Monday 5 March 2012

Another First


At the weekend I finished knitting this triangular shawl. It is my first completed project having spun the yarn on a drop spindle.
I have been drop spindling on and off for years but have never attempted, let alone completed, a project before.
Inspired by my friend Martina, also a member of Bedfordshire Guild Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, who carries her drop spindle almost everywhere and uses her spinning wheel rarely, I decided that I must complete something.
I began last autumn. I dyed 200g of wool tops with acid dyes and began to spin with the beautiful drop spindle bought at Fibre East last summer. Well, you can't spend over £30 on such a tool and just admire its beauty! It's so much more satisfying to make use of it.
The skeins above are the result. I was a little frustrated by the weight of plied yarn I could get on my spindle but next time I will follow Martina's advice and use a larger spindle on which to ply the singles.
The pattern is a free one from Ravelry 'Azzu's Shawl' published by Emma Fassio. Thank you Emma. I increased the number of rows, and therefore the width of the shawl, to use as much of my yarn as possible