The Start of a New Hobby: Handspinning

I never feel as great a sense of accomplishment as I do when I learn and master a new skill. In the past handful of years, that's meant gardening (and its various sub-skills), faux (and real) calligraphy, and quilting, among others forgotten...Recently, I've picked up a new one...

Handspinning! Who knows where we'll end up with this one...

My first skeins are pretty gnarly. I call it "art yarn". Spinners tend to hold onto their first skeins, so they can see how far they've come. Day 2 and my handspun is already looking slightly more consistent, a lot less twisty, and breaks more rarely. Now I just have to remember to keep my hands far enough apart.

KnitPicks' Kelley's Wheel Spinning Class is a decent high-level overview. Follow that up with Jillian Eve's 'How to Spin Yarn on a Spinning Wheel the First Time is a more in-depth approach to the specifics of spinning. (JillianEve has a whole selection of introductory spinning videos that are worth a browse for the beginniner). I also like to watch a couple other [lower production value] videos for beginner handspinning, just to watch some other approaches and pick-up different tips. This video from ExpressionFiberArts, a video from Ashley Martineau, and TheTextileIndy's video are a decent start for that.

Reading through the spinning wheel manual is particularly helpful for figuring out which parts need oil (most metal-on-metal parts - not the brake band!), as are videos specific to your spinning wheel showing how to set it up for spinning.

Craftsy also has a collection of spinning classes that are pretty decent - a foundation for beginners, specific classes on plying, drafting, working with color, among other topics. I also suspect that The School of Sweet Georgia Online Handspinning Classes and Abby's Yarns' Franquemont University are pretty good, but I haven't [yet] tried them. But the real gem of a resource is the Sheepspot Podcast and the handspinners' social media membership site, Sheepspot's The Flock.