Fledgling Spinner

I am a knitter, crocheter, and all-round collector and admirer of needlecraft. One day I made the mistake had a notion to go to an alpaca farm. See, living in Florida, the choices of fiber bearing animals are……small.

I had been curious about spinning since reading various fiber blogs and coming into a bit of combed top, which is now part of The Spun Stash. In blogs, the Yarn Harlot in particular had waxed rather sentimental about the virtues and history of homespun. I somehow got it in my head that if I could purchase or nab some fiber samples, I could learn to spin my own wool and make my knitting totally and utterly customizable.

Then there was an Interweave book sale where I scored two tomes for handspinning – Hands on Spinning and In Sheep’s Clothing – which pretty much sealed my fate. After a few failed attempts to make my own drop spindle according to the former titles instructions, I gave in to the idea that I would probably want a spinning wheel one day anyways. One wee work bonus later, and I had an unfinished Ashford Traditional on the way.

And that is the beginning of the Fledgling Spinner, Adept Crazy Idea machine.