Around my birthday last year, I decided I was interested in yet another fiber hobby: spinning.
Much of the online advice I read suggested starting with drop spindles, then expanding to spinning on a wheel. So, it was time to dive in with a kit and some fiber immediately.
![an open box with a llama-shaped yarn gauge, a drop spindle, a manual, and several bundles of colorful wool](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52103351335_0bbe5c6885_c.jpg)
![the top of a wooden drop spindle with the image of a sheep, "Dicha" and ""All you knit is love" engraved](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52103089749_38ea61a614_c.jpg)
Figuring out drafting (even with a “park and draft” method) was a bit of a struggle. I produced only extra thick art yarn that was quite over-twisted
![pastel yellow / green / pink / blue art yarn wrapped around a wooden top whorl drop spindle](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52103089079_05f6344c9e_c.jpg)
I did make small improvements in consistency, but I wasn’t immediately taken by spinning on a drop spindle, especially the speed (though I do harbor a rosy fantasy where I master drop spinning while walking, and can take leisurely strolls around my neighborhood while spinning yarn).
![orange / brown / cream art yarn wrapped around a cardboard tube in a blue box with unspun fiber bundles visible](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52103350715_410bdf5934_b.jpg)
Of course, I had seen some advice that drop spindles didn’t “click” for some folks, and they had jumped directly to spinning on a wheel. I knew I wanted something semi-portable. I looked at the Schacht Ladybug, but at the time they were sold out everywhere. A bit more affordable, ubiquitous enough to have many repair parts available, and equally portable was the Ashford Traveller wheel (with some parts interchangeable with the Ashford Traditional wheel as well). I had found the wheel for me!
![not-yet-assembled components of an Ashford Traveller spinning wheel in unfinished wood spread out on a quilting mat on a table, after being treated with feeding wax](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52103349640_374b88c6c0_c.jpg)
![a fully assembled Ashford Traveller spinning wheel with 3 empty bobbins on the built-in lazy kate](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52103349425_d42ca8f607_c.jpg)
Surprise! A wheel didn’t magically make drafting easy to learn, haha! Throughout 2022, I had about 3 practice sessions, starting out being fairly discouraged.
![pale, undyed, thick art yarn on a spinning wheel](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52102839051_8be8b2b077_c.jpg)
Somehow, over the course of those 3 practice sessions… I actually improved more than I had originally thought.
![pale, undyed wool spun around 3 bobbins; showing progress from left to right, extremely thick art yarn, moderately thick and curly art yarn, and finally still slightly inconsistent and curly but thinner and overall more consistent yarn](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52397947621_73179413ff_c.jpg)
This January (2023) I decided to dive in again in earnest. The yarn singles I am making are still definitely “thick and thin”, but within a narrower range. I spun several bobbins on singles, plied it into 2-ply yarn, and washed and dried it. The resulting yarn is between DK and worsted weight. I have gotten pretty energized.
![grey, undyed wool (single ply) yarn wrapped around a red 3D printed niddy noddy](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52649886090_0303e083bc_c.jpg)
![grey, undyed wool (two ply) yarn wrapped around a red 3D printed niddy noddy (with a spinning wheel visible in the background)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52648947587_a82e9bbc8f_c.jpg)
In the future I would like to use yarn I’ve spun myself in some weaving and crochet projects. I could probably use what I have already created in some sort of project, but I haven’t figured out what that project would be, yet.
![7 bundles of grey 2-ply yarn (5 light grey, 2 a darker brown-grey) laid out on a grey bedspread](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52651684889_e6d1a6fcca_c.jpg)
![7 stubby miniature skeins of grey 2-ply yarn (5 light grey, 2 a darker brown-grey) laid out on a grey bedspread](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52651411606_4f1faa3d79_c.jpg)