Sampler

When my kids were young, I occasionally practiced scales on tthe piano I'd bought for their lessons. Maybe it's because I'm really poor at reading music and can't easily play from sheet music but I enjoyed the mental and physical excercise of those repititions. In art classes taught by the sort of teacher who begins by encouraging the students to express themselves without giving instruction, I am not only lost and but also quite annoyed. I need the foundations of the "how-tos" , the technique particular to a craft/art and the "why" or theory of it.

This is my typical long prelude to explain why I've been enjoying spinning up small sampler bits of fiber. I've even spun little tiny bits that came with spindles and saved them. Fiber samplers help me learn the ways of different fibers and how to use tools. Luckily, I don't just dither on little bits: I'm also working on a big spinning project...or five.

What will I do with all these little skeins? It'll be fun to think about it until it's perfectly clear. Someone at North Country Spinners made a stunning baby afghan in non-pastels from the rich colors of the natural dyeing we did. There are lots and lots of uses.

Fiber, from left to right. Most were spun in the summer and fall of 2005
1. English Longwool Leicester, hand combed, worsted spun
2. Brecknock Hill Cheviot, hand carded, woolen spun
3. Polypay, woolen spun from rolags
4. Border Leicester, English combed (prepared at SOAR 10/04)
5. California Red, slubby and pretty awful. Woolen spun
6. Cotswold locks, flicked, worsted spun
7. California Red, spindle spun and plied. Slubby and not good
8. MerinoxJacob, machine carded on my Louet, (over-carded?) woolen spun
9. Wensleydale, spindled at demonstrations. Very rough
10. Ashford corriedale samples. I'll spin the tiniest amount
11. Chinese camel
12. Mystery fiber which seems to have some kind of silk
13. Lambspun, mostly wool with a tiny bit of silk. Tiny skein.