Getting Back Into Spinning

It's been a while since I've posted but can you believe it, I'm actually spinning!

I only get to spin late at night, when the baby is fast asleep (I nurse him to sleep so this means I'm often stuck in bed and sometimes I fall asleep myself) but at least I get to spin, right?  The other night, I over-dyed some merino that came out in pukey turquise and red (those colors totally do NOT go together) and although the colors came out great, I ended up felting the fiber a bit.

So I decided to create some roving balls on my hackle and came up with these beauties.  I did spin some up and they spun up so elegantly - the colors are just so intense!

 

 A few weeks ago I participated in a fiber swap with some members of the Fricke group on Rav and I received such an amazing box in the mail.  I received batts of bfl and yak fiber which I spun up into singles and started to ply only to encounter a plying problem - I can't seem to get my wheel to spin counter-clockwise!  Guess that goes to show how long it's been since I've spun, eh?

So I started plying my yarn on a spindle and don't you know it?  I had to pick the smallest drop spindle I had and now I'm stuck with a full drop spindle and only half of the bobbins plied!  I'll probably end up starting a new bobbin of plied yarn on the wheel and hope for the best.

My wheel woes have led me to start looking around for another wheel though.  And though I've had my share of amazing wheels, only to sell it for this reason or that reason, I'm hoping to find THE ultimate wheel and I've got my eyes set on a Lendrum.  Don't get me wrong - I love my Fricke and it is a workhorse but I need to get a double treadle this time.  I do have a to wait though because since I'm mainly a SAHM these days, there is a strict budget to follow.

Speaking of baby, he's now 4 months old!  We had a photo session with my brother today and after an afternoon of cooing and laughing and just getting Lucas to smile, we came up with these pics:

I've got lots of plans for 2010 and though caring for my little prince takes precedence over all, there's a few things up my sleeve in the fiber department.  Stay tuned!