One of my self-determined spinning goals for this month was to try core spinning. Jenny Jo had told me about her core spinning class, I'd been seeing lots of cool art yarn on Ravelry, and I was curious. Youtube sure is great when curiosity strikes (we'll talk about the tatting rabbithole I fell down another time). I watched a series of videos by JazzTurtle Creations, and they seemed plenty straightforward. I grabbed for some deep spinning stash, some Jacob roving I'm guessing came from Meridian Jacobs, from the time I went to the farm to see their baby sheep.
I'm not entirely sure this was the best fiber for the job, but I made yarn!
My spinning wheel (a Majacraft Little Gem) is definitely fit for spinning superbulky things like this. It's part of the reason I bought my particular wheel-- "you could spin Barbie doll heads into your yarn with this delta orifice," I'd always say when telling folks about my wheel-- and it was about time I actually tested its limits a bit. Mostly I just had to be unafraid of cranking up the tension and taking the spinning very slowly. Verdict? It was fun! I wanted to practice some more! As it turned out, I got to mess around with my friend Cleo's drum carder the other day, and here's where the odd inspiration comes in.
If you are a woman, you may have been told by a certain type of evangelical woman that you are in all likelihood wearing the wrong size bra. I had heard this and ignored it for years. I don't have the dreaded boob muffin top! The middle part of my bras rest on my chest! However, my bras were really on their last legs, so I decided I might as well give it a go at a shop that specializes in fittings. And indeed, like many women find out, I had been wearing a too-large band and a too-small cup. I bought an arsenal of new underthings, but I let one get away. Moreover, the woman at the store, who told me she's now my personal lady-in-waiting, also told me this bra was a "fashion item" and it won't be available forever. It makes sense that bras have seasonal lines like regular fashion does; it had just never occurred to me that that was the case. I just blew my underwear budget for the foreseeable future, so I may just have to let that one go to the universe. But it's a pink bra with orange flowers!
It was right after the bra fitting experience (note: not for the modest, that experience!) that I got to play with the drum carder. What came out? A batt I like to call "fashion item."
I also made this other one, with the idea it was an outer space/starry night kind of thing.
Then I made more yarn!
These little things have just 10-12 yards each, and they are very bulky, so I'm not sure what they're good for. This really is the sticking point with art yarn. I don't want to sound unkind, but most finished objects don't particularly jive with my aesthetic sense, even if the yarn totally does. Who out there has seen beautiful art yarn projects they can point me to for more inspiration?
Hooray for corespinning! However, I agree with you that it is tough to use. On Ravelry I was all, "I don't know what to do with corespun!" and somebody was all, "well, I made these fingerless mitts," and I'm all, "no comment." Here's the best thing I've ever seen made from it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78056409@N00/2166612056/ But, you know, it's art, not really for wearin'.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Can you weave something with it? I imagine that if you wove it tightly, you might get enough fabric to make a small clutch-like purse-thingy (can you tell I don't know the name of the thing I'm trying to describe?)
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