Part Two: How it all works (according to me)

my husband and I met up with some friends this weekend and they has asked about spinzilla and wanted to know how it all works.  I had briefly explained how it all works and figured that since I was likely to start from nothing on this journey it might be helpful to know how this all works.

Step one: Sheep.  if you want to spin yarn, you will need to source some fiber.  but, where does it come from?  the easy answer is from sheep. 

however, living in a non-spinning centered (or sheep herd centric) city, I choose to purchase prepared fiber.  I used to have a shop near by to purchase fiber from, now I order from an online vendor.

the possibility also exists to find locks from sheep to prepare and then spin. like these.


Step two: Prepare your fiber.

I have several methods to choose from.  I own a pair of carders and a pair of combs.  I will either card or comb my fiber until it is the way I want to spin and then I'll spin.  I don't have a photo of my combs.  I use my carders way more often and like the result.



Step three: Spin singles, then ply.  depending on your preferred method of spinning you can spin on a spindle or on your wheel.  they will both do the job of spinning and then plying singles.  as I explained to our friends, the method is easy, but to get a good product takes practice and patience.




Step four: Finish yarn and knit.  one of the best parts of spinning aside from relaxing as the fiber changes from fluffy stuff to singles and then from singles to yarn  is finding a project to knit.  for me, the satisfaction is beyond anything I can describe.  having a finished knit that I created from step one to wear makes me immensely proud of my accomplishment.

how will this turn out using a mystery bag of fluff?  I'm not sure, but I will make my best effort to create a beautiful skein of finished yarn.  I think it will become a special treasure.

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