Samples away

Spurred on by my preparations for a program for our local spinning/weaving guild, Prairie Weavers, I have been doing a ton of experimentation regarding the effect of varying amounts of twist used for plying yarns (I'm not the best judge, but I think the program tonight went really well, thanks for asking).  I won't go too much into it yet because I'm planning on a whole post with pics of my samples, etc. a little later on as I have time to process it.  But I did want to show this:

(For those who are interested, this was spun on my Kromski Minstrel - singles on 12:1 ratio; ply on 16:1.  Fiber is KnitPicks Gloss roving.)

This is 38 grams of a silk/merino laceweight yarn before washing.  Before washing, it was 368 yards of yumminess.  After washing (for reasons that are plain to those who were at the guild meeting for the program), it was 332 yards of squishy yummi-numminess.  Why?  All will be made clear when the post about my little experimentation hits the stands.  I've found out why much of my laceweight yarn has been just yummy instead of squishy yummi-nummi.  It all makes so much sense now!

I've also been working with some of my recently (within the last year) acquired fleeces.

On the left is a sample skein of the bfl/suffolk cross. (By the way, I realized today that I'd misspelled Suffolk all through the last post.  I really do know how to spell it and every time I typed it I knew I was misspelling it but I just couldn't stop it.)  Next to it is a lock of the fleece.  Long staple - not unusual for a sheep with bfl in its heritage.  There's still a bit of lanolin in the fleece so I'm working on finding the best preparation for spinning.

On the right is a lock and a sample from the Polypay fleece I got earlier this year in Kentucky.  You can see the staple is only about half that of the bfl/suffolk and it has a finer crimp.  I really like the sample I spun when I combed the fleece.  It's a little more work but I got a much nicer end results. Actually, I only had to do one or two passes with the combs because it opened up so wonderfully.  I would love to have enough of this spun to make something to wear when I go to Kentucky next year.

Checking in

It won't stay this way long but for a few days, at least, I've got my life back a little.  And no one can say that I'm not making hay while the sun shines.

I finished a spinning project:

I don't really like Etsy.  I find it hard to navigate and even when I search on a specfic vendor, I can never get it to come up.  But I was on the site the other day and came across this listing.  Who could pass that up.  I've never spun from a batt and wanted to try it out.  A batt, by the way, is simply a form of preparation that comes directly off the drum carder in a sheet like this picture shows.  The batt was made up of multiple shades of green merino with tons of silk tossed in for good measure.

I can't say it was the easiest preparation I've ever spun from but I know that's totally from my inexperience, not the fiber preparation.  I really didn't aim for a specific type of wool and I had no plans for what to make from it.  I just let it be.  And you can see what it be.  I wish you could feel how soft and squishy it came out. 

Now that it's here, I think I'm going to do a winter cowl.  Size 7 needles or so, a 1x1 ribbing, in the round, just go until it's gone.  Yep, I think that will do nicely.

The other thing I've been rocking is my bobbin lace.  I've got several projects in process, including a sampler bookmark and yardage of a simple, beginner edging (since I'm a beginner!).  The lace group I've been meeting with from time to time over the past 9 months or so, started a yardage club.  To gain entry, you have to complete a yard or two yards (can't remember what they settled on - I'll need to check that) of any bobbin lace pattern you want.  Takes more time that you might think but it's a great idea to stretch beyond the old comfort zone.  I'm currently at about 10 inches and when I hit halfway, I'll get a photo posted here.

The other thing I decided to try is a beginner project that came in my LACE welcome pack.  This is also a wonderful idea.  When you join the guild, you get an envelope that has information about the guild like the bylaws, etc., a membership list, a vendor list and this little pattern for a bookmark.  I'd never had a chance to try it so tonight I got my bobbins set up, the pattern pricked and ready and here's what happened:

Isn't it cute?!  I did that.  With my own little hands!  It's kind of wonky because I made the rookie move of taking all the pins out right away and spritzing water on it to iron.  Just like in blocking a lace shawl, you should really let the project sit under the tension of the pins for at least 24 hours.  Most of the time I'm pretty good about that, but for this I just couldn't wait!  I'll definitely make this again.  Only took a few hours and it's a nice little giftie.

Spindle spinning

In preparation for Saturday's class in Eldridge, IA, I finished a skein of merino/silk/cashmere fiber that I'd started on my last trip to Texas.  Unfortunately I hadn't worked too much on it but this got me motivated.

This is just off the spindle and pre-washed so it's still pretty jumpy.  It's spun quite fine and has 2 plies.  I weighed it before I threw it in the wash and it topped the scales at 3/4 ounce (11g) and spun to 120 yards.  That works out to the equivalent of 2,560 yards to the pound.  Now part of that is the fineness but some of that is because the silk and cashmere are supremely light and soft and cozy.  I can't wait for it to dry.  This is the same fiber as I used to spin the fingering weight that I'm going to use to make fair isle patterned gloves.

I have to say, I wasn't so crazy about the colorway for myself but it will make a great gift for someone.  I'm planning to knit a scarf using a nice, basic, balanced lace pattern like a feather and fan or some such.  I think the movement of that sort of pattern will make the most of the color movement in the yarn.  I'll keep you posted.

You know, I'm seeing more and more of the merino/silk and merino/silk/cashmere blends.  If you've never tried them, I would encourage you to do it.  Although the cashmere is short stapled, when it's mixed with the merino and silk, both of which have a longer staple, the spinning isn't as challenging as you'd think.  And it can't be anything but rewarding to have something so decadent in your hands as the final yarn is.