Sorting, Storing, Saving, Selling, Surplus, Scarcity, Sufficiency, Surprise (Spinning!)

It's been hard slogging around here, but the great purge and reorganization of 2010 is well underway. Pride won't permit me to show you "before" photos, but I might start documenting some of the process here. A job of this magnitude feels lonely and overwhelming at times, and it's kind of nice to be able to write down a progress report, if only to feel like the effort is adding up to more than a drop in the proverbial bucket. In such a tiny space, there's a lot of shuffling required to make major changes, which means things look a hell of a lot worse for an awful long time before the new order begins to appear.

There are little islands of calm appearing now though, like glimpses of blue sky on a grey and dour day:

My 4 foot square "studio" is starting to take shape, the garden looks... garden-like (more on that another day), and three giant garbage bags of clothing have gone off to the Reuse-It Centre. Oh, how hard it was to stop hoarding the lovely things of three or four or six sizes ago, and trust that in the eventuality that I get that part of my life back in hand, I will have the resources to (re)acquire thinner clothes.

 
Like so many children whose parents grew up in the Depression and war years, I was thoroughly indoctrinated in the philosophy of scarcity: never release anything from your life, because There's No More Where That Came From And We Don't Have Enough As It Is.

There's a delicate balance between frugality and ungenerous fearfulness, and I am becoming acutely aware of the messages I send to my own children, especially now that we have chosen this lifestyle. It's a tough balance - a few moments of impulsive carelessness around the computer or skeining equipment could cause us serious financial hardship, but the constant refrain of "we can't afford" is starting to reflect back in ways I'm not sure are healthy. 

Here's a wee lesson of the positive sort, though. Look what appeared within a couple days of releasing all those clothes:

Apparently minimally used - a friend of the family found it at a garage sale up north for a fraction of its original value.... and then refused to take money for what he paid for it, insisting on bartering for handmade goods instead.

Learning to spin will be my reward for finishing the purge. I've held off on dyeing spinning fibre until now because it felt wrong to create a product I didn't know how to use - but that's going to change! Any suggestions for the best fibre to begin practicing on, books, resources, etc.? 

(PS - the stash sale will begin shortly - I had to create the space in which to bring it up from storage, first!)

Comments

[Jiva]

Once you spin alpaca you're not likely to want to spin anything else ever again. Smooth, soft good staple length and so smooshy!

[Tasha]

I liked both Start Spinning by Maggie Casey and Spin Control by Amy King for book. I just spun some blue-faced Leicester dyed by sweetgeorgia and it was stunning.

I am delurking to say the photos have been making my day lately.

[Erica]

Congratulations on the clean out, and the new wheel! Blue-Faced Leicester is my favorite fiber to spin...it has a pretty long staple, which makes it easy to work with, but it's also super soft. Your best bet is to get a little of a few things, and just experiment. Have fun!

[Elizabeth GM]

Wow, Ruth, what an amazing gift! It's really hard not to believe in karma when something like that happens.

[Rose]

Good for you! I hope I catch your purging "virus" cause I need to do the same around here. I've been hanging on to too much stuff and it's making my husband a little stressed, so this would be a gift to him as well as myself. Thanks for the inspiration and congrats on the wheel!

[Lab Cat]

BFL was the recommended beginning spinning fiber to me, and probably one of the commonest available. It is very easy to use. I haven't got a wheel yet but I am enjoying spinning with a drop spindle a lot.

Purging can be fun. I tidied up my study this summer; still going through some of the boxes. Throwing stuff away from a former life was very cathartic.

[Charity]

I know just what you mean about the difficulty in letting go - there is always the fear in the back of my mind that we might need that item one day, and won't be able to replace it.

I love your wheel - how exciting!!

[moiraeknittoo]

BFL is what everyone recommends, but I personally like a nice multi-purpose Romney. I also have fiber coming out of every possible storage area I can find. If you get a hankerin' to try something, drop me an email and I'll send you at least an ounce of stuff to try.

[randomCindy]

Trying again.

BFL and Corriedale. Romney is easy to spin too.

[naomi]

Corriedale is good, or shetland. I'd start with wool, though, whatever kind you can get most easily.

If you want videos, Abby Franquemont has some good ones on YouTube and a couple of more in-depth ones that are available from Interweave as either downloads or DVDs. I know Rexenne on YouTube has good carding videos, but I don't remember whether she's posted spinning ones.

[Deborah (aka Mt. Mom)]

Congratulations on the purge! I know what you mean when you say it can be lonely and seem paltry. The significance can sometimes be seen later, but seldom now. Take heart!

[Leonie]

I am also in the middle of a house purge in the search for two Birth Certificates. I have managed to remove a large amount of paper padding from the house so far and still no certificates. I hope your purge is going well.

[Ella]

BFL for me too. It was the first fibre I spun and still my favourite for a stress free spin!

[Jayme]

I recommend starting to spin with a great wool, not the cheap scratchy stuff some people say to start with. Try a BFL, CVW, or Rambouliet (sp) all are soft and luscious, easy to spin and won't fly away on you like an ultra soft Merino or such. When you get that working well I'd say get 2oz of anything you can find and try everything, various wools, silk, cashmere, angora, mohair, soy, tencel...and blends too. You'll find some you love and some you hate but you'll know what to expect from all of it in the future.

[Laritza]

Congratulations! you have a fine tool. Go to YouTube and watch videos to your heart's content. Then go to Etsy and buy a batt or two.