Cyber Fyber Monday

I Dreamt of Cotton...

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After being inspired by my previous video post of the woman spinning cotton in Ecuador, I decided to embark on my own cotton spinning adventure. I purchased some easy to spin 50% light brown cotton, 20% dark brown cotton and 20% Lyocell roving from The Village Spinning & Weaving Shop (http://www.villagespinweave.com/). Lyocell is a cellulose fiber made from bleached wood pulp. The roving is incredibly soft to the touch! The coloring is a gorgeous fawn with a hint of glimmer (must be the Lyocell). The staple length is probably over a ½ inch.

I pulled a section of the roving; I imagine it was no more than four inches long. I separated that piece into smaller sections. I didn’t bother to draft the sectioned fibers more. I felt that the sections would spin nicely without further assistance. I retrieved from my cabinet a poor, little, neglected spindle I purchased nearly ten years ago. This spindle is a handcrafted spindle with a glass blown whorl and metal shaft. It is a lovely spindle, but I hadn’t worked much with support spindles because the worsted, woolen yarns I created didn’t need a supported spindle. I bought it because it was different and cute!

I didn’t find spinning this fiber to be horrible at all. LOL! I’d heard stories of challenge and frustration! What was difficult for me was creating an even yarn. I laugh at the lumps and bumps in my yarn. And no, I won’t just tag it as “art yarn” :) I will cut myself some slack, after all it was the first time I’ve spun cotton! I really like the spongy softness of the fibers. I would like to ply this sample and test it out on a small project before trying to spin it on my spinning wheel. I can’t wait until I save up for a charka! But that is a story for another day…

Peace, Vegan Girl