I loved drop spindling (I still do in fact!), but at one point I felt the need for speed... We became friends quickly, and now we'll celebrate our second anniversary in November. We started out spinning our way through fibre samples, and eventually came to the point where we dared tackle pretty braids like this one (Malabrigo Nube - Posión)...
... which we transformed into this yarn, that is still waiting to be knit up. This was the first time I intentionally used the method known as "fractal spinning".
Soon after I got my Kiwi I also felt the urge to dye fibre braids (and, to a slighlty lesser degree, yarns). So far, I've tried Easter egg dyes, Kool Aid and plant dyes. I have kettle dyed and hand painted both fibre braids and skeins of yarn, I have even tried ice dyeing. Oh, let me just show you the ice dyeing result, since I've spun that up already.
So this was the result of my first attempt at ice dyeing. I used several colours of KoolAid for this colourful braid.
I learned a lot from that experiment, and will have to try again with some improvements to the dyeing process, but well, not too bad for a first try. When the time came to make yarn, I decided that this spotty braid called for another session of fractal spinning, and I think this pretty skein proves me right:
That tiny skein in the front were the leftovers I quickly n-plied because I didn't want to waist a single yard...
I must admit that little Kiwi did not get quite the attention I would love to give him lately, due to the fact that there is now a rampaging toddler in the house, but I feel our time will come again soon. I can't wait to spin up the pretty braids that are waiting in my fibre stash. In the meanwhile, I have been using my spindles again more often - I love taking them out to the playground when I watch my girls play and / or sleep. I am almost garantueed to attract at least a couple of kids who are eager to find out what it is I am doing (some kind of witchcraft for sure...). I am always happy to educate them ;).
Oh, and I have even had a try at making my own spindles out of chopsticks and polymer clay.
And you know what? I used them to spin the finest yarn I've ever spun! I love them, and want to make more!
Oh well, that's it for today... little one will wake up soon.
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