Two words.

Angora fiber.

Now that all of us that have ever been newcomers to spinning short and slippery staples have given a much deserved shudder.

I didn't expect working with something that had such a short and slippery staple to be easy.  I also didn't expect it to be so all-consuming.

Spinning this fiber took all of my attention and care to ensure that every short little piece wouldn't be ripped straight out of my hands again, and again, and again.  I found myself shutting out every single thing around me so that I wouldn't be muttering words I'm glad my mother couldn't hear leave my lips.  It felt like every moment I felt comfortable in the rhythm, I would abruptly find a poorly placed piece of fiber leaving my finger tips and anyone that had the misfortune of being around me would hear the umpteenth sigh and mumble session as I fished the end out and strung it back through all of the proper guides and holes.  

After hearing some tips and tricks of the trade for spinning short and slippery fiber, I attempted the strange magic that is spinning from "the fold", which is when one spins from the center of the fiber, as opposed to the ends, to create fewer floofs spitting out from every which direction and to keep the fiber feeding through smoothly.  

While it definitely lived up to the promise, it was difficult to consistently get the fiber to line up in such a way that spinning from the fold was possible.  I would be so focused on getting everything else going that often the fold just wouldn't happen until I noticed the calamity of spiky ends poking out from the sides of what I was working on.

Spinning two gallon sized bags of this was enough to make me want to pull out my own hair, as it has a much longer staple and might be a tad less stressful (at least in the short term).

Nevertheless, I persisted and managed to spin it all up, and despite the strained effort (that at times tested my patience) I managed to make the yarn look even and the softness that made me want to curl up and daydream was enough to let me forgive it.

Until, of course, my mother informed me that most people are sane enough to use a very thin silk thread of the same colour as a base for spinning things like angora to make it more manageable and give it a consistent strong core, then I definitely felt a tiny bit bitter.

The bitterness from a difficult project never lasts long though, because I'm always delighted that it's finished.  I'm excited for the possibilities of it, and I enjoy being able to tuck that knowledge away for the next time.

I mean really, how could you be mad when it turns out to be fluffy and delightful?

Plus even if there is a little bit of sideways glancing from me to the project, something about sitting down and writing to all of you about it makes it a little better because although I didn't know about things like the silk thread trick, at least we both do now.  That's a great part of what this is about, we can enjoy the projects but also laugh together when disaster ensues as I learn new things.  Thanks for this round of laughter with/at me.

Stay sweet, stay crafty, and stay tuned.

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