For me, making yarn includes falling in love with the yarn I’ve made. One problem with selling my yarn: I don’t get to keep the yarn! And today I let go of yarn in less than 24 hours. So I’m definitely in love with taking photos. If nothing else, I have my photos and memories of the work I’ve done.

First, the White/Pink order was completed:

135 yards, and the first skeins with my new tags

I created some new printed tags to label my work (yards, ounces, grams, wraps per inch, fiber type, dye type) and included my various craft website links. However, since one order could include more than one skein, I also make some smaller “skein 1 of 3, 2 of 3…” type of flags. I really like the presentation of the finished yarn: I feel so darn professional. But I suppose after spinning (and teaching and conducting demos) for more than 15 years, it is only natural to actually *feel* like a professional now that my yarn is selling for actual dollars!

Next up, this dollmaker needed some Brown with Pink:

Browns and Pink, Wool and Alpaca

This yarn was started just after midnight, finished around 3 am, and picked up / paid for before 3 pm. Wowsers. I definitely need to collect some warm and natural browns for my stash. Her next brown yarns should avoid black and/or grey fibers, and many brown fibers in my stash lean towards the grey.

Spinning for a specific tassel belt has been wrapped up:

Bulky wool from the Dread Viscountess Seelie, photographed in the setting sun

The multi-colored bulky yarn will be paired with the bulky blue indigo yarn I made earlier. But I adored the fiber so much, I couldn’t just use it all up for tassels. I decided I need some “me time” spinning: Ultra thin, personal yarn.

The same multi-colored wool, now spun ultra-thin on my very first spindle ever!

I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the office yesterday. I’d grabbed a smaller spindle on the way out the door, without looking at it. Turns out I accidentally found my VERY FIRST spindle. I hadn’t seen it in ages, and I think I’d even loaned it out once (and it wasn’t returned for several years). I’d forgotten how much I loved that spindle, and have really been relaxing into the tactile memory of the wood. When I first learned to spin, it was as if a Bell had sounded throughout the Heavens and a voice announced, “Hi, I’m Spinning, and I will be Your Addiction For Life. Go dig coins from your car to find enough money to purchase This Very Spindle, RIGHT NOW.” And obediently, I did. I dug money out of the car and scraped together just enough to go home with a permanent addiction.

Letting go of the brown and pink yarn in under 24 hours is easier, since I still have my first spindle sitting here beside me–full of promise and many miles of yarn to come.

Additional photos here: http://www.cayswann.com/v/Projects/2011/crafty_projects/?g2_page=3