Years ago, when I still had the yarn shop, the lovely Kristine Vejar taught me how to spin on a drop spindle. Mesmerized by the process and Kristine’s splendid teaching technique, a seed was planted that finally germinated in February 2011 when I obtained a spinning wheel from A Verb For Keeping Warm, Kristine’s amazing shop in Oakland, CA. The subsequent year found my life taking a chaotic turn and as a result the spinning languished. Recently I’ve regained my enthusiasm and have been (literally) spinning every day. Once I mastered the short forward draw technique I practiced and practiced until I was able to successfully spin 3-ply and 4-ply sock yarns!
For your viewing pleasure, here we have my first success, a 3-ply sock yarn (light fingering weight) made with a combination of merino top from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks (colorway: Mary’s) and a solid colored merino/tussah silk top from Opulent Fibers.
My First ‘Real’ Sock Yarn
Close Up of My First Sock Yarn
I purchased the Opulent Fibers solid top from their booth at Stitches West 2012 – they had an AMAZING booth with almost every color one could imagine of dyed top. I obtained the Chasing Rainbows merino top from the Carolina Homespun booth, also at Stitches West 2012 (also an amazing booth).
The Stranded Knitter 
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! Can’t wait to see what you do with it!