The Silent Auction Lesson

Silent Auctions-love them. Know one? E-mail me.
This time however, it was me doing the offering at the Strawberry Festival at my Quaker Meeting House- 'A Spinning Lesson Guaranteed-You will spin a hank of yarn.' My optimistic victim winning bidder, thankfully gave me lots of lead time to practice but how in the whirled was I actually going to send someone home with a presentable piece of handspun considering the hank my last optimistic victim did after an entire evening was thick and thin-as in THICK for about 2 yards and then really really thin .


The W.B. arrives, I have fiber spread over the entire livingroom. Raw greasy fleece, lbs. and lbs. of colored Merino and assorted other lovelies. I like to start people off with Corriedale, because it is so easy to handle. The W.B. loves the crimpy Cotswold fleece I paid a pretty penny for at MSWF last year. Not a beginner fiber but we roll in it for a bit.

Finally we begin. My plan- have her start on pencil roving. WOW- harder than I thought it would be and it doesn't look so good. I think top or batts might have been easier. Then a brain storm---throw in some gorgeous mixed stuff

I've been saving from MSWF and have her spin them togother. It will be fatter, easier, and possibily more satistifying. I pull off strips and lay them along side the pencil roving. Voila- The W.B. is delighted. It is easy to see the twist, the bobbin is filling up and most importantly-

it looks like very cool yarn. WOW- I wish my first handspun looked like this.