Do you spin? If not, you might want to explore this fine art.
I love the magic of turning a pile of fluff into a long strand of fiber. And if it's colored fluff, all the better. I love to see how the
colors blend and twist. I like to play around with making thick-and-thin fiber or creating little bobbles in the yarn.
I can go weeks, even months, without spinning (not like crochet, where I feel "off" if a day passes without a hook in my hand). When the mood strikes, I sit
down at the wheel, pull out my fiber and spin. If it seems too thick, I
pull out the fiber a bit more. If it's too thin—well, it breaks, and I
start over. Like so many things, it gets better with practice.
Because I spin so infrequently, the yarn that I produce is precious. And I believe this is true of all spinners, no matter how much yarn they produce. When you make the yarn, working with it is really special; every stitch, you think, "I made this very yarn that I'm crocheting!" It's way up there on the awe meter.
When I'm looking for something special to do with my hand-spun yarn, I often turn to Spin-Off. The folks there are all about celebrating the many ways to create fiber and then turn it into loveliness using a range of media, including crochet. The most recent issue, for instance, includes the pattern for the crocheted scarflette at left (don't you love the rustic thick-and-thinness of the yarn?). And I almost always pick up a tip to make my yarn even better—or reassurance that my lumpiness is perfectly OK! Really, I learn something new with
every issue of Spin-Off.
Back before I even knew how to spin, I would pick up issues of Spin-Off pretty frequently. The photos of reader-submitted hand-spun yarn and the organic look of the finished products are really appealing. I didn't subscribe to Spin-Off, but I wish I had. Because it was certain that once I picked it up, it was going to the register with me. The only issues I'm missing are the ones that fell through the cracks between bookstore visits. If I'd had a subscription, I could have saved a little money—money I could spend on fiber, for instance. And I would have a more complete set of issues.
Pick up a copy for yourself. If you, like me, find yourself smitten, subscribe today so you can learn to create your own precious yarn.
Best,
