…and so it begins

After being temporarily intimidated by the enormous fluffball of fiber I purchased for the SPAKAL, I started spinning it this weekend.  I spun a small amount of singles to make a sample 3-ply yarn, and then I divided the remaining giant mass into (roughly) 1-ounce nests.  I have 28 nests plus about .65 oz extra.  I spun the .65 oz today.  Here you can see four nests, the .65 oz singles resting on a storage bobbin, and the sample 3-ply yarn:

The idea is to spin about an ounce at a sitting (1 nest), and then to transfer those singles from the wood bobbin to a storage bobbin.  The wood bobbins that go with my wheel are expensive (~$35 each) so there’s no way I’m storing singles for a big project on those.  I purchased 3 10-bobbin bags of these plastic bobbins.  They are intended for weavers (they go in shuttles) but will work well here.  They will slide right onto my kate when it’s time to ply. The plan is to spin all the singles before doing any more plying.  Plying everything at once should result in more consistent yarn.  Also, randomizing the storage bobbins should result in more consistent yarn.  In other words, I won’t ply the first 3 bobbins into one yarn - I might ply bobbin #1, #9, and #18. 

This fiber is roving, not top.  Since I spun top most recently, this takes a bit of getting used to.  I’ll get the hang of it, though.  I’m looking forward to the process of becoming a better spinner through completing this project!