We’re halfway through the May Fractal Spinalong! If you are reading this and kinda wished you had joined, it’s not too late! A lot of people are just starting now, because they were waiting on fiber, had other projects in the works, or otherwise had some sort of interference. This is a stress free spinalong, so join whenever it works for you, IF it works for you!

Also, to reiterate from the original rules, May 31st is *not* a deadline or due date or “Hey if you’re not done by this date then why did you even bother?” situation. It’s just the official end of the spinalong. And we do, indeed, have multiple prizes! My current plan (still subject to change) is to post on Instagram and The Spanish Peacock Flock on the morning of the 31st with a prompt to share what you learned during the spinalong! I will pick separate random winners from the comments on each post.

Some folks have already finished their first skeins and moved on to their second! Others have spun the yarn and then knitted or crocheted a quick project. I am further along than I expected to be – almost finished with my third singles – but still a slow spinner compared to others!

This is where I started …

And here is where I am currently. See that tiny amount of fiber? That’s all I have last to spin to finish the third singles yarn for my three ply! Not sure when I will have a chance to finish though … life has definitely been interesting this week.

I thought about using supported spindles for one of the three singles to spin, but I elected to spin S on my espinner, and I always spin Z on my spindles. Which would cause problems when it came to plying.

So far spinning on the EEW6 – I’ve named her Evie – has been fun. I haven’t encountered any of the technical glitches that have allegedly plagued the 6; all my problems have been user error.  I even bought the battery pack so I could spin on the go, but even with a battery and its small size, Evie just isn’t as portable as hand spindles.

Or as quiet. Or as easy for me to use in the semi-dark of family TV watching. So I still made some slow progress on my spindle WIPs.

The other …. challenge, I guess, that I’m facing is that when I started, I was VERY new to espinning, and my first singles was very uneven. Well honestly the second one was too. And maybe even the third! I am concerned the inconsistent thicknesses will result in dramatically different lengths for the three singles, and the colors not matching up as originally designed.

Additionally, as I approached the end of the last third, I realized I don’t have a kate for three EEW6 bobbins. I figured I could put one on my supported spindle plying stand (and maybe I could swipe two more from Spanish Peacock inventory, heh), but that didn’t seem ideal. So I did what any engineer with a laser engraver would do – designed my own!

Of course, I won’t know if it needs design tweaks until after the third singles is done and I’m ready to ply, at which point it will be too late!

I’m also contemplating what to knit up with my fractal yarn once it’s done. My friend Kristen suggested this One Row Handspun Scarf, which certainly sounds appropriate for my knitting skills (or lack thereof) and should show off the fun color transitions I am hoping the yarn will have. If you have any other ideas, leave a comment below – I’d love to hear your input!