At The Wheel

People are often surprised when I tell them I don't find knitting to be relaxing. Maybe my idea of relaxing is different than theirs. Even before my work became my knitting, I never felt at ease during or after a few hours of knitting. Often, my mind races with ideas or the next thing I want to cast on. Even as I work away on miles of stockinette, I feel engaged and focused on each stitch. I find if my mind wanders, so does my knitting. "Oh!  How did that happen?" are the words most likely to come out of my mouth if I'm talking while knitting, drinking while knitting or watching tv while knitting. I can't even listen to an audiobook.

Spinning, however, is so meditative that you'll often find me falling asleep at the wheel. (Thankfully, it's not life threatening.) Something about the drafting motion, the spinning of the wheel, the treadling and the soft clacking sound of the flyer completely hypnotize me. Even though I find my spinning much more even if I'm not looking, I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the fiber.

While I haven't made too much time for it in the recent past, I'm going to try and spin for at least a few minutes every morning. I can't think of a better way to wake up.

Here is some 80 merino / 20 cashmere freshly washed and skeins.  It's definitely overplied... but I'm happy with it! We'll see how wonky it is when I knit it up.

80/20 Merino Cashmere from Crown Mountain Fibers