Pleasant Day at Whimsical Wool in LaHarpe, Kansas

My daughter, Jennie, and granddaughter, Lala, and I spent the afternoon today with fellow KansasKnitter Elizabeth at her yarn shop Whimsical Wool in LaHarpe. She has a neat little store that's cozy and inviting. She's starting small, and is only open 3 days a week, but if you are around LaHarpe on Tues., Thurs., or Saturday, you should stop in and visit.

Remember all my talking about discovering drop spindle spinning? Elizabeth invited me to the store to teach me how to use my new spindle. Boy, does she know her stuff! I can't begin to tell you all she taught us but it sure had my interest. Not only does Elizabeth understand spinning, she's up on spinning history. Like me, she isn't a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, but we both find elements of the group intriguing. (For me it's costuming, crafting and creating a persona that is interesting. I have no desire to wear armor or joust.)

Elizabeth showed us how to work the roving and stretch it to get a thread going, then how to work the spindle to spin it. I had expected my spinning to be as thick as worsted wool. She explained that what we were spinning was just one ply of the final yarn. Individual plys are put together to build yarn. Different weights of yarn have different numbers of plys. Ah! The light dawns.

Lala began talking about Sleeping Beauty and the spinning wheel, so Elizabeth showed her a real spinning wheel and how it worked. She also showed Lala a different wheel used for making fine yarn, such as cotton or silk. This wheel had a needle spindle, such as the one in the fairy tale. Lala touched it very carefully and agreed that would be sharp enough to prick the princess' finger.

I know this is the Year of the Stash, but I had to buy some yarn. Being a good girl, I started making a hat to use up the sock yarn left over from my latest pair of socks. I did use up the yarn -- before the hat was finished. So that was a valid reason to buy enough yarn to finish the hat, right?

So now I have a new interest (spinning) and a fantasy of raising angora rabbits (don't have space for sheep) so I can grow my own yarn. Hm... no, Pat has sworn he doesn't do rabbits... Maybe I should perfect the spinning before I worry about a source of fiber...