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Afraid To Try New Things? Me Too, But I'm Doing It Anyway!

First Time Blending Wool 

New things can be scary, and the fear of messing up has stopped me so many times from doing things I really wanted to do. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone! I’m trying something a little different—I want to share my experience stepping into hand spinning and blending my own rolags.

The Leap Into Hand Spinning

I recently started hand spinning yarn and decided to take it a step further by blending my own rolags. If you’re unfamiliar with this process, I’ll link to a series of videos from a friend HERE, so you can check it out. Watching videos is one thing, but there’s nothing quite like feeling the wool in your hands and working it on the board—it’s a completely different experience.

Growing up, making mistakes wasn’t something that felt very safe, especially when finances were tight. If I messed up on crafting supplies, there wasn’t always money to replace them. That mindset made trying new things difficult, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve worked on breaking free from that fear. This journey into spinning and blending my own rolags is part of that process.

Gathering Supplies

For this project, I purchased Wool of the Andes Wool Roving from Knit Picks, get it HERE. I wanted to experiment with blending solid colors myself, creating gradients and unique mixes. I had previously shared this haul with my channel members, where I discussed pricing and sourcing in more detail.

Speaking of memberships, I have two levels available—Channel Supporter, which includes community posts and behind-the-scenes updates, and Yarn Talker, where I share two long-form videos each month. If you’re interested, you can find more details HERE.

Choosing a Blending Board

Instead of splurging on an expensive blending board right away, I opted for a more affordable one from Amazon. I took inspiration from a video by Adam Savage’s Tested (yes, the Mythbusters guy), where he discussed starting with budget-friendly tools before committing to pricier options. This seemed like the perfect approach—try it out first, and if I love it, I can invest in a higher-quality board later.

The Blending Process

I dove into the blending process with a mix of excitement and nervousness. I love autumnal  colors, so I played with golds, rusts, and deep shades. At one point, I worried I might accidentally recreate the Burger King logo (definitely not my goal!), but overall, I was thrilled with how the colors were coming together.

I also added white fiber into the mix after seeing a video where someone mentioned that white can help other colors pop. If it doesn’t work out, I can always blend it with something else—who hasn’t bought yarn they weren’t completely sure about?

Learning As I Go

As I started rolling the fiber off the board, I quickly realized I had my dowels way too close together. The fiber was too tight in some spots and too loose in others, making it difficult to remove properly. I struggled, but in the end, I was able to get it off and could already see areas where I could improve next time.

Moving Forward

Before I blend more, I plan to spin what I’ve already made on my drop spindle to see how it turns out. Click HERE to check out my Drop Spindle. This will help me adjust my technique and refine my process. The most important thing I’ve learned? Perfection is overrated. If I had waited for everything to be perfect, I might never have started at all.

Trying something new can be intimidating, but jumping in and allowing yourself to make mistakes is the best way to learn. I hope this inspires you to take the leap into a project you've been hesitant about. I’d love to hear about your experiences—let’s talk yarn!

Watch the YouTube video here!


*some links in this blog post may be affiliate links

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