Spin, Spin sugar

I am this close to buying a spinning wheel which means I could become an official, card-carrying spinster! I think the word needs to be reclaimed so that it looses all its negative connotations in any case. We went on a one day course which was taught by an amazing lady at the Handweaver's Studio who had years of wisdom to impart and an infinite capacity for patience to boot. My fellow Spinderellas Gail and Lucy give great accounts of the afternoon whereas I had promptly forgotten my camera. My head is still swimming from an overload of information and the anecdotes that Nancy shared with us. It feels as if I've turned a new corner in my little fiberous life.

I now have new found respect for handspun yarn because I appreciate how fine and difficult a craft it is. The whole process was so astoundingly magical or perhaps it was just the satisfaction of doing the twirly thing and watching things spin. But it got me thinking about wheels and circles and how it has been so integral to the advancement of humanity and become such a potent metaphor - think 'Revolutions', Shakespeare's 'wheel of fire', the 'circle of life'. How the phrase 'spinning a yarn' has come to mean the literal act of telling stories. All food for thought which means that I have been much more distracted these last few days. Will post photos of my roving and spindle when I get some proper shots of them this weekend.

On an entirely different note - the Yarngina has been nominated for the 'Most Unusual Project' on Ravelry! Very exciting indeed. It's up against some tough competition so please do send your votes this way if you can.

As long promised, You tube footage of the Yarngina can be found here & here. for you to see it in action. Some bits are a little untidy but I ran out of time and so had to do a hasty crochet job at the end... enjoy!