Much-needed impetus

Yesterday Kim called to ask a favor. One of the teachers at the middle school is teaching her class about spinning and weaving and asked Kim if the school library had a video she could show to her class. Kim told her she thought she could even better than that, and called me to ask if I'd like to take my wheel in and do a demonstration for the class.

Yes! I'd love to show the children my spinning wheel and my hand-spindle, and spin some yarn for them. It's been months since I've touched my spinning, and I'm long overdue to get back to it, especially since next month is the long-awaited trip to Rheinbeck, NY for the NY Sheep & Wool Festival. Months ago Penny and I talked about how great it was going to be to buy fiber for spinning - new fiber (because we already have fiber for spinning, but it's old now), exotic fiber, maybe even a smelly fleece to take from its raw state and process it ourselves. I really need to use up more of the wool I already have so that I'll have room in my fiber bin for new stuff!

For several months - since March, I think - I've had two bobbins full of spun yarn needing to be plied. I only have three bobbins. Because I'd like to spin yarn for the children's class, I knew I should go ahead and ply that yarn. So that's what I did yesterday afternoon.

Then I wrapped it on the niddy-noddy where I'll leave it to show the class.

I pulled out some gorgeous soft merino in a magnificent red colorway (Pam gave it to me) to start spinning. Hopefully I'll have a few days to practice spinning it before I have anyone watch me at it. It's a very slick and quick fiber and wants to pull out of my hands and onto the bobbin before it's spun enough. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's a rich fiery red with blue and yellow for excitement.