the jumbo bobbins needed for alot of yardage. I hate when it gets all tangled because you fill the bobbin too full.
I am pleased with the result. Due to storms and power outages, I haven't figured out the picture part yet, but too be completely honest....my pictures suck. Maybe, eventually, someday I'll get a picture that actually looks like it should. Until then, keep on spinning.

Spinning Update

2006-07-23T23:57:00.000-06:00

I haven't done much spinning in the past two weeks. I've been working on other projects, getting ready for our local county fair. Now that the entry deadline is past, I'm spinning again. I did about 5 hours yesterday at my spinning guild meeting and another hour+ tonight, so on average I'm meeting my challenge goal. I'm seeing a lot more consistency in my singles and *my hand doesn't hurt as much* from drafting. Hooray! I've relaxed my grip on the fiber and I'm spinning woolen, rather than inch-worm. It's making a big difference - I can spin longer and my hand doesn't cramp up.

I still love spinning on Bekki, the Ashford Traveler. I didn't think I'd enjoy using a single treadle but I really like the rhythm. I like Bekki so much that I broke down and bought myself an early birthday present. A Woolee Winder. With two extra bobbins. I got a Winder for my Lendrum for my last birthday and I love it.

But the funny thing? Bekki is spinning so well that I'm apprehensive about attaching the Woolee Winder. I'm afraid I'll jinx myself or something. LOL. I'll probably do it tomorrow, if it's not too hot to spin.

Spin cool!

How 'bout this?

2006-07-23T20:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, Okay, I admit this has little to do with goals and such, but I just got back from vacation, and lookie what came home with me.......

......let the spinning begin!

Spinning update

2006-07-22T04:40:00.000-06:00

Hi all! After really working hard on my goal the first two weeks, I haven't spun much at all for the last two. I confess I had extenuating circumstances though. The wonderful woman who taught me to spin passed away last week from a terribly swift and devastating bout with Pancreatic cancer and my reaction to it was exactly opposite what I thought it would be. I thought it would make me want to spin in her memory, but at least for the last 2 weeks I have started to spin, (I've done about 2 hours or so each week) and have been overwhelmed by sadness. I have not abandoned my goal but i might take a little while to get my "twist" back as it were.

But, to happier things... Here are the results of the first 2 weeks of the challenge!

The purple on the left is what I spun in St Louis with my friend Anne and fellow challenege member Rebekah! It is 60/40 merino Angora blend from The Woolen Rabbit who has the most amazing angora blends I have ever had the pleasure to work with! This was the other portion of my challenge, and I had been working on it for 2 years. (I had nearly 2 lbs of 2 this lucious stuff broken out into 1 ounce balls.) I'm starting to seriously contemplate what I will use this fabulous stuff for...

The brown on the right is the Australian Bond, subject of the larger plan for the challenge. It's destinied to be something textured, maybe a cabled sweater or a gansey.

Weeks 3 and 4 Not So Good...

2006-07-20T15:24:00.000-06:00

Boy, it is a good thing my first two weeks of the challenge were all out crazy with spinning as I've hit a lull. I lost my momentum in week three when I was undecided about what to spin next so I only got in about 2 hours and 25 min. I decided to throw on the other 4 ounces of purple roving from the batch that one of the prizes is from. It's some Wild Flowers blend from Bountiful. I'm doing *very* fine singles and hope to make my first three ply yarn with it. Now, week 3 was pretty close to the goal of three hours per week so I didn't get down on myself too much.

Week four was a completely different story. I was all caught up in releasing my new sock pattern and getting packed for our whirlwind road trip to Minneapolis for the weekend that I only sat down and spun for 40 minutes on Monday night upon our return while DH was catching up with a friend on the phone. Seriously, if he hadn't been on the phone I probably wouldn't have even spun that much :-(

That said, my "average" for the four weeks is just slightly above the needed 180 minutes so I'm okay as long as I get my butt in gear this week and stay at least on task of 3 hours. Though here it is Thursday and no time has yet been logged...

I've been sidetracked with project planning (yet another baby to knit for, this one I didn't know was even expected, but an annoucement arrived in the mail while we were gone) and by the call of my sewing machine... *sigh* Oh, and a *need* to learn to crochet so I can make the gorgeous crocheted yarn holder pattern in the latest Spin-Off!

You've been pretty quiet while I was gone. Alison, I hope your foot gets better fast and Elisa, I'm sorry to hear about the fiber prep issues with Grover. Also, welcome Margene! Your yarn is really showing your progress as you learn more about drop spindling! How is everyone else doing?

Learning

2006-07-20T11:42:00.000-06:00

First goal was to make a good skein of 2 ply yarn which I have been able to do. Next up was to spin a full spindle of nice singles and then to ply it. Last night I was able to ply it (center pull ball) which is the easy part, actually. After studying the skein (I've become a spinning geek!) to see what I could learn, it looks like I maybe spinning too hard and fast for my drafting ability. Sometimes it just looks like dental floss and other parts are very nice. There were fewer slubs in this skein so little by little I learn. I do have something in mind to knit with this skein and will keep you posted and I'll practice more this weekend and show the results of my newly found knowledge.

Margene
http://zeneedle.typepad.com/

Spinning update

2006-07-15T11:26:00.000-06:00

Or lack thereof rather. I was doing pretty well with my spinning, not quite keeping up with my original goals, but getting a lot of spindling done here and there and just a bit of wheel spinning. Now, I can't spin at my wheel at all for a few days as I have some stitches right on the ankle, so the motion wouldn't be good for healing. You never realize how much you use your ankle until you can't use it for a few days. (It's nothing serious, by the way. Just a big, ugly mole removed in a very bad spot to have a mole removed.) I'm so used to double-treadling that I don't think I'd want to try with just one foot when it's just a few days. Anyway, spindling has been non-existent the last couple of days as well because I just haven't felt up to sitting up that much. The foot feels better propped up, so I've been knitting a bit.

So, anyway, hopefully next week, I'll feel like going back to my spindling at least. I have been enjoying seeing what everyone else has been doing fiberwise though. I love knowing that the old arts are enjoying such a revival. I really do love seeing people's faces when I'm spindling in public and they realize what I'm doing. Someday, I hope to get brave enough to bring the wheel into public.

Changing My Goal

2006-07-15T00:24:00.000-06:00

I'm giving up on Grover for now. I'm still not happy with the fiber prep; Grover deserves better. And I signed up for the Challenge to get me to spin, not spend all my time doing fiber prep. So until I can card the wool into batts, I'm going to move on to something else.

My new challenge is going to be spinning the Brushstrokes Batt I received today. It's about 9 ounces according to my (not very accurate says the post office) postal scale. I want to spin it at a lace weight, ply it, set the twist, and be ready to start crocheting it by the end of the Challenge on September 22.

I did 3.5 hours of spinning on the Lendrum this week for this Challenge. I also spun about 5 hours for the Tour de Fleece, using the Traveller. Setting goals for both challenges has really improved my spinning time. Details and pictures are on my blog.

2006-07-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

You can see in my post today that I have finally had a little success in spinning. The blue roving is a mohair wool blend that is very fluffy and easy to spin as it has little substance and it floats away.
The red roving is a fine merino hand dyed by a local fiberist. It was very hard to draft my first time but now it's going well. I am enjoying the process of spinning en0ugh that I have a hard time putting it down.
This weekend I'll take some of the angora/alpaca roving that Kim of the Woolen Rabbit sent to me last year and see how I can do with it. There will be many more spindles in my future as I want to spin as many fibers as possible and on as many spindles as I can just to see how different they all are.
Thank you to my pals for the encouragement!

Margene

2006-07-14T13:26:00.000-06:00

I wanted to update since I was so disappointed last week. I am doing much better this week. I have actually spun about 2.5 hours. My consistency is improving and I really am enjoying spinning the Coopworth I got from Copper Moose. I will most probably dye this yarn when I'm done. I saw an idea on a blog (I'm so sorry, but I can't remember where) that suggests using food coloring (my dye of choice) and glass jars and putting the skein into each jar of color. It would probably work well with roving, too. Maybe I can try that at a later date.
I received my very first fleece in the mail this week. His name is Grant and he's from Cormo Wool, a wonderful farm in California. I can recommend Sue to anyone interested in the Cormo breed. The breed is relatively new. I think it was developed in the 70's. It is a blend of Coopworth and Merino and the wool is stunning. Sue covers the fleece and mine is so white it's almost blinding. I know I sound like an ad, but I'm one very happy girl.
This weekend I plan to spin and wash fleece. I hope everyone else has a great weekend.

Bobbin Help

2006-07-11T00:08:00.000-06:00

Anybody spin on an Ashford Traveller? Or any Ashford; I think the bobbins are interchangeable. When I was changing bobbins, the back of my bobbin fell off - the one with freshly spun singles, of course. Details and photos are on my blog. Has anyone else had this happen?

I'm worried about saving my singles - if I put it on a lazy kate, will I end up with a tangled mess or will I be able to ply successfully? I checked the other bobbins and two had loose ends; DH is going to fix them before I start spinning again. Now I have even more incentive to get a Woolee Winder for this wheel. (Wonder if I can talk hubby into a early birthday present??)

I flamed this week

2006-07-10T13:25:00.000-06:00

As I stated in my blog, I flamed badly this week on spinning. I started on Friday night on some Corriedale, but I was really tired so I stopped. I have found that if I'm too tired, spinning suffers. So I stopped. I will pick it up this week. I chided Rebekah for berating herself for not meeting her goal, so I guess I can't berate myself, either. I will make it up this week.

2006-07-10T08:43:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody,
I've really enjoyed reading everyone's spinning updates. I finally posted on my blog about my Summer Spinning goals and progress. You can read it here.
Carole

I think I may have underestimated my abilities...

2006-07-10T07:25:00.000-06:00

I managed to get out of going to the Great Escape yesterday and I took advantage of the time to myself to ply. The above is 368 yards of two-ply (that is right now soaking, but I couldn't wait to post a photo). It's my first yarn that is long enough that I can actually knit something with it. I know I need to work on my plying - I think that I don't have enough twist, although the skein hung dead straight when I took it off the niddy-noddy. I don't know if I should up my goal now since I completed this so quickly? Maybe now I should try to spin a true laceweight? (so far I've only been able to do fingering weight) I've requested the very fast flyer for my birthday so I should have the means by next week...?

Week 2 Success!

2006-07-09T19:58:00.000-06:00

I managed to do all of my Week 2 Spin time in Missouri visting My best friend Anne! I also succeeded in finishing some roving I have been working on periodically for over 2 years! It's completely spun and plied but not yet washed. I spent a HUGE amount of time working on unfelting the roving. It was extrememly densly packed together after 2 years of sitting. I made it draft-able and spun it on my friend's Ashford Joy. I was spinning this on my oy at home and brought my bobbins and orifice with the spinning in progress already attached! It was almost as good as bringing my own wheel with me! :)

This week it will be back to the Bond roving... I'll take some photos and get my act together...

Week 2

2006-07-08T16:14:00.000-06:00

I don't want to jinx myself but...I'm way ahead of where I thought I'd be.

I finished the 2nd Vesper dyed hank-o-roving this afternoon and CAN'T. WAIT. to ply it, but I'm being patient and waiting 'til tomorrow.

Except...tomorrow I have to go to the Great Escape with the family so I CAN'T ply it! Curses!

2006-07-08T05:07:00.000-06:00

I FINALLY plied some singles of alpaca I've had since the first of the year. It was some of the first stuff I ever spun, so it was uneven and very thick. I decided to ply it with a metallic binder instead of plying two thick singles together. I think it turned out pretty nice - considering I thought it might end up as trash.
I also finished spinning and plying my first dyed mohair and silk blend. I'm VERY pleased with how it turned out. I've decided to use it for Christmas stockings - since it is my first fiber prepared from goat to yarn. It seems like it needs to be used for some heirloom type project.
I think the color will be perfect for Christmas.

I also added to the crosspatch single that I have going. My collection of hand spun is increasing. It looks fantastic hanging on their pegs - I hate to use any of it.
I love just looking at it all.

I almost forgot.....I did a very little bit of spindle spinning to try to help improve my skill. I'm not very good at it - and I seem to take the "drop spindle" name very literally, as I am always dropping the darn thing.
I'm SLOWLY getting more comfortable with it.
~Sharon
:D Happy spinning all!

Week 2

2006-07-07T14:10:00.000-06:00

Week 2 ended with quite a bit more yarn spun. In fact I finished 2 bobbins of the coopworth (which I'm guessing is about 3 ounces - I could weigh it, but then what fun would that be). Tonight I hope to do some work on the Jacob's wool, however my back is a bit out of whack, so I'm not sure how much of it I'll be able to take.

Of course this picture was taken at the beginning of the week when only one of the bobbins of coopworth was done. I'm making this a 3-ply yarn, and knitting a shawl for my mother-in-law.

So I'm making progress, and enjoying myself completely. I also bought some beautiful border leicester roving on Saturday at our local farmer's market, it's calling me to spin it. But I'm not sure what it's wanting to be knit into, so I might wait until I figure that out.

Have a great weekend!

Ready to Fly!

2006-07-07T01:16:00.000-06:00

I only managed to spin for 2.5 hours this week but . . . . . I have 2 pounds of wool picked and ready to spin. I stayed up until 2 a.m. last night processing fleece so I could pass the picker on to my spinning buddy today. During week 3, I can concentrate on spinning rather than having to spend time on fiber prep. (Do you think I can spin all of this in one week? No? Me neither. But no harm in trying!)

And . . . . I actually spun some of Grover this week. Isn't it gorgeous? I love all the different shades in this Lincoln/Columbia fleece. (The fiber is a little darker than in this photo - I'll try to take the next picture during the day so I don't have to use the flash.) It will be a while before I'm ready to ply. The Woolee Winder bobbins really pack on the fiber and I'd like to have two full bobbins before I move to the next step. But when I start plying, I should end up with a huge skein.

Successful Week 2 for Me Too

2006-07-06T13:31:00.000-06:00

I too had a successful week 2 - I had a total of 5 1/4 hrs. of spinning. It was a bit harder to keep up this past week. I did notice something, though. With all the spinning I've been doing, I don't have that many finished skeins (I look in envy at the pictures that Kristi has posted!).

I've been spinning mostly with my wheel. However, this past week, I logged 1 1/2 hrs. of spinning with my drop spindle. I've determined that I'm a VERY slow spinner.....whether with the wheel or with the drop spindle. I should have more finished skeins to show for all the hours! But, then again, I spin for relaxation, so it's OK. So...that's my excuse for no finished skeins (plus, my Louet bobbins are quite big, so it takes a bit to fill them.....especially since I've been spinning quite thin lately.)

Week 2 Round Up!

2006-07-06T10:46:00.000-06:00

Well, I had a pretty successful week 2 spinning-wise. I'm afraid I'm starting out week three behind, but with 5.5 and 6 hours the last two weeks I think a couple days off due to the holiday are okay. You can read more about this week's spinning adventures (and they really were an adventure) on my blog at http://blog.designedlykristi.com/?p=115

How is everyone else doing? It sure is fun seeing what everyone is spinning and such!

I'm having a hard time deciding what to spin next... Too many decisions to make, LOL!

Disappointing First Week

2006-07-02T20:55:00.000-06:00

I met part of my goal for the first week - I spun for 4 hours. What disappoints me is that I didn't spin Grover's fleece, which is the second part of my challenge. I'm still working on the BFL I bought at Stick and Stone Fiberarts; I've started the second bobbin and should have the last of the roving spun this week. Then I can ply it, set the twist, and move on.

I finished dividing Grover's 7.5 pound fleece into 'best' and 'seconds'. All of the 'best' wool is washed and tonight I started picking with the Patrick Green Triple Picker. Susie, Sharon & I went in together to buy the picker; we got a great tool and dividing the cost three ways made it affordable.

I've only picked about 4 ounces of fleece and I already have a net laundry bag full of wool. It amazes me how much the wool fluffs up when it is picked. I'm getting really excited to start spinning. Hmmmm, I have a third Woolee Winder bobbin. Maybe I could work on the BFL and Grover at the same time . . . .

2006-07-02T08:25:00.000-06:00

Woo-Hoo!! Reach my goal for the Challenge, but not for the week although technically I still have today to reach my personal goal for this week, which is to ply my exitsting bobbins of alpaca. They have been sitting on the bobbins for a few months now. In my own defense I haven't had the thread to ply them with quite as long. The alpaca was some of the first spinning I had done and the singels are pretty thick, so instead of plying them together I'm going to ply them with a matalic thread binder and maybe I'll actually be able to use the yarn. otherwise I have a lot of bulky weight yarn without memory. I wouldn't know what to make with it. I'm open for suggestions.......
I spent Thursday evening with 3 spinning pals and was able to start on some crosspatch. I had hoped to finish off the silk single so I could ply it with my mohair/silk blend; but I accidently left my bag of silk behind that night. Oop's. The crosspatch was a dream to spin and I think it's a great look.
Maybe next post I'll have pictures of something plyed. Keep you fingers crossed for me. Happy spinning all.
:D
~Sharon

Update on Goal

2006-07-01T22:27:00.000-06:00

Well I managed to complete the first step of my goals for the summer - I bought a wheel today ;o)

It's a Lendrum and there shall be a post and photos on my blog (as well as the reveal of her name) after the July 4th holiday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Spinning Progress and Info About a New On-Line Fiber Magazine

2006-07-01T13:59:00.000-06:00

Well, I've kept up with my goals....and even exceeded it a bit as far as spinning time. My main goal is to spin at least 5 hrs. per week....and I've done that...so far. The big challenge for me is to keep the momentum going. I also need to pare down my stash....it's way to big. I'm still thinking about how to do that and hope to work that into my goals as well.

I just found out about a new on-line magazine as well. It's got a great article about selling/marketing your handspun. This is the first issue....I really like it. You can check it out at: http://www.fiberfemmes.com

Have a great holiday everyone! (I'm planning on getting a LOT of spinning done over the next few days!!!!)

1 Week Check In

2006-06-29T15:03:00.000-06:00

I failed, miserably. I maybe spun about 3 yards of the Coopworth. Maybe. It was hot, and the fiber was felting in my hand. PLus then life took hold, and knitting projects, and well I failed. Miserably. Oh wait I already said that. I did get a lot of my knitting things done, started a few little things that have been looming over my head. And this weekend, since I have 4 days, I hope to get myself more organized. When I'm more organized I can sit and spin more purposefully and hopefully actually accomplish something.

So this week my mini-goal is to get myself organized, including my fiber room and spinning area, and then hopefully it'll motivate me to do some actual spinning and make some headway on my goal.

Rebekah

Intro and Week 1 in review

2006-06-29T13:38:00.000-06:00

Hello all! I'm Pam of Diapers, Dogs, & Doublepoints. I first became interested in spinning when I was a child and came across a spindle & bag of wool at one of those historical recreation parks (Connor Prairie in Indiana). I messed with it for a while, probably couldn't quite do it as well as I would have liked, got frustrated and gave up. heh heh About 6-7 years ago I started back up with a spindle and it clicked. I then decided there was NO WAY I was going to spin enough wool to do anything with that way and bought an Ashford Traditional about 5 yrs ago. About 2 weeks ago I acquired an Ashford Traveller and needless to say I'm done buying anything else for quite some time. Which is fine because like most all of us I have enough fiber to keep me busy for a while.

My goals set in the original post were as follows:
* sort, organize, & figure out exactly what's in my stash (check that off the list!) I'm not sure how it happened but in the course of doing this I also ended up adding to the stash by buying some lovely stuff from Crown Mountain Farms. Oops!
* Spindle 15 minutes per day
* Wheel it 4 hours per week
* Spin, ply, & make something with at least ONE bag o' wool.

My first week? Well, it went much better than I expected. I have a son who is almost 1 year old so I have decided to take full advantage of his naps to get in my spinning (& knitting). I've been trying to spend the first part of each nap attending to those mundane things like housecleaning & laundry then hit the spindle or wheel until he wakes up. Sometimes it's 5 minutes, sometimes it's 30 minutes. (I've been making the rest up after he goes to bed at night) I have been able to spindle 15 minutes a day and although I have not kept track of my wheel spinning I KNOW it's been more than 4 hours... whoo hooo! This week I'm planning on plying the singles I spun the 1st week and continuing to work on the pink & beige mohair stuff I've got on the wheel.

Some Admin Stuff....

2006-06-28T17:40:00.000-06:00

For those who have a Flickr account or wish to have a Flickr account I set up a group where everyone can post their spinning photos. You can find the group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/summerspinning/. Once we have a some more photos in the group pool I'll add a little gallery preview thing to the sidebar, but right now, it is just my two photos :-)

For those who have been commenting and asking if they can still join, we'll welcome you to the group, though since the first week is now over you will not be eligible for the prizes at the end of the challenge. If you are still interested in joining us, please follow the instructions here on how to join and post your goal to the comments here to get it officially recorded.

We've had some updates now that the first week as come to close, how are those who haven't posted doing??

THANK YOU KRIST!

2006-06-28T14:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much Kristi for this group. It has made me think more intently about my spinning. I was a poor spinner (not much better yet) because I didn't work at it. I would spin for a week or so and then leave it for months. I'm hoping that through this Summer Spinning Group, I can improve my skills. Not just on the wheel, but drop spindles. I am the world's worst drop spindle spinner. I passed my goals last week. I actually spun about 2 1/2 hours. I spun on the wheel and finished some purple yarn and also spun on my drop spindle. I'm getting better, but, oh boy, it is slow going. I'm enjoying reading everyone's posts.
I will probably not post pictures here because I'm a techno-doof. If Kristi does get a Fickr thingy going, I will learn that and post there.

Introduction

2006-06-27T19:05:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone :o)

My name is Jessica (aka JessaLu), I live in Western Mass with my SO, my teenage daughter and my dog. I just got into spinning at the Mass S&W with a Bosworth spindle (and taught to draft by none other than Sheila herself!) - I jumped from the spindle to a wheel last Thursday and right now am spinning on a rented Ashford Joy.

I think for a goal I'd like to try to #1 purchase a wheel of my very own and #2 spin enough yarn to knit a pair of socks by the end of the summer.

Simple enough, right? ;o)

Review of Week 1...

2006-06-27T13:51:00.000-06:00

Well, tonight is the end of week one of the challenge so I thought I'd assess my accomplishments and see if the my goal is doable....

6/21 - 15 minutes of wheel spinning
6/22 - 55 minutes of wheel spinning, 30 minutes on the drop spindle
6/23 - 45 minutes of wheel spinning
6/24 - 45 minutes of wheel plying
6/25 - 40 minutes of wheel plying
6/26 - 65 minutes of wheel spinning

That gives me a grand total of 4 hours and 25 minutes and I haven't sat down to the wheel or the drop spindle yet today. My goal was 3 hours per week, figuring it best if I could get at least 30 minutes of spinning 6 out of 7 days a week. It has been no problem this week, but I think I like Lisa's idea of averaging the weekly totals over the course of the summer since things such as vacations and the like can get in the way.

I have come out of this week learning some stuff.... Even with the heat it is bearable to spin in the mornings and in the late evenings so hot weather should be NO excuse. Spinning regularly makes for much more regular singles. Spinning outside under the shade of a tree can be a nice change of pace, and it reduces the stark whiteness of the inside forearm, LOL! The singles I produce when aiming for a sock weight yarn consistently yield me about 310-325 yds from 4 oz of fiber.

I had another three ounces of this blue superwash from Brown Sheep when I started to ply. I wasn't planning on spinning it right away, I was going to move to something else. However, I had forgotten until I had a fair bit plied that I was going to try using some wooly nylon (serger thread) as a 3rd ply and see if that increases the durability of the yarn. So, once my bobbin was full of 2-ply I split the remaining 3 ounces in half and am spinning more singles onto the leftovers on the same two bobbins and hopefully I will remember to use the wooly nylon when I start to ply this next time around. I think I got through about 3/4 of an ounce last night, but that included a double pass of pre-drafting in addition to spinning.

It has been wonderful hearing what you all are up to spinning-wise. Do any of the rest of you have Flickr accounts and if so would you be interested in having a Flikr group there so everyone's summer spinning results can be viewed in one location? It's just an idea I thought I'd bounce off of you all.

2006-06-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

I spun.......boy did I?
True to my word in my last post - I spun and spun and spun.

I coverd a couple weeks worth of my challenge goal. I was just so relaxed and enjoying myself and the texture of the mohair silk blend so much, I couldn't stop. I have 2 bobbins of it now and will begin to ply soon.

It is hard to believe it goes from this.......

.............to this.
Isn't it? YUMMY!
~Sharon

Hi Everyone - I'm Stephanie

2006-06-26T11:40:00.000-06:00

Hello fellow spinners. I'm Stephanie, and my blog is Unwind. I'm a fairly new spinner. I purchsed my wheel (Lendrum DT - Lennie) in March. I just finished taking Maggie Casey's beginning spinning class at Estes Park and I learned so much. I spun quite a bit last weekend, but didn't manage to spin very much during the week. I did spin a bit on my new spindle (a Magpie mid-whorl) and I'm finding that my drafting has improved tremendously. I'm actually making fairly even singles on both my spindle and my wheel. I plyed two singles together on Saturday - some corriedale top I spun last weekend and some merino top I spun during my class. The corriedale was much more even than the merino, which I guess shows that I'm getting better. Saturday morning I also spun some wool blend I got from Spunky Eclectic and I am quite pleased with how it looks. I'm going to try to spin 2 more colors (I only have 2 ounces of each from the sample pack) and try a 3-ply. I always go into the week with high hopes for my week nights, but they always seem to get away from me. If things go well, I can hopefully get 2 ounces spun this week, but if not, I'll have a 4-day weekend over the 4th to spin my little heart out. I'm pleased that I managed to spin more than 3 hours last week (by my calculations I spun almost 5 hours!) and I'm so glad to be a part of this group.

Over the holiday weekend I'm also going to try to wash my recently purchased fleece. I'd like to spin some yarn for a One Skein Wonder, but I want to dye some of my fleece for the project. Does anyone have any idea how much fleece I'll need to dye for 150 yards or so of yarn (I imagine I should try for a 3-ply)? Any advice or resources would be most appreciated. Have a great week and happy spinning.

Hello, my name is Alison and I'm addicted to fiber

2006-06-25T07:17:00.000-06:00

I'm Alison of Alianne Knits. I learned how to spin at the 2005 Maryland Sheep and Wool on a spindle and fell in love with it. In September, I bought my first wheel, an Ashford Traveller, without having ever tried a wheel before and also ended up loving it. In May, I increased my spindle collection from just one to six. I spin mostly very fine laceweight. I currently have several spinning projects in the works and my goals are to finish some merino from the Fiber Denn (the one on the left) and to spin 200 more yards of merino/angora from The Woolen Rabbit for my Moon Dance Stole. I also want to spindle 15 minutes a day and spend at least 2 hours a week with my wheel. So far, so good.

Better late than never!

2006-06-23T12:49:00.000-06:00

Thanks Kristi for letting me jump in late :)

I'm Lisa, I live in Colorado Springs and I've just started spinning; I took my first class in May. I was very frustrated at first, but after a visit from the spinning faerie, I've been hooked. In late May, I bought a wheel, a Kromski Mazurka. I had the fiber thing pretty much under control until I went to a sheep shearing and came away with a share in 2 merino fleeces. That, and a visit to the Estes Wool Market and Cathy's place 'bout did me in, and I now have a bit of a containment problem, though it is still manageable----hey it's all relative, right?

I've been married for going on 27 years, hubby is in the Air Force, so we've lived all over, though we both grew up in Washington State. We have two sons (23 and 20) that share an apartment in the Seattle area. We have two doggie friends and a borrowed cat.

Want to know more??? Come visit me at Black Sheep!

An Introduction to Lizzy B

2006-06-23T05:41:00.000-06:00

I'm Lizzy B and my Blog is A Stitch In Time. I started spinning a few years ago. I learned in February of 2004, but I didn't actually start spinning egularly or faithfully until October of that year.

I realized not all that long ago that spinning is my true passion. I have 3 wheels, an Ashford Joy, a Majacraft Susie Pro and a Louet S75. I love them all for different reasons, and I use them all.

My goal for this challenge is to spin 5 hours a week. For me this means actual time on the spinning wheel. I spun for one hour last night because even though it was 88 degrees in my house I missed my wheels and I didn't want to fall off the pace in the first week!

My larger goals for this summer are to finish spinning and plying all of the Australian Bond roving I have (nearly 3 pounds) and to finish the angora/merino I got from the Woolen Rabbit a few years ago. I think I have 3 or 4 ounces left to spin of that.

I am also trying to get a few of my fleeces carded on my drum carder, and while that has to do with spinning i am not counting it in my challenge...

I'll update again soon!

does teaching count?

2006-06-22T22:28:00.000-06:00

Does teaching to spin count??? I haven't touched my spinning except to teach my 11 year old niece. I forgot how patient one must be to teach an 11 year old. Deep breath in……1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ……. exhale slowly – Whooooooooooo….
Actually she did very well when you consider her age and my poor teaching abilities.

Tonight I plan to sit quietly and spin my mohair and silk blend while my husband watches TV.

I have 3 sons (ages 30, 16 and 15 -in 9days) and a wonderful husband. I've lived in California, mostly southern, all my life. I have only been spinning since New Years Eve 2005- thanks to my dear friend EP, who spent her day teaching me to spin after my hubby gave me a spinning wheel for Christmas. You wouldn't know I was a newbie by the stash I've accumulated. We are suddenly in disparate need of a room addition to the house.

I am completely in love with all fiber arts and have so many projects lined up, I can't get myself organized to accomplish a single one. When I heard about this summer challenge I knew it was perfect for me. If I set a goal I’m okay, and this made me buckle down to set my goals for the summer.

I look forward to meeting and sharing with all of you. Happy spinning all. :D
~Sharon

Hi, I'm Hannah!

2006-06-22T17:17:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, I'm Hannah. I live in Colorado and know Kristi, our fabulous organizer, from the SnB here. I moved to CO last August and started going to SnB as a way to meet people (and knit, of course), and have met some fantastic folks that way. I have a rather busy job that keeps me traveling a fair bit, but I am hoping that things will settle down some this summer and I can finally learn to spin. I played around with a spindle last fall and made some lumpy yarn and my mom gave me a Louet wheel for Christmas. Because of my crazy schedule I didn't get the thing assembled until April (it was basically a kit) and am finally getting around to some spinning. I'm looking forward to Summer Spinning as a way to motivate myself, learn to spin, and share the process with all of you!

Introduction

2006-06-22T08:41:00.000-06:00

Hi, my name is Rebekah. I live near St. Louis, Missouri, USA, but on the Illinois side of the great Mississippi. I have one husband, one parrot (Basil) and one black lab (Abner). My normal blog is Knit Knack. I have been spinning since January, when I took my first class. The class was quite the let down but I did discover I really enjoyed spinning, and soon ordered my wheel. Everything else I've learned has been through books, which I do well at learning that way, so it worked out in the end. I haven't really used any of my homespun yet in projects, but I'm rectifying that currently. My goal is to spin up 2 pounds of coopworth and 2 pounds of Jacob's Wool for a aran shawl I'm knitting my mother-in-law. I worked a little on it last night, but due to high heat and humidity, even with our AC running ended up with a lot of little clumps in the spinning and so didn't stick with it long. Hopefully tomorrow evening will provide me with more of an opportunity and less of an opportunity to clump.

I'm excited to be a part of this, and hope to enhance my spinning capabilities over the summer. My next spinning project is some colored roving I purchased to knit myself a Fair Isle Cardigan.

I Spun! And Intro

2006-06-22T00:24:00.000-06:00

I think I've finally figured out how to get some spinning done. Leave home. If I stay here, there are too many distractions and need-to-do's that keep me from my want-to-do's. So today I took my favorite wheel (Florence, a Lendrum DT) to my sister-in-law's house. While she worked on her projects, I spun some gorgeous BFL (that I got here) into fairly consistent singles.
I plan to start working on the second part of my Challenge on Friday (spinning "Grover", a 7.5 pound silver-gray Lincoln/Columbia fleece into enough yarn to make me a sweater). My entire goal is here.

I'm Elisa and I live in Southern California, just north of L.A. I have 4 kids (2 girls, 27 & 21, and 2 boys, 25 & 17), 3 cats, 5 wheels, 2 looms, and 1 great husband. And my first grandchild is due in November. (Happiness! Although my daughter lives in Loveland, CO, so I won't get to see the baby as much as I'd like.) My husband and I are both retired. He is a woodworker and collects wood like I collect fiber; he understands (and enables) my need for stash.

I learned to spin last August and to spindle in November. In addition to spinning, I like to crochet, locker hook, scrapbook, read, and embroider. I thought about learning to knit this year, but there are so many great crochet books out now that I keep putting it off. Maybe next year - or I could join a learn-to-knit challenge. That might work. I definitely work better if I have a goal (and peer pressure).

I'm excited about the Summer Spinning Challenge. I look forward to 'meeting' all of you.

Happy Summer!

2006-06-21T14:31:00.000-06:00

Today marks the beginning of summer. Though I have to say the weather around here is messed up. We've had 90's for the better part of the past three weeks, break 100 degrees last week and setting a record for the earliest day above 100. And today? At 2:30pm we're in the mid-70's! Go figure! I'm not complaining though. It means the house is very comfortable!

I warmed up a lot yesterday with about 1.5 hours of pre-drafting and spinning the same blue superwash wool from the Brown Sheep trip in March. I haven't touched the wheel yet today, but there will likely be some spinning this evening.

I have a couple bags of different fibers in ~4 oz lots that I'll draw for from those that stay with their goals until the fall equinox. If you haven't yet set your goal, please do so soon! If you need another invite sent out to be an author on this blog let me know (fiberfool AT gmail DOT com) and I'll resend.

Happy Summer Spinning!

Hi! I'm Kristi!

2006-06-13T15:21:00.000-06:00

Okay, so a good share of you are regular readers of my blog, Fiber Fool (which has been lacking in fibery content as of late). But, there are several of you joining in from other sources whom I do not recognize. Perhaps you came via the SOAR blog?

A quick intro to me. I'm a Minnesota native living in Colorado for 7 years now, married for four of those years come the fall. I live with my husband who is a computer geek, musician, cheesemaker, writer and more. We both have rather broad sets of hobbies and interests.

I learned to spindle spin ever so slightly in October of 2004 and then didn't touch the expensive spindle I bought until last July. I spun for a few hours on a couple different wheels of a couple fellow SnB gals last spring and I came home from last year's Estes Park Wool Market with my wheel - a Majacraft Suzie Pro. I discovered while taking the level II spinning class in Boulder in August that my axel was bent. I have a new axel but I've been too chicken to replace it and then lost the directions to do so in a hard drive crash in March. It doesn't bother really unless I fold and unfold it frequently. But one of these days I will change out that axel!

I spun a ton back in the late summer and fall last year, then once the holiday rush hit it gathered dust and I got out of the habit and hadn't really touched it at all except to dust it until early April and then it sat again until late May. It has been getting semi-regular exercise more recently, but I'd like to get a bit more regular at it. I also felt I needed some output to justfy buying anything at the wool market this weekend :-) That said I don't think I'll be bringing home much in the way of fiber this year. But we'll see.

Stephanie - if you want some guidance on the fleece prep on a weekend sometime I could likely be pursuaded to share the knowledge Lizzy B gave me during her visit back in March. Just holler!

I'm enjoying reading everyone's goals. There are at least a couple of us wondering how to go about tracking our time at the wheel. How are you planning to do so? Are you going to include fiber prep in your time or is your time just strictly spinning time?

I'm also going to see if I can rustle up some prizes for those who complete the challenge so there is a bit more incentive!

Invites and Sidebar Up to Date!

2006-06-12T11:11:00.000-06:00

I just sent out all the invites to join the blog as an author as well as updated the sidebar with the few new members we added over the weekend. Welcome!

While I'd still like to keep the goals all in one place in the comments of the goal post I'd like to encourage you to write a bit of an introduction - tell use about your wheel(s), how long you've been spinning etc. and do feel free to reiterate your goal there as well!

I'd also like to invite others to submit buttons - just e-mail them to fiberfool@gmail. I chose to use a spindle even though I suspect most of us will be doing wheel spinning because I spin on a rather unique non-generic looking wheel so I figured that wouldn't be as universally liked. Plus, the fiber I had on that spindle is soo summery! :-)

I'm sooo excited to see all the yarns we all spin and learn about new fiber sources and just have the excitement of doing things as a group!

Goals

2006-06-05T16:48:00.000-06:00

When setting your goal for the summer spinning challenge it might be helpful to remember these tips about goal setting...

Keep your goal worded positively.
Be specific in your goal wording so your progress can be measured.
Be realistic. Remember this is summer which is often stuffed with other activities so keep that in mind when choosing your goal.
Start with a plan. You can more often reach your goal if you have a plan of attack for meeting it. It might be knowing where in your day/week you will fit in spinning in addition to knowing what fiber you are going to spin etc.

Whenever you have decided on your goal please comment to this post so everyone's goals can be found in one location. We'd love to hear you plan of attack too, it might give others an idea on how better to reach their own goals!

Welcome!

2006-06-05T16:28:00.000-06:00

This is the home of the 2006 Summer Spinning Challenge. What exactly is that?

Each participant needs to choose their own peronsal goal. It could be a certain number hours you want to be sure to spin each day/week/month or it could be a certain weight of fiber you want to get through or a certain yardage you want to spin during the challenge. You need to set your goal by June 20th and post it in the comments section of the post on goal setting.

Once it begins we'd all like to see and hear what you are spinning and how you are doing on meeting your goal. The idea is that by seeing other's spinning and sharing our ups and downs of trying to meet our goals we'll find support to keep us spinning through the heat of summer and by the end hopefully some of us will see a marked improvement in our spinning skills too!

If this sounds like something you would like to do, please send an e-mail to fiberfool at gmail dot com with the name you'd like listed in the sidebar as well as your blog address. You do not need a blog to participate. Though I would ask that if you have a blog that you post a teaser here and direct us to your blog for more info. Sign-ups will close on June 15th.

Let's get spinning this summer!