On My Spindle: February 2011

So this is what is on my spirited spindle today...

For February and March 2011, cotton is the fiber to spin! Actually, cotton is what I intend to spin most anyway, but for these two months I have something specific in mind.

Being my father's daughter, when I wanted to learn to spin I went out and collected books and blogs on the topic and read and read and read. I knew I wanted to spin cotton, but those who came before me warned that spinning cotton could be trickier for a beginner. I took their advice to heart and started spinning the longer-stapled wool at first. And I was in heaven. Spinning merino top, sometimes with a little silk, in a variety of beautiful colors. I got to play with color and textures while I was learning, and that made the learning that much more enjoyable.

But cotton ... I love cotton. Cotton is soft and light and inexpensive. People who won't wear wool will wear cotton. Cotton is beautiful. And while not colorless, it does tend to come in all shades of natural ... but a girl's gotta have some color!

So I'm going to dye. Literally. I'm going to dye lots and lots of cotton, and my cellulose dyeing class is scheduled for early April, so I'm spinning and spinning and spinning ... so that I can have some yarns to dye once I learn. I'll also be dyeing yet-to-be-spun cotton, but I want to try my hand at both, and so I bought 24oz of cotton to spin between now and my dye class (I aim high!).

I usually like to learn from a book, but after having read plenty on the subject of dyeing, I've decided that this one time I'd like to learn from someone who has made all the mistakes I don't want to have to make in order to become proficient...