At Least Take a Taste of Everything on Your Plate

... As my Mom used to say when I was a persnickety kid facing something at the dinner table that I didn't much like the looks of. Otherwise, a taste was sure to be waiting for me back on the table at breakfast time! I'm certain I have Mom's early training to thank for being a fairly adventurous eater today. Though I can't say I really saw the wisdom in it at the time.

As a new spinner, though, I'm not nearly so dubious about trying new things. I've been buying lots of different types of wool to taste. (And smell -- they smell lovely!) In fact, I'm at a stage that I suspect many beginning spinners go through as they start to get their sea legs. I'm trying to sample as many new things as possible. I started thinking about what kinds I've collected so far, and here's what I came up with:

Finn
Coopworth
Shetland
Dorset
Blue-Faced Leicester
Merino
Alpaca
Mohair
Angora
Corriedale
Jacob (in fleece form -- I'm going to have a shot at the whole process from scouring forward!)

Plus there are a couple that I must have bought at weak moments when I didn't have the wits about me to ask about the breed. I was probably just entranced by the colors playing across a hand-painted roving! But lest you think I can't look beyond a pretty face, I also have a few in undyed white. I'm working up my courage to have a go at hand-dyeing them. I assure you, all they too need is a little color, maybe a bit of lipstick and blusher, to accentuate their inner beauty.

Anyway. That's probably about enough varieties of wool to help me learn to handle different types and start to understand their characteristics. Some of them have a reputation for being easy to spin, and others a little more challenging. All in all, I have a feeling it's going to be enough to keep me busy for a while, considering that my entire handspun output to date is only a little over two pounds of wool. But what a well-loved two pounds of wool it is.

Now, just have one bite of that tapioca pudding. (Thanks, Mom!)