Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque commodo sapien eu nisi pellentesque ultrices. Nam quis fermentum felis, nec egestas dui. Fusce nunc massa, mollis a tincidunt ut, imperdiet ullamcorper leo. Suspendisse sed lorem eu nisi euismod cursus at sit amet nunc. Donec blandit vehicula nisi, non accumsan dui sollicitudin eget. Praesent sagittis commodo euismod. Nulla mollis pretium risus vitae malesuada. Morbi posuere pharetra luctus. Maecenas tempus diam sed lorem ultrices, tincidunt pellentesque orci volutpat.

Proin gravida cursus lectus, eget accumsan nisi pharetra eget. Suspendisse et vestibulum ante. Sed tincidunt egestas elit, sed pellentesque nulla hendrerit a. Suspendisse erat nulla, porttitor a urna sed, rhoncus luctus libero. Praesent dui neque, congue nec odio eu, mollis iaculis magna. Curabitur mattis, neque a ornare porta, elit mi feugiat ipsum, eu placerat diam libero in arcu. Aenean vulputate velit lacus, quis convallis erat blandit sit amet. Quisque in sem at ex porttitor semper. Cras porttitor tortor sit amet odio lacinia tristique. Fusce id massa nec mi consequat vehicula id non leo.

Nulla facilisi. Nam scelerisque a turpis eget scelerisque. Duis facilisis sit amet enim at egestas. Vestibulum dictum facilisis hendrerit. Aliquam pellentesque bibendum libero, sed scelerisque dui pellentesque sit amet. Donec lorem turpis, auctor vitae faucibus sit amet, blandit quis tortor. Cras eget dolor sit amet orci porttitor iaculis eu et dui. Donec posuere auctor mauris, sed gravida nunc iaculis id. Proin sapien ipsum, fermentum et turpis et, mollis cursus velit. Aliquam eget libero tortor. Sed ut porta nunc. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. .

Crochet

Crochet is one of the easiest things here to pick up. Jayda in Stitches really breaks it down well if you've had trouble in the past. I really thought I'd be knitting more, but crochet is where it's at for me. I've been able to crank out some scarves, shawls, and blankets so far. Other than my pumpkins (below) and one or two hats I haven't ventured too much into 3D yet but I should.

Cross-Stitch and Embroidery

Nulla facilisi. Nam scelerisque a turpis eget scelerisque. Duis facilisis sit amet enim at egestas. Vestibulum dictum facilisis hendrerit. Aliquam pellentesque bibendum libero, sed scelerisque dui pellentesque sit amet. Donec lorem turpis, auctor vitae faucibus sit amet, blandit quis tortor. Cras eget dolor sit amet orci porttitor iaculis eu et dui. Donec posuere auctor mauris, sed gravida nunc iaculis id. Proin sapien ipsum, fermentum et turpis et, mollis cursus velit. Aliquam eget libero tortor. Sed ut porta nunc. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus.

Spinning

This means I can make my own yarn from raw or prepared fibers. Usually I use sheep's wool since that has so many wonderful varieties that you'll never get bored. However, plant fibers and other natural fibers are pretty fun. Silk annoys me, but I won't turn it down, I just cuss the whole time.

I learned to spin years ago on a drop spindle (top whorl if you're curious) and it took over my life. I dropped it a lot at first, and that persisted until I developed the muscle memory needed to spin properly. Hot take incoming, but I have some spicy FIBER OPINIONS, if you want to know:

• *I don't care what I use - plant, animal, acrylic, non-fiber. If it spins, I wins.
• *I also don't care what kind of spindle one uses, outside of different kinds lending themselves better to different materials or preparations. Top whorl, bottom whorl, vers whorl...I can't give a hoot.
• *I believe that one can and should repurpose bargain bin yarn or pre-worked yarn if one wants. I have happily plied commercial (acrylic) and wool or other natural fibers.
• *Overspinning isn't scary. It's not the end of the world.
• *This is the big one: Anyone who wants to learn this craft (or any other, actually) should not be held back for lack of fancy fibers or tools. We have been doing this since the stone ages so literally any human who wants to can and should learn. That being said, absolute spinning newbies should be taught a few basics. After mastering those techniques (which do not depend on expensive tools), they should go balls to the wall and experiement, improvise, and create as desired.

Here's what this can look like! What follows are photos of my own spins. You'll see a top whorl drop spindle full of a dark purple single wool yarn, a top whorl drop spindle full of dark blue commercial yarn plied with yellow plastic yarn AKA plarn, and a random small skein of commercial grey yarn plied with a multicolored single I spun.

Dyeing

Dyeing wool is a a rare but fun occurence for me. I only use foodsafe dyes (eg kool aid or food coloring and vinegar) on wool since plant fibers need a stronger acid source ("mordant") to dye. I'm not there yet! Rebecca Brown of ChemKnits.com has so many cool videos and tutorials about dyeing roving (unspun but processed wool) and yarn blanks. My favorite is "breaking" Wilton's Violet food coloring into its constituent blue, purple, and pink shades!

Rolags/Punis/"Fiber Chromosomes"

Part of processing wool or other fibers to spin is getting all the floof into a portable form. One of the more popular ones (with me, anyway) is the "rolag". Rolags are rolls of fiber that have been brushed until the hairs go the same way rather than being "forbidden cotton candy". There are a couple of ways to do this, but I use a blending board much like this one here. I brush fibers over the spikes with a slicker brush (you can use dog grooming brushes) and sometimes a big paint brush. I can layer different colors and textures to make a fun yarn later. When I'm done, I take 2 sticks and trap loose fibers at the bottom of the board (nearest me) between them. By gently pulling/rolling, pulling/rolling, I gradually pull all the wool off the board and the rolag is solid enough I can slide my sticks out. This results in a tube of fiber I can easily thrown into my purse and spin from. Small rolags are called "punis", but I call them both fiber chromosomes:

Weaving

Nulla facilisi. Nam scelerisque a turpis eget scelerisque. Duis facilisis sit amet enim at egestas. Vestibulum dictum facilisis hendrerit. Aliquam pellentesque bibendum libero, sed scelerisque dui pellentesque sit amet. Donec lorem turpis, auctor vitae faucibus sit amet, blandit quis tortor. Cras eget dolor sit amet orci porttitor iaculis eu et dui. Donec posuere auctor mauris, sed gravida nunc iaculis id. Proin sapien ipsum, fermentum et turpis et, mollis cursus velit. Aliquam eget libero tortor. Sed ut porta nunc. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus.

Felting

Nulla facilisi. Nam scelerisque a turpis eget scelerisque. Duis facilisis sit amet enim at egestas. Vestibulum dictum facilisis hendrerit. Aliquam pellentesque bibendum libero, sed scelerisque dui pellentesque sit amet. Donec lorem turpis, auctor vitae faucibus sit amet, blandit quis tortor. Cras eget dolor sit amet orci porttitor iaculis eu et dui. Donec posuere auctor mauris, sed gravida nunc iaculis id. Proin sapien ipsum, fermentum et turpis et, mollis cursus velit. Aliquam eget libero tortor. Sed ut porta nunc. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus.

Whatever this is...???

Nulla facilisi. Nam scelerisque a turpis eget scelerisque. Duis facilisis sit amet enim at egestas. Vestibulum dictum facilisis hendrerit. Aliquam pellentesque bibendum libero, sed scelerisque dui pellentesque sit amet. Donec lorem turpis, auctor vitae faucibus sit amet, blandit quis tortor. Cras eget dolor sit amet orci porttitor iaculis eu et dui. Donec posuere auctor mauris, sed gravida nunc iaculis id. Proin sapien ipsum, fermentum et turpis et, mollis cursus velit. Aliquam eget libero tortor. Sed ut porta nunc. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus.