You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

My love affair with yarn has been passionate and consistent for about 28 years.... I've reached for yarn to celebrate, to grieve, to pass the time. It can be soothing, fun, invigorating, exciting, embarrassing and difficult. Watching a complicated pattern emerge as a result of my efforts has always proven intensely gratifying. I mean, its not sex or pizza, but it's close and I can't imagine a day without it. But lately I've been feeling like some of the pizzazz; the sizzle has left our relationship.

Don't get me wrong yarn is great and it hasn't changed; it's all on me. I guess I was just looking for a deeper connection, but you don't leave a stable relationship like this one easily. I mean, what's out there? Paint? Wood? Clay? Sure those are all great and I can't lie, I've been tempted a time or two, but they just aren't a great fit. Besides, I just think of all the years I've put in with yarn, all the knots I've untangled, the cuddles we've shared. I resigned to myself to contentment and accepted that as you grow it's natural to settle into a rut, er, I mean rhythm . And then...

On a (forced) family outing to my local yarn shop, I saw a woman seated at a spinning wheel. MAKING. YARN. What?!!?!? Sure I knew, peripherally, that yarn had been made that way in "the olden days" but to see it in front of me, that was an eye opener. Even my husband and kid were agog. We stared; probably longer than was polite. After all, this is the digital age and we've firmly embraced it at Casa de Kinked & Twisted. We whispered that she might be a wizard. (Ok, I whispered it; my husband chuckled and my kid rolled his eyes.) In that moment my love affair with yarn was rekindled.

I learned to spin on a basic top whorl drop spindle, upgraded to a beautiful and perfectly weighted Golding (http://www.goldingfibertools.com/) drop spindle and then an awesome friend who works with metal built me a kick spindle of his design.

Isn't it a beaut? He let me pick the color! It weighs just under 7 pounds and spins endlessly and effortlessly. I've made lace weight to bulky weight; singles and 4-ply. It's ideal for travel. I can really kick out the yarn!

The exciting, never boring yarn. I'm in love all over again!