As you can see, this is not Pink Floyd’s Wall…it’s not the Wall of China...heck, it’s not even the Wall of Koigu. It’s just my humble little wall of handspun.
As I was thinning out some of the yarn that has been collecting dust on the wall, I tossed a few of them into a big bag to carry out to the barn.
Before I tied that bag up however, I pulled the skeins out one by one to take a closer look at them again…. and give them one last pet.
First in the bag was this purple yarn of unknown content. It was one of the first things I spun and probably one of my most balanced yarns.
Next out of the bag is some pretty Border Leicester/Mohair/Alpaca yarn made from Spinner Hill Batts. This is destined to be another one of my favorite vests. A bit thick and thin and lumpy in some spots, but it’s my favorite color, so that makes up for it, right?
Out came some random Romney skeins…..a bit scratchy, but such pretty colors….I am sure I can find something to do with them. I won’t mention that they have been sitting here for almost 5 years now…..shhhh.
Then there are the singles that I played with last year with some leftover hand dyed Merino that I had sitting around. Again….I have no clue what I will do with them, so they will go in the rubbermaid container in the big abyss I call "The Barn"…
And finally…..the last skein in the bag is my Peacock Angora, Silk roving. Hmmmm…..it’s so soft and so pretty, I don’t think it will be happy in "The Barn", do you? I think it’s earned it’s place on "The Wall", where I can stop and pet it every now and then until I can find something to do with it.
As I packed all of the skeins away, it got me to thinking about how I have progressed as a spinner. As a new spinner, I grabbed anything that resembled roving and whose colors spoke to me….without any rhyme or reason. I spun for the pure love of spinning and like many of you, I ended up with lots and lots of single skeins of yarn kicking around, but no real use for many of them.
These days however, I have tried to become more of a project spinner. Not wanting to swim in yarn that I am not sure if I will ever use, I now try to choose roving carefully….usually with a project in mind and a yarn weight that I try to obtain for that project.
At Spa, I had no intention of purchasing any roving, but I succombed to Chris’s incredibly beautiful bunny blend. Now you may ask…..don’t you have enough bunny? The answer would be yes of course I do….but oh, this was just too pretty to pass up … AND… I quickly decided that this could become Anne’s Obstacle scarf…..whew!
There are some days that I do still grab up something only because it is pretty, but I am trying to get better about project spinning, so the yarns get used instead of hiding in a container.
What do you do with all of your little bunches of handspun yarn?
The Woolen Rabbit 
Whew! I don’t look at your handspun and think “little bunches”!! Mine, dear, are little bunches. 10g here, 20g there – none more than 30g laying around with nothing in mind for them. I haven’t done much spinning at all without wanting to drop every other thing and knit with the yarn RIGHT AWAY because it’s such an awesome thing to do! I don’t let them age. heh And for the tiny bits that I do have around (10g, 20g) I put them all in a ziplock until I’m ready to use them as an embellishment on something else or a pair of baby booties, or hat, etc. My first several bits of homespun became a project bag that I use a LOT! 🙂
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I put ’em in a basket. That’s about it. :-p
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I still keep most of mine just laying around nearby to pet as I pass by.
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I attempt to sell it. If not, I end up finding something I wish to create. Instead of yarn laying around I have tons of roving and angora in bags and boxes, taking up space in two closets!! I try to get some time to spin but I don’t do a very good job at finding time for it. Too many other things to do.
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How do you go about ordering some of your spinner’s hand cream may I ask??
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Alas deep breath I have no homespun…but one of these days I want to remedy that.
Your collection is so beautiful and a credit to your talent!
Ruinwen
🙂
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I have officially just finished my first skein of undesignated yarn. I put it in with my stash, labeled, but I’m a bit sad not to have it on my own wall-o-handspun.
I’m getting a finished dye studio soon, so maybe I’ll start a spot like that. If you don’t have a current use for handspun, the least you can do is have a place to admire it!
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So far, they are in the bathroom, where they were washed, getting labeled as I go along, and pending plan. I imagine I’ll do some charity knitting. And husband knitting. And show and tell basketing.
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When I was only spindle spinning I ended up using the yarn (or giving it away). But with thte wheel I just call them practice skeins and have a big o’pile of them to look through and pet or get a laugh out of. As a new spinner I liked trying many different wools and blends to see what spoke to me and how they felt. Now I have an idea how to buy with a project in mind. Nice wall!
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I actually sold several Ziploc bags worth of onesies to someone making hand-made gift cards and wanted snips of yarn to decorate them with. Not a lot you can do with an ounce of DK – I was happy she could use them.
There is no such thing as too much bunny. EVER.
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But but but, why must they be banished to a bin in the barn????
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I’ve only begun to spin, so I don’t have much yarn laying around. What I do have though will be knitted into something soon, I hope. I have a plan, but it has only come after I’ve seen how the yarn turned out. One day I may buy roving with a project in mind, but for now I just buy it, spin it and then decide what to do with it.
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Its a lovely collection but surely yarn can be just that? Why as spinners don’t we see the yarn we’ve spun as the end product to enjoy as you have on your shelf?
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I knit shawls!
Or I put them in a drawer in the kitchen, where people who cook would have pots and pans.
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My first bits of homespun are in baggies, unfortunately. They’re twisty singles and not that pretty to look at, other than the colors. What I’m spinning now are fairly hefty skeins that would look great (I think) hanging from a board like yours in our bedroom. We need something on the walls. I’m sure DH won’t mind!
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Hi Kim!
I am no knitter (sorry) but I wanted to write you and let you know how Sam is…….our adorable boy Cavalier we got from you just over eight years ago! Can you believe? well, we love him to pieces and he is the absolute sweetest dog you could ever hope to have (we are not prejudiced at all)…..well just ask our vets at Countryside…….they all go crazy for Sam when he comes in….don’t care who we are or our other two cavaliers, everything is SAM! I will call you sometime soon to talk……just wanted to thank you again for our boy who has brought such happiness into our lives!
Maureen
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What an amazing collection! I love handspun and collect it as well. I have it stored right now in air locked bags in my closet. My hope is to have my very own craft and knitting room someday where I can display my yarn. Almost like my very own knitting store where I can retreat to pet, touch, pick from:) Sometimes though, it never makes it to the closet –I find a project to use it up right away:)
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You have some beautiful handspun, don’t put it in the barn. I have some handspun and plan on making hats and skinny scarves. I also plan on checking out the one skein books.
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Gee, I wish my house had such a nice wall…
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I knit samples of the different knit stitches I’d like to try.
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I’ve become more of a project spinner for the same reason. I put it in a basket/bin in the yarn room and wait for inspiration.
I hope going to the barn does not mean “out of sight out of mind”!
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