Look, I spun stuff!

So I've become a spinner! :-) I'm still a n00b, but learning quickly! I picked up a second drop spindle to try, and that worked a little better than my first yucky attempts, but things didn't click until my first spinning class last week. The trick is in the drafting, I learned... and since then I've been making progressively less ugly stuff. Here is my first post-class attempt. Overtwisted in spots, too thick in parts, but starting to ressemble yarn. Here is what I spun up on Saturday evening... Check that s**t out! It's YARN! And it's almost even! :-) Ok, it's just a single, I haven't tried this whole plying business, but I'm SO excited to have turned a big ball of fluff into nice, even yarn! This is addicting. More so than knitting, if that were possible! That's it, I need a freakin WHEEL already! Speaking of knitting, I've been working on that too. First up, my mum's belated birthday socks. I'm using the Ripple Weave pattern out of the current Vogue Knitting; i like them because they're similar to the Pomatomous socks that I made a few months back, but different enough. And I even happened to have the recommended yarn in my stash, which NEVER happens! :-) To contrast the fiddliness of lacey patterns on sock yarn, I whipped up a tuque for one of my friends. I made up the pattern (it's just a 1x1 rib hat with a 2x2 rib edging and some decorative decreases). I'm using Berrocco Ultra Alpaca which is yummilicious! :-) I could just pet that stuff for hours! Ooo... I'm crocheting stuff too in an effort to do some serious stashbusting! I present the front half of a spike stitch pillow in some random acrylic that I bought before I knew the joys of natural fibres... It's stiff as a board, but I like the pattern :-) BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. For the first time in months I'm freezing in my apartment. Time to find some warm woolies to put on... that's the true joy of being a knitter... you always have the best snuggly warm stuff around...