Jay Spins Stuff

I’m working with undyed merino combed top which I buy from a UK supplier. My spindle stick and whirl are from Etsy, again a UK maker - if you’re not in the UK you can google “medieval spindle stick”. Failing that any stick will do, I’ve used a thin dowel with an air dry clay weight on it before

I wind it on a nostepinne from the spindle. I usually lightly hold the spindle horizontally between my knees so I can wind continuously from it

This shows a small hand wound ball of thin singles yarn sitting on a dark wood table. In the background you can see the spindle stick used to spin it and the nostepinne used to wind it

It’s been an interesting few months, moved into a new place in a new city, with all the upheaval that entails, but I feel settled now, and I’m back to my spinning
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

Honestly I was going to try on the beach but I just ended up paddling and enjoying relaxing in the sun. I am curious about the sand, so might try next time

A spindle stick loaded with a medium sized cop of natural cream coloured yarn hangs in the centre of the picture from a length of spun yarn. In the background, slightly out of focus we can make out railway tracks and scenery

Places you can spin: while you wait for your train to the beach
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

A spindle stick with a pewter whorl lies on a wooden surface. The spindle is loaded with cream coloured thin thread that forms a large cop near the end and then spirals up the spindle. The thread is still connected to a puff of spinning fibre which is visible next to the spindle

Prepping for a house move so at the moment I’m spinning something I can easily pick up and put down in the evenings - “default” singles. This is merino but not especially fine, the micron count is a little thicker in this one
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

Don’t we all! 😂😂😂

Thankyou! It’s been so nice. Particularly frustrating episode since it’s my main hobby and I’ve felt very tense without it and not known why 😅

Next time this happens I hope I don’t go into a tidying spiral and put my projects away. I hope I remember to leave my spinning out so I can touch base and be in the moment with my spinning again because, I really need it ❤️
Again, no advice please 🙂
6/6 🧵
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn #AdultADHD

Anyway this story has a happy ending. Because I went through some boxes ‘rediscovered’ my spinning and picked it up this afternoon. It was like my whole brain unclenched. The tension in my shoulders went away, I’ll probably even sleep better tonight 5/6 🧵

Actually I couldn’t. If you haven’t experienced it I can’t describe what it’s like for things to just stop existing for you. I’m not going to try because it feels futile. My whole life is a series of strategies to prevent things like this from happening but stuff slips through the cracks
4/6 🧵

Spinning has been so good for my mental health, and having something to keep my hands busy while my mind slowed down would have been immensely helpful in the past few weeks. I know some people reading this will be thinking, “yeah but you can just go and get your spinning project out” 3/6 🧵

A specific feature of my ADHD presentation is that when things are out of sight I forget they exist, even if I need them with every fibre (ha pun!) of my being. So I forgot. I forgot I could spin to sort my head out, and I forgot that my spindles and fibre were waiting for me 2/6 🧵

Not looking for advice, just sharing 🙂
I’ve not been here for a while because a few weeks ago I had to pack a bag and get on a train urgently. It’s been a stressful time and at some point I put my spinning projects away while I dealt with other things … 1/6 🧵 #Handspinning #HandSounYarn #AdultADHD

A picture of a hand wound ball of yarn sits on a table. The yarn is cream coloured. In the back ground are a wooden nostepinne and a spindle stick with a pewter whorl

Made some 3-ply merino on my spindle stick, and wound it with the nostepinne. Finished yarn isn’t super consistent but is about 20-24 WPI in the main
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

I discovered overnight oats this week, and they’ve literally changed my life 🥣

Also before anyone jumps in with advice, yes I know what a plying bracelet is 😂

A meme of a bar chart, the title is “what gives people feelings of power” the top smallest bar is green and is labelled “money”. The next bar is blue, and a little bigger and labelled “status”. The last bar is red and is much bigger than the other bars. It is labelled “when your bobbins end at the same time when plying”

Haven’t much energy for anything lately except spinning miles of my default singles on a drop spindle so here’s a meme
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

Do you have enough to do a little sample of each? Either way, gorgeous singles 😊

Thankyou 😊

A close up shot of the inner forearm of a white man showing a monochrome tattoo of a group of three mushrooms, each one a different size. The tattoo is shaded and detailed with dot work

The other day I posted about spinning while waiting for my tattoo appointment, so here’s an update on my new tattoo now it’s healed up some - mushrooms! They’re on my inner forearm. By Rebecca Vincent who is literally amazing
#HandSpinning #Tattoo

A spindle with a metal whorl loaded with cream coloured yarn, not much has been spun on it, and the spindle is slightly blurred as the photograph caught it mid spin. Around the edges we see parts of the frame of a green picnic table where the spinner was sat

Places you can spin: while waiting for your tattoo appointment
#HandSpunYarn #HandSpinning

They’re lovely!

A stick spindle with a metal whorl hangs in the centre of the picture. It is loaded with cream coloured single spun yarn. In the background we can see trees and a blue sky above the green grass of the ground. The ground is covered with the remains of fallen autumn leaves and between them little pops of white and purple crocus flowers peep through

Top down close up of a purple crocus flower with a bright orange stamen. A few thin leaves surround the flower, each one with a stripe of white in the middle. On the ground around the crocus we see a few twigs and the remains of autumn leaves. Blades of grass and small green plantlets peep through

Warm enough yesterday for my first park spinning of the year. You can see the crocuses out in the spindle pic, spring is finally here!
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

🤣

A domino meme template, in the foreground a man is knowing over a small domino, the dominos gradually get bigger towards the back of the picture The small domino is labelled “learning to knit because it seems like a chill hobby” The largest domino is labelled “researching raising your own sheep and growing flax”

Another meme because I feel like a LOT of us have similar (if not entirely identical) stories
#HandSpunYarn #HandSpinning

Bluesky: pictures of hand spun yarn, spindles and wheels, chats about spinning techniques and inspiration

Instagram: influencers mixing together different coloured sand telling you to buy a thing

#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

Such a great book! I’m thinking a about working through as many of the different styles as I can to see what I can learn

A close up of a section of yarn on a black and white rug. You can see the curly spiral texture of the yarn that moves between thin and thick spirals. Strewn throughout are some small glass seed beads that are plied into the yarn

Spent this morning trying this flame yarn from “The Spinners Book of Yarn Designs” A spun single plied around a commercial silk thread, with a few beads thrown in as well. A lot still to learn in terms of regularity and control but I was pleased with this for a first try
#HandSpinning #HandSpunYarn

I love this!