Thursday, July 12, 2007

New arrival

Hello, just popped in to say... er, "hello"

My name is Beth, but I note that you have at least one Beth already, and so I shall remain plumbum just to save confusion. I live on a small Scottish island, off the north coast and up and to the right a bit (but stop before you get to Fair Isle). I don't originate from here and arrived only last September but I love it and don't intend to move ever again. I've settled in quickly and one of the things I have done since I got here is to learn to spin.

I'm really not very good at it yet. Here's my first (and only) three balls of yarn - it's Jacob, spun from a raw local fleece clipped in 2006.

Feel free to giggle.

I shall get better.

I hope.

*sob*

Let's not get maudlin..

I'll pull myself together soon...

OK. Where was I? Ah yes. We spin in a small group, in each other's houses, not at a weekend, but every Wednesday morning. There is coffee. And cake. Oh, there is cake. And much laughter.

I was shown how to spin on a friend's Ashford Joy. I immediately hunted down an eBay bargain and Hebbie, the Haldane Hebridean wheel, came to live with us. It has been a love/hate relationship. My partner took pity on me and a brand new Ashford Trad has joined my spinning stable. We assembled it just yesterday and I have every hope of making some rapid progress. (I don't have a name for the Trad yet and am open to all suggestions.)

In my defence, I should point out that, as soon as I got my first wheel, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism - a condition that led to tremors in my hands and legs and which have made it very difficult to learn to spin. The meds are now taking care of it and I am fast running out of excuses for my inept work. I have to admit that the secret now is actual practice, as opposed to pretending to be a spinner :-)

I was introduced to this group by Natalie, who has discovered my blog, and I would like to thank her for sending me this way.

I'll go read some posts now.

10 comments:

Manise said...

Welcome to the fold! I am new also. I love the colors of your newly spun yarn. Set aside a certain amount of time to spin evey day and you will see that it gets easier with time. I too have an Ashford Traditional wheel for now and have learned a lot on it. I look forward to seeing your progress :-)

Rhonna said...

Welcome aboard, Beth! I love the way the group is growing, and how so many folks are coming from so many different places!

cyndy said...

Hi Plumbum Beth!

I love your yarn! It is beautiful! First time yarn is special. It is great that your first yarn came from a Jacob Sheep in your area....

Probably Jane said...

Welcome, Beth - I'm a new spinner too - I love your yarn - it looks so full of life

Artis-Anne said...

Welcome Beth and your yarn is very special and I love the natural colours of the Jacob; I tend to spin mainly with fleece out of preference and because I seem to get rather a lot of it cheap around here in Wales LOL.
I too am a fairly new spinner having started last September. This is a great group with so many talented folks here and so supportive :)

plumbum said...

Thank you, all for your welcome.

Fiberjoy said...

I knew I'd enjoy your postings! Nice first yarn. Make something special.

plumbum said...

Thank you, Wanda.

The first balls of handspun are going to be a wall hanging. I'm desperately trying to finish that first piece of Jacob that was gifted to me - then I'll knit something freeform from all the results. There should be a fine mix of textures!

I have whitewashed bare stone walls in my living room and I think soft art will be ideal in there. I intend to have my own handspun gallery before too long.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's true--I never seem to meet any other Beths except in the knitting/spinning community. No worries, I always sign myself Beth S. for exactly this reason. ;-)

Can we see the Hebridean wheel? I have no idea what one of those looks like, but it sounds very exciting...

plumbum said...

Hello, other-Beth, very nice to meet you :-) I am Beth L.

You can meet Hebbie here