Saturday, August 29, 2009

Birth of a yarn!



I thought this yarn would go fairly quick! Boy, was I wrong! I started off by spinning 2 full bobbins of black Romney wool that I had washed and carded. Next, I realized that I did not have enough beads for all the yarn I had spun so I mixed in some gold glass beads and set out to string on approximately 1200 beads! After spending about 2-3 hours stringing beads on I started the long process of spacing them out on approximately 350 yards of yarn!
There is incredible wisdom in the saying " measure twice, cut once". For spacing beads it would go something like " measure twice, space beads once"! You can probably see where I am going with this... I thought about 6 inch spacing would be good, that is until I got half way through and I was about to run out of beads! So back to the beginning to re-space the beads a foot apart!!

Finally after what seemed like forever I got the beads spaced out and set out to ply the 2 singles together! They seemed a little off, but I just couldn't figure out why! At the end of plying a full bobbin, I finally figured out what the problem was! The single with the beads had lost some of it's twist and I decided the only right way to fix it was to separate the 2 and re-ply the one with beads! My hubby and I spent about 45 minutes undoing the yarn! He is absolutely the best hubby in the world! I redid the beaded single and then plied the 2 singles together again and happily I am done with the yarn! I was a bit surprised that I never started to actually hate the yarn and I have to say it actually came out really nice and fluffy! And Yes! I am starting another beaded yarn! I think it is one of those things that if you don't give up in the middle of what seems like a nearly impossible task, you get to the end and maybe are a little bit better off and maybe a bit wiser for pushing through!

I realize in writing this, how things that we struggle and labor for can become mundane and common to us! Things such as our children, that we have joyed over after giving birth, when they sit there and say mom,mom,mom 20 times when we are tired or a house that we built and were overjoyed with, but now it's been lived in awhile and it's become just where we live! Ihope and pray that we will not loose the joy of the things we have struggled for no matter what they are!

9 comments:

Autumn said...

Great post,Monica! So the message is.....persevere!!!! Good for you!!!
The yarn looks just wonderful!!!!

Stephanie Suzanne Designs said...

Monica,

What a yarn adventure! I'm so glad that you told the story of how this yarn came to be. A lot of folks look in wonder but have no clue as to the time that is involved in spinning and finishing yarn....after all, so many of us go into the yarn shop and pick up a skein off the shelf and that's as far as the thought goes.

I think more and more knitters, crocheters and weavers are turning to independent artist and especially to be able to say that it's "made in the USA" WITH LOVE!!

I, too agree that we must not lose the joy for the things that we have labored so hard for...let them always be extraordinary in our lives.

Thanks so much for the affirmation and thanks for visiting me. :0) I always love to read your sweet words.

Love & Light,
Steph

monica said...

Autumn, Yes, I would say perseverance is the message!

Steph, It was quite an adventure making this yarn!

I am glad you both like it! Thank you for the compliments!

KKJD1 said...

Love this post! Yes we do lose our joy dont we? I pray that each of us will rekindle that joy by first putting Christ at the top of that list! Blessings,Karen

Beedeebabee said...

Hi Monica! I always get so excited when I see someone new following me, so I popped on over, and I love your blog, and I'm also following you. :o) Your yarns are beautiful, and those butterfly cupcakes looked so absolutely yummy! Have a great weekend! Hugs, Paulette

Carol............. said...

The yarn looks great. What a fun idea with the beads.. can't wait to see your craft in person again...pictures a nice but "feeling" the yarn's even better! LOL

monica said...

Karen, I am glad you like the post! It started out just about yarn, but then kind of gained a life of it's own!

Paulette, Thank you for stopping by! I love your pins!! I have done a bit of felting, but with piles of fiber sitting around and home schooling I don't dare get too involved in more!

Carol, The black Romney yarn is so soft and squishy! I can't wait till you are back in town!!

Ruth said...

I love the yarn. What a beautiful message in this post. Things become too familiar to us and we forget to be thankful for them.

Ruth

BALLET NEWS said...

Such a great post, thank you Monica