pictures of the pretty spindle

Picture time! Below is my drop spindle with a leader on it.

Here it is being spun around.

And here it is with yarn on it!


And this is a small skein of single-ply yarn that I've spun.

My first attempts were pretty messy, and while I still get bits that are too thick or too thin, or not twisted enough in places, overall, the yarn is starting to look more consistent. The fiber is a superwash Blue-Faced Leicester that I bought at the LYS. I liked the pretty colours. It's also nice and soft and I was told it was a good fiber to start with. I've actually spun about enough now to try knitting this hat. As it was written for handspun, I figure it might work decently well.

And, as I must do with many items, I have given my spindle a name (our old car was named Eleanor, my mandolin is named Jason, I've got a teacup called Hester--yes, it's silly, but I like naming things). So this spindle is called "Tara." After the character on Buffy. Yes, I'm a Buffy geek, and Tara is one of my favourite characters in the show. I was always so annoyed that they killed her off. And I've been watching episodes of the show while spinning. It seemed fitting. Plus, she seemed like the only character on the show who might spin her own yarn.