2014 was the year in which I decided to have a go at spinning fibre into yarn. I started with a drop spindle kit from HilltopCloud and dove straight in.

My first attempt was what you would expect, a bit lumpy and bumpy. Thick in some places, thin in others. But it was yarn

and I turned it into some fingerless mitts.

My spindling efforts gradually improved as I started to get the hang of drafting and I began to create some consistent singles.

Tour de Fleece came along in July and I focused my time and efforts on my spindling. I also tried my hand at basic plying (also on my drop spindle), and was pretty happy with the results.

I was spinning some pretty fine singles by this point, so gave chain-plying a go. A bit of a pain but possible to do on a drop spindle, though time consuming.

In September I bought my first spinning wheel: an Ashford Joy 2 and used it to ply some singles I was finishing spindling.

I haven’t touched any of my spindles since. From my first wheel-spun yarns I have moved from 2-ply

to chain plying.

The final yarn I spun (and finished) in 2014 is 174 yards of fingering weight chain plied Dorset Horn fibre: