This past weekend, Spinnity and I joined the Cult of Judith. We drove up to Eugene, OR for the Black Sheep Gathering where we were signed up for 3 classes with Judith McKenzie McCuin (otherwise known as JMM), the be all and end all of spinning as far as I'm concerned.
My first class, on Saturday, was about spinning sock yarn. Judith says... 3-ply is best. Judith also says... cashmere makes wonderful socks. I'm going to share this fact with Becky. Judith says too... that spinning worsted for socks is best. So after listening to all of her opinions on the best sock yarn and her tips and tricks for spinning this type of yarn, I gave it a try...
Behold, the best sock yarn my wheel has ever seen. That's merino top, 4 colors and 3 plies.
My next class with Judith was on Sunday morning - Popular Wheel Mechanics. In this class we learned all about our wheels and how to adjust the ratios on said wheels (like one would adjust the gears on a bicycle) to spin thicker or thinner. While watching her give the class a demo, I couldn't believe that the actual thickness of the yarn could be changed by adjusting only the wheel and not the technique used by the spinner. I was dying to try it out for myself. Could it be true?
Yep.
Later that afternoon Spinnity and I joined about a dozen other women and one gentleman for our last class,
To Spin A Fine Thread. I had pretty high hopes for this class. I had heard what a miracle worker Judith is with new spinners and figured I might come home with some samples of a pretty decent laceweight and with some practice, I might be able to spin something useable soon.
This is my first attempt at a 2-ply laceweight after just listening to and watching Judith give a demo for a few minutes. 48 WPI! Can you imagine what it will look like after some practice?
Next, Judith handed out mongolian cashmere and camel. We were directed to spin semi-worsted and woollen yarns, respectively. I was ecstatic at my first attempts.
I just can't get over how well my first attempts at these new spinning techniques went. Judith is just an amazing teacher and I haven't been this inspired to spin since I first started 2 years ago. With all of this energy and excitement, I decided to finish plying my Sheep 2 Shoe kit that I've been working on for over a year...
And I'm also finishing up some llama that I bought in 2005 at the Taos Wool Festival.
Lastly, I'd have to agree with Yarn Harlot and Spinnity when I say that if Judith ever teaches a class on how to flush a toilet, I. Am. So. There.