Spun for Spinzilla

Spinzilla is in the bag for the year. I started a day late. I spun along to podcasts, tv shows, and video games. On Saturday, I finished my third and last single. The final day, Sunday, I finished plying. Ended with 929 yards worth of singles which I turned into 310 yards of chain plied yarn. Not a bad haul of knit worthy yarn for any week.  

Spinzilla was pretty fun and I enjoyed the competition. I didn’t go all out and spin in every free moment. If I wanted to read or play video games, that’s just what I did. My wrists and ankles are thanking me for it. So what if I didn’t get to spin that happy little bump of color I got from Gwen Erin? I hit my only goal of spinning up the rest of my stashed Perendale wool.

Thanks to the push from Spinzilla, I’ve reached a turning point in my spinning. Before last week, I had only spun small quantities of fiber at a time, 4 oz max. Spinning more than that on a spindle just seemed like a giant time suck that I’d get bored of halfway through and never finish. Didn’t think I could spin a consistent yarn over numerous skeins either. Well, my spindles sat out last week and I worked exclusively on my Sidekick. I spun three separate but matched skeins of yarn which I’ve never done before. Now I feel like I can spin yarn for blankets and sweaters and large projects without getting quitting halfway through. I’m even looking forward to it!

A week and a half later, I’m glad I signed up to compete at the last minute. It was fun even though I didn’t join a team. Can’t wait to try again and beat my yardage in next year’s Spinzilla.

Wander the Web 13

Spinzilla is already half over and I’m still spinning along. I’m over halfway through 6 oz of Perendale which smells delightfully wooly. Hope it’s all spun up by Sunday! During the moments I haven’t been producing yardage, I found some interesting links. Got to give my wrists a break some time. Good luck, fellow Spinzillians! 

Observing Earth: Satellite Photos from European Space Agency

Handknit Socks in Space!

Interview with knitting extraordinaire Leethal AKA Lee Meredith 

Learn a little about Foula Sheep

An emergency home built in 5 hours to last 15 years 

The Yarndale Bunting - Over 6,200 crochet triangles from 31 different countries decorated the Yarndale Wool Festival. The before and after photos are wonderful. (via KnittyBlog)

Starting Spinzilla

Welcome to the week of Spinzilla, a competition where the goal is to spin as many yards as possible. Competitors either spin yarn as part of a team or go rogue, like I did, and spin yarn for themselves. Since this is the first year, there are bragging rights, prizes and yarn on the line. 

I decided to join at the last minute thanks to the recent arrival of my new wheel, despite having only 3 bobbins. Spinning time officially kicked off on Monday but I have haven’t spun a single yard yet and I’m feeling just a lot behind. The reason I haven’t started is my last skein of yarn. Sunday morning, the yarn was plied and ready to come off the bobbin when I decided I hated the uneven barber pole it had spun into. Sometimes the colors matched up and sometimes they didn’t. I thought I could live with it during the plying but changed my mind the next day. So, the finicky process of taking apart a plied yarn began and took far longer than expected. The good news is that my bobbins are finally free for Spinzilla. 

My plan and goals for the next 6 days are simple. I’ll be spinning singles from the 6 remaining ounces of Perendale left over from the first skein I spun on the wheel just 2 weeks ago. To empty my 3 bobbins and measure yardage in the most efficient way possible, I’ll be chain plying the singles since I don’t have an easy way to storage or measure them. If, by some feat of speed, I still time left, I’ll dig into the rest of my stash. 

Who else is competing in Spinzilla? Are you on a team or going rogue? Good luck and speedy spinning!