Since we moved to New York, I’ve knit a jeweled shell from a luxurious kid mohair/silk blend, a sweater from some recycled yarn (previously a very ugly sweater, bought at Value World for under $4) and have made a few random scarves and things. I also made Everett another nice alpaca hat, this time double-stranded for added warmth, which is really needed on a cold windy day like today.
The fiber scene here is a bit different from southeast Michigan, where there are more people with greater disposable income and therefore more fiber fun available. The one LYS I’ve visited in Syracuse is nice enough, but small and limited to yarns only, no spinning supply. I don’t have terribly high hopes for the other yarn store, which calls itself a “quiltery” and sells yarn on the side. Fortunately, Elann.com and Etsy.com can supply lots of yarn and spinning fibers, though shipping charges apply. I’m sure there are other resources I just haven’t yet found, but it turns out to be no big deal that there isn’t much in the way of yarn stores.
That’s partly because I’ve started spinning my own yarn. I’ve been using a Kundert drop spindle to make homespun yarn; the spindle itself is a work of art, with inlaid wood on the whorl.
I find the activity of spinning very relaxing, and I’m looking forward to knitting up the homespun. The net effect, of course, is that it takes me longer to make projects, especially since school is ever more demanding. At the moment, I’m spinning some deliciously soft merino from Christmas, and knitting a pair of socks from run-of-the-mill self-patterning yarn.
