candycane handspun

I spent a portion of this evening spinning some of the candycane Merino handspun that I purchased at Mind's Eye Yarns during their ninth anniversary sale. I initially bought it to make a felted purse or some other felted accessory, but I really like the way the yarn looks spun and plied--I think I might make something non-felted out of it. I spun about 2 oz and got a little over 3o yards, it doesn't really seem like much! I'll see, I have 6 more oz to do. I think I'm going to be sore. I actually had to turn the a/c temp down to 78 because my hands kept getting sweaty. Spinning is hard work.

I forgot to take pictures of the fiber before I spun it, but here it is on my spindle.














Then I wound it around my hand using the http://www.mielkesfarm.com/andean.htm> Andean plying method. Basically you wrap the yarn around your fingers...













Then when your fingers get full you slip it around your wrist.















Once you get all the yarn off your spindle and onto your wrist you're ready to ply.

Looks messy, huh? Don't worry, it works out.