A few things that preserve sanity: a long deep massage, a peaceful lake tour in a canoe, a hot bubbly soak in a tub so big the water covers the boobs, hours at spinning guild with Amy from Spunky Eclectic teaching the class. Guess which one I did today? Yup, the guild class with Amy. I'm all peaceful and content. Until the next news cycle.
Class today was Spinning Stupendous Singles. While she discussed energized singles - those things we all spin before we ply - and how to use them, the focus today was low twist singles. I am now a fan. We started with dyed falkland wool, first spinning 
and even thin single, then played with a thick and thin version. Spinning the even single was such a relaxing delight! Fiber hand just kind of hung out loosely holding the falkland while drafting hand mindlessly fed wool into the wheel and my feet just quietly treadled in slow whispers. We used the same fiber for our first thick and thin but I loved the even thin experience so much, I only did a little thick and thin so I can spin enough even thin to knit a hat. It might be a toddler size hat but that's a grin worthy 
thought too. I need more practice with thick and thin single but I'm pleased with my first effort. We then worked with undyed falkland just to experience how differently dyed fiber behaves as compared to undyed. Undyed flows more freely, which makes sense since the dyeing process slightly compacts fibers. We played with a few more fibers - merino yak blend, wenslydale, 
coopworth roving - each required different handling to accommodate staple length and ease of twist. Merino yak blend is yummy but seems to gravitate toward thick and thin 
rather than even thin. I didn't care for the coopworth as a singles spin, and I need more practice with wenslydale. Mine was too lightly twisted and fell 
apart in several places. After a lunch break, we built on our basic skills, first using two natural colors to spin a marled single (loved it!), then spinning a little sparkly into our singles. My marled yarn needs a wash to tame it into useable yarn but it came out just like it's supposed to. I haven't finished the sparkly single yet so there is no photo. But I see all sorts of possibilities and play ahead.
Sound like fun you'd like to try out? Go ahead, click on the Spinning Stupendous Singles link . That takes you to Amy's Craftsy class.
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