Why spin?
You guys must be in the holiday shopping spirit! All the sock yarns are gone already. Phew. I’m off to dye some more this weekend… and then attempt to clean the house for the holidays at home. It has been so crazy busy these past few days with both work and shop stuff that I’ve decided not to go to the guild social tonight — plus, I’d have to bake something which means I’d have to leave work early… Bah. I’m going to go home and watch the Chrismakkuh episode of The O.C. instead. Michelle, want to join me?
But here’s the real content today:
This is some of my most recent spinning. It’s 100g of handpainted Blue Face Leicester spun up into a two-ply about sportweight. I was so good and precise with this one, splitting the roving into perfect 50g piles, keeping the orientation correct so that when plied, I could maintain the colour blocks. Orange and orangey-red are definitely not my colours but I can’t stop looking at or touching this yarn. Can you tell I’m attached to it?
So, I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit since returning from San Francisco. While shopping at Carolina Homespun, I happened upon a beautiful, gleaming stack of old Spin Off magazines. Of course, I bought one of each issue. In one of the old issues from 1994, there was an article entitled “Why spin?” and profiled several handspinners who specifically did not sell their handspun. One of the spinners even likened selling handspun to prostitution. That’s a pretty heavy duty statement, wouldn’t you say? Well, it left a big impression on me.
Of course, here I am critiquing an article that’s over ten years old, but I think it would have given a more representative picture if the writer had profiled spinners that sell and don’t sell their work. Balance — it’s a good thing.
It (kind of) offended me because I just started selling some of my own handspun a few months ago. Even Paula Simmons in her “Handspinners Guide to Selling” mentions that if you are going to sell your handspun, you should start before you are a fast spinner. And I just recently received a comment from kitkatknit reminding me that it’s only been a year since the first day that I saw someone spinning, ever! But it got me turning this over in my head — why do I spin and why do I sell my handspun?
A couple months ago, I was commiserating with fellow designer, Paula of Black Olive, about how I left a career in pharmacy to do something more creative — something like run my own graphic design studio. Funny how a “creative” career is not so creative on a day-to-day basis. A lot of it is administrating, managing, maintaining… and not creating.
For me, I don’t spin to necessarily make wearable items (Hell, I have enough clothes already!), for relaxation (although it is relaxing), or even for the tactile pleasure of feeling the fibres twist together (although it’s a very nice feeling!). For me, spinning and dyeing gives me the immediate and tactile sensation of designing and creating something. Pushing and pulling colours and textures around until they are just so… making creative decisions about how and what to colour… how thick, thin, smooth, coarse, soft… these are the kinds things that pushed me into design in the first place.
Sometimes, I think I was rescued by spinning.
In 2003, I attended the HOW Design Conference in New Orleans (which was beautiful and amazing) and sat in on a lecture by David Baker (his job is to teach design principals how to manage their studios). He plainly stated, “Your job is not to pick the projects that you find interesting or creative. Your job is to pick the projects that are profitable.” That’s tough love for a girl like me. But, of course, it’s good and sage advice. Then he said, “If you need a creative outlet, find yourself a hobby.” (Hmmm…. mental note…)
Then a couple months ago I started to feel trapped by the whole commercial yarn and pattern industry. Every time a new Rowan/Phildar/Rebecca/IK mag came out, I’d think “OMG, I have to knit that”. Really? What it really meant was that I had to shell out $100 per pattern per magazine for yarn every couple months. And why? To look like everybody else? Gee, I can do that by shopping at Banana Republic for much less effort (not a dig, I love the BR). Call me a rebel, but I think I’d like to create something beautiful, timeless and unique with my time and energy.
Why do I sell my handspun? Because it’s a fire hazard if I leave it around the house? To subsidize my increasingly expensive hobby? To collaborate with a knitter in the creation of something unique? All of the above? Or maybe it’s so that I can become a better spinner. Constant practice. Somewhere I read that it takes roughly seven years, working eight hours a day, to become a master at what you do. I’m working on it.
How about you? Why do you spin? Do you sell your handspun and if you don’t, are you offended by people who do? I hadn’t intended this to be a new meme or anything, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Tags: Paula Simmons
First off, I am so impressed with your latest yarn!!!!! I just started spinning a month ago when my Grandma gave me her wheel. I do it because I like to create. I love to dye the wool and card and spin and make something totally original. I like it because I get bored with all the yarn I see in the stores. I enjoy spinning beacuase I feel it is less expensive then purchasing name brand yarns . Would I ever sell my homespun? Well, if it looked like your stuff, HECK YEAH!!!!!
i always enjoy reading the philosophical thoughts of knitting/spinning (in this case) by knitters alike. i think it is generous of you to share your creations with us. i don’t spin so i have little to share, but i do often wonder why knitting is so attractive to me.
I myself am not a spinner or dyer, for that matter. But prostitution? How backwards. I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t sell your handspun, especially when it is as gorgeous as yours.
I enjoy purchasing and knitting handspun in some ways more than other beautiful yarn because it is more unique and was made with care. That being said I am not yet among those lucky few that have enjoyed your creations! It sells so fast! I consider selling handspun simply to be like selling any creative product, like a handbag, a painting, or a novel. No different. Keep it up!
So far, I haven’t sold any handspun. I learned to drop-spin years ago so I could do it at living history demos, and my friends and I have always used everything we’ve spun too quickly to get around to seeling it. I’ve been wheel spinning on and off for a year, and I’m certainly not opposed to selling handspun if I ever work up a surplus. I’ve been selling handcrafts for years and it’s never felt like prostitution–it feels like a good way to support my yarn and fabric addictions.
Prostitution, puh-leeze. I suppose one should never work… for money! I mean, how gauche! Pbththt.
I sell my ’spun b/c I don’t knit much. If I were a knitter or weaver with “mad skillz” or interest, I’d probably keep all of it for me and mine. The market audience for my yarns is considerably smaller than the usual “handspun” market (I don’t produce bulky, overspun, irregular-grist, space-dyed Merino yarns b/c there are enough people who do that already - plus I don’t make yarns that I wouldn’t want to use myself), and I spin for my pleasure exclusively, no skin off my nose if the yarn doesn’t sell.
I can’t resist asking - why do you feel compelled to justify your hobbies? Isn’t it enough that you enjoy it?
I don’t spin, but would like to someday. However, I found your discussion very interesting, and it made me regret, yet again, how judgemental people can be sometimes. Why do people have to set up such absolutes about things. It is o.k. for some people to spin just to spin and for others to spin and sell their finished products. I can’t figure out why so many people in this world think they have “the answer” and try to push it off on others. I congratulate you for doing something you love and being able to share it with others while making a small profit. I feel pretty confident that you aren’t making a killing in profits!
Even if you were, what of it? By the way, I can’t take my eyes of your latest homespun either.
I definitely do NOT sell my handspun. And only because nobody would pay good money for what I’m spinning.
Yours on the other hand is beautiful. I have no problem with spinners selling their yarn. And I can completely understand the reasons behind your decision- not that you need to justify it.
Spinning for me is another hobby that I can dabble in. I love it because it’s creative and relaxing and different.
Nice post.
I spin because I’m of the “If it can be done I’M going to do it” variety. I love it and I am so proud of every last inch of handspun yarn I’ve ever produced. I’m even more proud to create a final product with handspun yarn. There’s just something romantic about having done most of it yourself. And like you said, it’s an incredible opportunity to play with color and texture.
I don’t sell my handspun, and don’t think I ever will because I’m pretty personally attached to it. I do give it as gifts to people that I know will love and appreciate it. I’ve been spinning for 4 years now and that attitude has been pretty constant. Maybe it’ll change someday?!
And, I hear you about the non-creative side of business. My husband and I run a photography studio (he’s full time, I have a day job) and the guy only spends maybe 25% of his time working with images. It’s really worth it though, isn’t it?
How timely is this post? I just brought my first batch of handspun to my LYS for sale on consignment. I decided to sell it because it accumulates so much faster than I can ever use it, because it’s fun to play with colors, and why not? I don’t intend to get rich doing it, and if I can cover the cost of the fleece I bought (and had processed) then I’ll be a happy girl. Your spinning is stunning, and I’m now feeling that mine isn’t nearly as good…wondering why I got that crazy idea to sell it anyway.
I have been spinning for 30 some years. I sell some handspun, I give some away, I have been given handspun. Now that I think about it - it reminds me of gardening. I share plants, cuttings and sell some, buy some, give some away, am given some - a nice circle - a connection with fellow addicts.
an old stack of spin off? just another reason why i have to make a trip to carolina homespun.
i haven’t sold any handspun - i’ve barely started spinning and really am hoarding my basket of handspun. but i have definitely thought about it in the past and the thing that appeals to me the most is the idea of other people creating beautiful thing s out of something i made. that kind of connection is incredible. i used to handbind books, as a hobby, and i remember one friend bought a book from me to give to her best friend as a wedding gift. i was so touched and in awe that something i made would take on that kind of significance. very cool.
so, i imagine i’d feel that same with any yarn i would sell - say it was made into a baby’s first booties or a wedding shawl or whatever. that’s pretty awesome, and definitely a goal of mine at some point.
eek, wrote a lot
Selling your handspun allows the creative process of spinning to continue.. once its sold, the slate is clean to start again, experiment. Its like the relathionship between artists and their artwork.. sure you get attached to it, but its done, sell it, send it off into the world, start again, keep creating.
I am not a spinner, but I knit and dye for similar reasons to what you mentioned above. Its a creative outlet. I work in a creative job, but in corporate america; someone else always has the final say. I share your feelings about the yarn/pattern industry too. For what I spend on yarn, maybe I should go back to shopping at BR and just knit to create unique items..
Excellent post.
I’m not a spinner quite yet but after seeing all the wonderful spinning being done online and the yarns that are handdyed by creative people like you, I’m seriously considering taking it up too! Like you, I am surprised now that I could’ve just been creating my own yarn and colours for knitted items instead of buying what’s out there and always searching for that deal and not quite finding colours I want. Inspiring post!
I had the same art teacher in high school for all my honors art classes. (this was way way back. He’d probably get reprimanded for using the word now) He told us that “creating” art can be like prostitution if you are doing it only for the money, aren’t comfortable with what you are doing even though it’s something you like when you do it for yourself, and if the “client” or style/culture of the day is dictating the end product or result.
Felicia, I see your spinning and then selling as a true love for what you are doing, not dictated by the masses, but offering beauty to those that appreciate it. It is not going to be found, viewed or purchased by anyone that doesn’t have an eye for the beauty of it. I don’t buy (so far!!!) but like I do with other art and medium, study your art and learn from it. Like I’ve told you before, your photography is what lured me to your website and I am, inspired by the quality of it, taking my time and relearning my craft.
What a great post! As you know, I spin and also sell my handspun and you really got me thinking about why I do it. At first, I convinced myself it was cheaper this way but really, that is not the case because now I have more exacting standards for yarn and buy finer fibers. Now I realize it’s another way for me to express my creative being who is constantly squashed by the 9-5 job. I love the feeling of fiber and the relaxing quality of spinning - and I can’t watch TV unless I’m doing omething else or I feel like I am being too lazy so spinning is perfect.
And I also agree with another poster on “if it can be done then I am going to do it”!
BTW - fabulous spinning!
Hi, I only spin since 2 or 3 months, but I really enjoy it!! I knew I would since I’ve seen other spinners work and I bought a wheel that please me a lot. I already knit and I wanted to do more creative things, also commercial yarns are a little boring. I like the idea to mix colors and texture and to go deeper in the creation. I have no problem with selling objects. It is much beeter than to store them and geeting rid of it in a wrong way, it is good to share! I don’t really know finally, why I spin. I thing I need a creative activity, with hands and colors, and that it feets me very well. It’s like painting or sculpting. Also, it seems to be a very natural activity, with organic material. The precise thing is perhaps a certain relation with time. I have now a new project involving much orange and red wool. This time I am going to try mixing orange corriedale and red merino, to see what happens!!
Hi, I only spin since 2 or 3 months, but I really enjoy it!! I knew I would since I’ve seen other spinners work and I bought a wheel that please me a lot. I already knit and I wanted to do more creative things, also commercial yarns are a little boring. I like the idea to mix colors and texture and to go deeper in the creation. I have no problem with selling objects. It is much beeter than to store them and geeting rid of it in a wrong way, it is good to share! I don’t really know finally, why I spin. I thing I need a creative activity, with hands and colors, and that it feets me very well. It’s like painting or sculpting. Also, it seems to be a very natural activity, with organic material. The precise thing is perhaps a certain relation with time. I have now a new project involving much orange and red wool. This time I am going to try mixing orange corriedale and red merino, to see what happens!!
Hi, I only spin since 2 or 3 months, but I really enjoy it!! I knew I would since I’ve seen other spinners work and I bought a wheel that please me a lot. I already knit and I wanted to do more creative things, also commercial yarns are a little boring. I like the idea to mix colors and texture and to go deeper in the creation. I have no problem with selling objects. It is much beeter than to store them and geeting rid of it in a wrong way, it is good to share! I don’t really know finally, why I spin. I thing I need a creative activity, with hands and colors, and that it feets me very well. It’s like painting or sculpting. Also, it seems to be a very natural activity, with organic material. The precise thing is perhaps a certain relation with time. I have now a new project involving much orange and red wool. This time I am going to try mixing orange corriedale and red merino, to see what happens!!
Felicia, thanks for that most provocative post. I’m not sure I really understand why one would call selling your own handspun yarn prostitution - there is simply no logical analogy to be drawn there. Your handspun/hand-dyed creations are beautiful and deserve to be shared. That’s justification enough there for selling them; sales allow you to continue providing knitters with more of the lovely creations that they admire. I think one of the greatest achievements we can accomplish on this earth is to leave behind a thing of beauty. If that’s what drives people who love to knit/dye/spin/design to do so, then that’s to be applauded and respected. Wishing you all the best.
Okay, where do I start? Great post, and um, yeah . . . “Prostitution?” Sheesh. Not if you’re making it from love of the craft and sharing it with the world. Better than letting the beautiful stuff sit in the corner and molder. I suppose there could be some disapproval of the selling thing if you were asking exhorbitant amounts of money, but as with any craft, any art form, any production of any kind–some people can’t make it themselves and want to buy. I couldn’t paint a landscape to save my life, so what’s wrong in buying somebody’s beautiful, hand-painted picture rather than going to the poster shop in the mall? Same with handspun–if you can’t spin yourself, that shouldn’t mean you’re forever denied the chance to see, touch, feel, use handspun.
And, no, I haven’t sold any of my handspun, for a couple reasons. The beginnings weren’t that pretty (actually, I blogged photos last night of my early attempts at spinning, just a year ago). I’m also not the fastest spinner–as much as I enjoy it, it’s down the list of pasttimes, under reading, knitting, and spending time with Chappy, so while I have a respectable amount at home, there’s not a lot of it, and I want to knit some of it myself! Nor have I bought anybody else’s handspun (since I CAN make my own, after all!).
I’ve given some away as gifts, though, to let it free into the world. But if I had far more than I needed and didn’t have anybody else to gift it to? Sure, I’d consider selling it. Because, here’s the other thing–if people are willing to put cash down for an item, they’ll appreciate it more than if they’re given it for nothing. It’s human nature . . . oh, right, though . . . I forgot . . . that DOES make it prostitution, doesn’t it?????? (grin)
(Actually, that’s an interesting thought–love can’t be bought and is cheapened by being paid for . . . freely given is better, and I suppose that does apply for Art, too. Who wouldn’t love Money or Van Gogh actually GIVING you a painting they painted themselves just for you? But people have to eat, and while you can’t buy love, you can pay for the privilege of having extraordinary beauty in your home . . . Okay, enough theorizing!)
I am a new spinner, and I spin for creative output - my job is a technical one, with no tangible product, it requires creativity, but not in the artistic sense. I spin and knit, for the sense of accomplishment I get, the “I made this with my own two hands” feeling. I would also happlily sell my handspun, were anyone willing to purchase it, and I can’t really fathom how someone could liken it to prostitution.
You sell your handspun to support your creative interest(s). Best, Therese
Lovely blog, I;ve really enjoyed reading it. Your yarns are just too gorgeous! I found your musings very interesting, too. I spin a bit, not very well, and not well enough to sell it, but I don’t see any difference between selling your handspun yarn and selling anything else you have made. Yes, it;s a very personal, creative act, but then so is making anything! I love dyeing even more than spinning, and loved reading about your dyeing adventures. I have only spun on a wheel up till now but have a spindle coming in the post to play with over Christmas, and reading your blog and other spinning ones has definitely inspired me!!
When I first started spinning and I actually got something passable off the wheel, I tried to sell it. And then nobody bought it and I worried worried worried that nobody liked it and it was horrible and it made the spinning seem a lot less fun. It would be nice to be able to recoup the money I spend on the fiber, but I’ve realized that it’s not as much fun if I’m trying to make a profit. Sometimes my close knitting friends ask to buy some, and that’s awesome, but I mostly give it as gifts.
Wonderful post - thanks for sharing your thoughts. As I knit more I realize that I can be easily influenced by what others are knitting and that doesn’t always work for me in the long run. I’m trying to pick patterns that truly draw me in and allow me to learn and grow with my craft (or hobby or whatever). Spinning interests me because of the history of it - the heritage and the learning of something people have done for generations. You spin wonderful things and I would love to someday make something out of your handspun. Thanks for sharing.
beautiful post. Well thought out and well put. I would consider selling my handspun definately! I am new at it and when I get better at it I may! I enjoy giving it away as well as gifts to people who I know appreciate it. Your spinning is gorgeous. I love this latest creation. Keep it up!
I love spinning, but I’m not such a fast knitter. I love experimenting with color, but there’s only a small range I really like to wear. I love knitting with handspun. I sell some of mine and I buy that of others.
One of my favorite things about making this a business is that it has allowed me to experiment more and not feel guilty; I buy new tools and try new things and justify it as a business expense because I’m expanding my knowledge of the craft and increasing the value of my business. The thing I don’t like about making this a business is that it does involve spending a lot of time learning about and working on stuff that doesn’t have much to do with “what I really do,” things like web design, site maintenance and security, small business tax, laws, and licensing. Because I want to sell things at really good prices, my margins are very small, and I worry that I’ll have spent a lot of time and effort on a business that doesn’t make any money after all the bills are paid. But it’s new, a learning process, and I’m spinning, and dyeing, and playing with fibers, so I am not too worried.
I too am unsure of a link with prostitution. I can only assume that this woman had a very different relationship with spinning than I do.
Oh, do I sell my handspun? Yes! I made a page for it but maybe I should go onto etsy…. I sell my handspun through my local guild. I’ve now sold $100 of it! That money then feeds the fibre fetish
Why do I spin? Cos I love playing with colour. Texture too but colour is my thing. I spin up more little bits of yarn (say 100 yards) than I know what to do with. I love the colour flow and experimenting with ideas even though I don’t make really fancy yarns or anything. I like dyeing stuff too. I just love creating it - it floats my boat, so to speak. It doesn’t have to be perfect and shouldn’t be perfect IMO cos if I want perfection I can go to the yarn shop and buy perfect yarn. I like it being a little inconsistent - it still knits up just fine!
What a thoughtful post.
As a freelance art director, I find that my time is divided equally between creative and management. I have an accountant friend who helps me with billing, but I do all the face time with clients. It’s been draining and I’ve found myself 1) raising my rate, 2) increasing my rush percentage, and 3) saying no to smaller engagements. It’s true what David Baker said; it’s still a business.
Prostitution is such a harsh word for selling handspun; I mean, there are craft bazaars, aren’t there, and people make things for that. Handspun yarn isn’t any different from anything else being sold in a bazaar.
I wish I could knit everything I saw in the magazines that I liked, but being the slow knitter that I am, I’ve become really picky about what I choose to knit. More often, I find myself putting post-its on magazines and then coming back to them 3 months later and wondering if I’m still attracted to a particular knit. But more and more, I’ve found that I’m leaning towards designing my own, not knitting someone else’s.
Hey, your homespun yarn is very pretty. I would think ti selfish to keep it all to yourself!
So I guess that makes me a “John”! Tee hee. I think that everyone has a different relationship with the creative things that they produce, and that ultimately it comes down to how you feel. I love designing patterns and watching people all over the world (literally - the internet is so cool!) use them, but I wouldn’t want to knit and then sell sweaters. I also hold back on giving out certain special patterns, like Moxie’s wedding sweater.
Your handspun and hand-painted yarns will leave you, but then they will return in the form of posts of wonderful projects, and to me that is a worthwhile endeavor. Plus any proceeds that you make can be re-invested into more creative works, and that is a great cause. I, for one, am glad that you’ve taken up “whoring”.
By the way, this was a great post. I love reading things that are a little thought-provoking.
Another design studio owner here… I’ve been encouraged to sell the results of my hobbies, but after flirting with it for a couple of years, I’ve decided to stop for purely self-protective reasons. It sucked a lot of the joy out of the hobby for me. I tend toward workaholism, and putting a price tag on things turned a fun pastime into another job. In addition, the (admittedly underdeveloped) business side of my brain didn’t like the comparison between design hourly rate and hobby-business hourly rate… There may be a way to make it work some day in the future, but for now, my stuff is just for fun.
It sounds like you’ve found a good balance. The urge to create is a strong one, and it’s getting hard to find ways to give all this stuff away! Selling it is a totally valid option.
I’ve been spinning for a couple of months and enjoy the process and feel of it. Organic making, creating. I’ve been knitting for a long time, had never used handspuns, and now still have the wonder and awe of actually making yarn. And having so much control and say into how that yarn turns out (compared to commercial).
I would sell my yarns, maybe one day. As a new spinner I mostly spin to try things out, experiment, play, explore. I don’t have plans for the yarns I make so right now they are finished objects in their own right. In the future I can see spinning for knitting (ie, planning a project), but I would still play and explore, and rather than have all that yarn sitting around not being used, I would sell or gift it.
Sometimes, one’s involvement in the creative process is in the dyeing, or the spinning, or the knitting. Sometimes one, two or all parts (we won’t go into the parts that come before). But if, for a particular fiber or dyed roving, your part is complete when it’s spun, it makes sense to move the yarn along to someone who will be invested in the next leg of its journey.
I think that likening the selling of handspun to prostitution is overstating it. If the spinning gives you pleasure and you have no qualms about letting it go, then do it. Not everyone wants to spin for themselves, but the enjoyment of handspun should be soemthing that everyone can have.
I’m still too attached to my own handspun to do more than give away an occasional skein.
I don’t spin a lot. I’ve got a drop spindle, and I do enjoy it, but it’s too time-consuming at this stage with that equipment for me to justify doing much of it (cuts in on the knitting time). I do find it mesmerizing, though, and I’d love to have a wheel, some day.
As for selling your hand-spun. I don’t see where the problem is. I suppose some would be so attached to their creations that it would be like selling off their children, but I say share the love. Some people love the look and feel of hand-spun but could never imagine sitting and spinning it all up. I don’t see why they can’t have a bit of all that lovely fiber if you love the process of making it so much that you’ve got tons lying around. There’s no point in hoarding it, if you could never get around to actually knitting all the stuff you spin.
Plus, there’s always the issue of loving to dye with a wide variety of colors. Not all colors are going to look great on you, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t like to see the beauty of them put together in the yarn. Somebody will look good in them, so you might as well sell them.
Amen, sister. I think it’s reather ridiculous to be so critial about what people do with their craft. My day to day business is admin and sales. It’s not the most fun job, but it’s for a product I believe in and a cause I love (knitting). THough I love to create and design patterns, it’s not what I get to do all the time. In some ways, designing patterns is like an added bonus, a hobby that helps my business’ growth. But I think statements like the ones you mentioned are weird, no? It’s like that post I wrote about “bandwagon knitters”, like who cares why you do it, let’s just knit!
I just started spinning and I think I do it because I find it fun and fulfilling. I love seeing something new transform before my eyes. I don’t sell my “yarn”, but if I thought I was good enough I might. I have nothing against those who do sell handspun. I don’t see how it’s any different than selling a knit sweater you design or a skirt you sew from fabric or anything else creative. Prostitution? That’s taking things a bit far.
Awesome yarn - it looks wonderfully even and balanced. And I’m partial to the color too.
I love to spin because of the nearly instant creative gratification where as knitting is more of a time commitment. Also I can spin while watching TV, because of muscle memory and it is less brain taxing than knitting. I have not sold any of my handspun, in fact I havent even knitted any of it up. I might someday, when I get to a point where I’m satisfied with being able to turn out a consistant product.
Hi, I have been reading your blog for a while and am always rushing off, never having time to post a comment! Did you pick which drumcarder to get?? I am having trouble choosing one as well, I have a whole stack of Alpaca and mohair sitting there waiting for me to decide Precious-Stuff PS: Your yarn is georgeous
I love reading about your spinning, plus seeing pics! Of course you must sell your handspun, as our stashes may be duller without the option.
It is great to not be a slave to the large corporations.
your spinning is gorgeous.. and the yarn so delicious that I could just eat it up.. Great creative work..
your spinning is gorgeous.. and the yarn so delicious that I could just eat it up.. Great creative work..
Well! I can’t add anything new and original to all these posts. I don’t spin but I’ve always wanted to have sheep and do the whole “sheep to shawl” thing and who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to. Just wanted to tell you I enjoyed this post and reading your perspective very much. Leaving the old job and taking your own path is very inspirational and motivating to others.
I don’t spin, but I do sell a portion of my knitting on eBay, and I hear where you’re coming from.
There will always be people who turn up their nose at those who sell what they have made. No matter what, someone will always yell “Sell out!” at you. ignore them.
Some artists are fortunate enough to be living off their trust fund, stock portfolio, or lottery winnings. The rest of us poor bastards actually have to earn a living. Deal with it, crazy handspun article writer from 1991!
I learned to spin for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that commercial yarn manufacturers do not make the color combinations that I see in my head. I wanted a yarn with one ply bluish green and the other a light orange. You can’t find yarn like that out in a shop, so I am making it myself. Also, for exotics. It’s very difficult to find, not to mention expensive, to find yarns made out of Camel and silk, guanaco, camel by itself, yak, musk ox, buffalo and combinations of those. I love playing with color and exotics and different blends. It’s all about making something my own. I have not sold my handspun although I know I could. I am too selfish to let a stranger have it! I have to see the project someone creates from my yarn! I just can’t let go of it unless it is to give it to good friends. So I envy those that can sell their work with a clear conscience and no clawing desire to snatch it back.
Your yarns are beautiful and you should be not only proud of them but you should also know that you bring joy to others through your handspun. There’s nothing like the feeling that you have made someone beam just by playing with fiber!
First time to your Blog. I’ll be back to watch the process~ ~ ~Had Fun! Love the colors of your new spun yarn. Love anything orange or yellow. Ya know, maybe you just sell your yarn once in a while to someone like me who doesn’t spin but very much admires your talent and creative abilities! I tried spinning at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival this year and I was horrible at it. I love to knit but spinning is not for me. I would very much like to have your new creation. Take it easy on yourself your work is lovely. It will bring much joy to the happy person who gets to knit something sweet with it.
i cannot believe that someone would say that. i remember when i was in art school and my drawing professor said that it is a really bad thing to be super attached to your fiinished pieces, that it is about the journey. i love my yarns, i really do. in fact, i like them more than most yarns that i see, but it is a wonderful feeling to see things that people make out of it and the great comments from people that buy it, especially repeat buyers that i have formed a relationship with. i love spinning, i love dyeing, i love mixing the colors and on the rare occasion that i knit with my own yarn, it is really super fun, but if i kept it all…well first, i would be broke, but also, where would i put it? in spinning, i get to constantly create new things and grow. and that is what it is all about. i have been spinning since june, but i cannot believe how perfect your yarns are after only a year. i don’t spin thin yarns ever, but even still….whoa!
Spinning was the final destination of my journey into fiber creativity. I bought my first drop spindle in May of 2005, and gave away my first skein of homespun a month later. One spindle led to seven, then to a very used Louet S10, and finally, last week, a new Majacraft Rose. I have been forcing myself to finish the projects I have on the needles, because spinning is something I feel so internally impelled to do, and take such exquisite delight in, that knitting’s taken a back seat. Completely.
So I gave away handspun on my blog as contest prizes. I donated a bunch to a Katrina Relief Auction and raised several hundred dollars. And after many of my blog readers (a surprising amount, given the relative newness of my blog and my not-huge readership) encouraged, nay, bullied me into setting up a shop, I opened my Etsy shop on the 14th of January. I’ve had pretty good sales and I’m encouraged to keep on going for a while.
In the meantime, I’ve sold off and given away much of my former knitting stash. Pretty much only the sock yarns and the Crack Silk Haze remain…so, I keep on spinning, not knitting, the stuff piles up, I pet it a lot and soon will have to dust it if I don’t move it out…you know the drill.
I can’t imagine anyone dissing someone for selling homespun yarn. It’s a whole different game today.
Great blog, gorgeous yarn…I’m de-lurking long enough to say…
My $.02
~Susie