first handspun

Hi there!

So, I've been inseparable from my spinning wheel since getting it a few days ago, and I've made my first handspun yarn!

Here's the yarn in a hank-- this is how it's shaped when it comes out of being washed.  I dunked it in very hot water, then very cold water, which keeps the yarn from untwisting, and then I wrapped it in a towel and did what's called "thwacking the yarn."  It's exactly what it sounds like-- you take the wrapped up yarn and hit stuff (counters, tables, doorframes) with it to fluff up the fibers.  My neighbors must think I'm an absolute lunatic.

Two little skeins!  Yay!  The closer one is 50 yards, and the further one is 74 yards.

Cocoa investigated the yarn and seemed okay with it, which is more than I can say about his relationship with the spinning wheel.  Whenever I use it, he sprints by it as fast as he can, then sits on the stairs shooting me a look of horror and dismay through the railing.  

These two skeins are a combined 4 oz. of wool-- I have another 4 oz. of it, and I'm spinning it much more thinly, and I'l be plying it with 4 oz. of the softest gray alpaca and wool blend.  Mmmm!

♥