First handspun

В прошлую субботу я ходила на 2 часовое занятие по прядению шерсти. Прясть я училась на веретене, не русском (по стилю) а с крючком сверху - очень удобно. До этого я где то неделю мучила ютюб по поводу прядения и не могла понять почему у меня пряжа распадается. Оказывается на ютюбе не рассказали что надо делать с пряжей после прядения - и в этом все дело. А ее надо просто помыть и высушить =))) А еще мне понравился класс из за того что у меня была возможность попрясть разные волокна - я спряла мериносика, корридейл, яка, шетланд и даже шелковый платочек. Просто супер. Моя наставница дала мне домой шерсти попробовать и среди нее был кусок нестиранной шерсти прям с овцы, весь такой жирный в ланолине, так его кот украл у меня и так я его и не нашла. А еще я купила 2 веретена =)

Last Saturday I've been to a spinning class where I've learned to spin on a drop spindle. It was quite fun and I learned some little tricks that I was not able to learn from YouTube video tutorials. At the end of the session my instructor gave me a little bag with miscellaneous fiber samples so I could try them out and I 've spun them. Here they are:

That left hank is yak plied with merino - very soft with quite a natural look about it color wise. Love it.
Beside it is a sample of Aurelia Topknot which is a mix of three tops - Merino, Corriedale and Halfbred. It spins up quite nicely and great for a beginner to feel the difference between those three tops. I am pretty much able to tell now which is which, although they are not marked colorwise. Next little beauty used to be a single hand painted silk hankie. Lovely! So vibrant, so strong and has a such a gorgeous sheen - I think I am gonna use it to crochet some piece of jewelry.
Next is a little yak skein - the same one I plied with merino to make the first hank.
And on your right is 2-ply Shetland, which is the what I've been spinning in class. It's a bit rough for my taste, but it is one of the easiest spins and great training fibre.
There was another little piece of rainbow colored pencil roving which I have already spun and turned into freeform lariat. (will show it sometime after) and yet another piece of unwashed fleece, which....hm...my cat liked a lot and stole it from me (still can't find it)

I also got two top whorl drop spindles made by Louet. They are priced very nicely for beginners.I do realize they are not pieces of art you can see in spindle isle of the yarn shops, but are quite good for beginners and are very simple. I did not find them polished enough however, so I polished them a bit more with a 4-step nail file block (I thought it is quite a cheap but effective way).

Now the are perfectly fine for my taste!