Afraid to spin?
May. 7th, 2009 01:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stitchy_stitchyI have a lovely fiber stash. Some silk, some painted braids from Yarn Hollow, a big ol' mess of Romney, some llama-wool mix, a couple other bags and balls of wool. I go through and pet it sometimes.
I'm afraid to spin any of it.
With some of it, it's because I'm not sure what to do with it; buying the fiber in 4-ounce braids is kind of limiting, and I think I've failed in stash management if all I do is turn a braid of fiber into a skein of yarn I have no use for. (Note to self: next time buy two or three in the same colorway? :) ) The immediate thing coming to mind is socks...but that leads into the next problem:
What if I screw it up? What makes a good sock yarn? What if I fail to achieve that goal? If I try to spin the llama-wool into a two-ply lace yarn and instead end up with cat barf, will I cry and pronounce myself a failure? Or if my handspun socks get holes in them and felt down to nothing the first time I wear them? The more I learn about spinning, and especially the more I learn about yarn construction, the more hesitant I become. For every "right" outcome, there's an infinite number of wrong ones...
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" is a good maxim to live by - but it's rough if you're inherently a coward.
I'm afraid to spin any of it.
With some of it, it's because I'm not sure what to do with it; buying the fiber in 4-ounce braids is kind of limiting, and I think I've failed in stash management if all I do is turn a braid of fiber into a skein of yarn I have no use for. (Note to self: next time buy two or three in the same colorway? :) ) The immediate thing coming to mind is socks...but that leads into the next problem:
What if I screw it up? What makes a good sock yarn? What if I fail to achieve that goal? If I try to spin the llama-wool into a two-ply lace yarn and instead end up with cat barf, will I cry and pronounce myself a failure? Or if my handspun socks get holes in them and felt down to nothing the first time I wear them? The more I learn about spinning, and especially the more I learn about yarn construction, the more hesitant I become. For every "right" outcome, there's an infinite number of wrong ones...
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" is a good maxim to live by - but it's rough if you're inherently a coward.
