okay. here we are. some superwash wool that i used my wheel to do this to.
sigh.
now, i feel pretty sure that i will turn this into something good -- and useable. and the fact is that now it doesn't even look that bad. but that darned wheel. i don't seem to have any control -- or much -- over my foot. i can't seem to convince myself that i'm not biking uphill. it's the thrash guitar equivalent of spinning; it's easier to play fast, easier to spin fast.
i wanted a big, thick single to play with. i got it, in places. wetting and weighting the yarn redistributed some of the twist. but i know what i wish spinning on the wheel felt like, and i'm not there yet.
i get excited when i see some of the fancy handspuns you can buy online. they are always a treat to look at and very tempting, with their kooky fun names -- i can be swayed by such things, for sure -- and i have had fun with some of them. and when i have knitted with such yarns, they do look nice in garter stitch and in stockinette -- at least i've had good luck with the ones that have found their way to me. but sometimes i see a nice picture of a skein, and think: there is no WAY that will look okay when knitted.
and of course the artist who made it can't show you that -- then they'd use up half of the one-of-a-kind skein! which is only ever going to be enough to trim a hat or add a stripe here or there anyway. not that there's anything wrong with that.but i don't think it's what i want to do. i think i'll keep buying it here and there, and trading for it. but i don't think it's really what i want to make. then again, it looks awful fun to make. maybe it's not all i want to make.
this is the stuff i've got to keep in mind when trying to really pinpoint what it is i want out of spinning. the idea of buying pre-mixed fiber, pre-dyed batts -- that's like buying those cookies that you slice and which have the little holiday-related picture inside of them.
i will eat those in a pinch, and sometimes they are even what i'm looking for, but i do not gauge my prowess by baking them.
i'm not exactly sure what i'm trying to tell myself here. you'd think there would be something liberating in only wanting the prizes one is giving out oneself -- at least you'd think it would give you an inside track on what the judging panel wanted -- and sometimes even that's not the case.
o the humanity!