Second skein finished yesterday. I was a bit more aggressive with the yarn while it soaked, but didn't employ Judith Mackenzie McCuin's potato masher method. I am working with a medium staple length fiber right now, and the crazy agitation is meant more for shorter staple length fibers like yak, buffalo, and alpaca. I also dried this skein under a bit of tension, as you can see in the picture. I improvised with my kids' clothes hangers! (The other pic is of the skein before washing.) Drying under tension, or not, seems to be a matter of choice among spinners. I like the finished product, or it could be that my second skein is better than my first! I have a few areas of overspin in this skein, though. I can't wait until I get good enough to have reliable, consistent results.
Denise Raasch will be coming this weekend, and I plan to give her a few spinning "lessons", both on her drop spindle and on my spinning wheel. At least she appreciates my hobby! She will be the recipient of most of my yarn, as she is much better at crocheting than I. I need her to learn how to knit! :)
I also have some merino on the bobbin right now. I get good results spinning merino from the fold, but I still have some thick-and-thin issues with it. Practice, practice!!
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