Having Friends Who "Get You"

Presenting: My first handspun yarn!

Yes, yes... I AM wonderful. You may save your applause. It's making me blush.

I am very, very proud of myself for managing to make that yarn look as good as it does. It took me ages (it's only 50g of yarn), but darnit, it looks good. I was intending to ply it, but as soon as I finished spinning the lot, I wasn't sure if I could successfully divide it without losing the twist in it. I decided to set the twist as it was, and as soon as I had it all stretched out, I really liked the look of it as it was. I don't know if I'll knit it up into anything... I may just keep it as a trinket to remind myself that I am capable of making miracles.

It IS a miracle, isn't it? That someone probably found a bit of fleece that was shed on a shrub, picked it up, and stretched and twisted it just so... and made some string. And that person thought, "Hey, how about that? I wonder what would happen if I had more of that stuff?"

What's even more of a miracle is that that person decided to tell someone about what they'd discovered. And that the person they told cared. That person cared enough about it to either encourage that first spinner to try again, or maybe to learn from that person and try to make that technique better. And thus, my yarn habit was born.

It didn't have to happen. That first spinner could have kept the idea secret, for fear of being told that it wasn't a worthwhile thing. Or, that first spinner could have made a lot of string for him or herself, but then might not have known ideas for what to use that string for.

But that didn't happen. That's because they shared what they did with someone who "got it." And that's how good ideas become great.

Today, I brought my little skein of yarn into work and showed it to a few people, and was given lots of congratulations. That gives me so much happiness, to know that there are people around me to understand why I do what I do, and understand that it takes a lot of work and patience to take on the projects of my choosing. Validation is good, no matter how many people might tell you that it's not necessary.

In that same spirit, one of those folks (dkzack) was SO excited about my first handspun yarn that I thought she was going to explode! (She's like that... the exploding type...) She's one of my yarn buddies who is probably one of the most intuitive knitters I know. I admire her greatly for her ability to really see the finished object in her head, even when her materials are bits and pieces in a box! (We must chat about Awbi sometime...)

I had some bulky yarn in my stash with which I simply knew I wouldn't be making anything, and so I offered it to her, because I knew she'd make something fabulous with it. And, in return, she gave me some of her lighterweight yarn that she knew she wasn't going to make anything with (we're opposites like that).

Oooo... laceweight bamboo....

Oooo... Baby Lace Merino...

It's good to have a stash-swapping buddy!

In the meantime, I've started spinning some pencil roving from Wind Rose Fiber Studio (I just went to visit their shop and got stuck there for about 15 minutes!). It came with the spindle set I purchased a while back. So far, I'm really liking it. I've divided the roving in half, with the intention of balling each half separately after I spin it, so that I can ply them together. I'll have to see how that works.

I also have to say: I'm very, very grateful for those of you who read my blog regularly. I've always enjoyed writing, and it gives me great joy to be able to write about the things that inspire me and know that people are getting something out of my ramblings. Many, many thanks to you for taking the time to read these words, and who enjoy them enough to come back to see what else I have to say. It makes my day, truly.

It's great to have friends that "get you."