Other than a couple more inches added onto my lace scarf, I really don't have any knitting progress to update. I kind of slacking there, but my spinning wheel is certainly getting some use.
I'm not sure if I mentioned and am too lazy to go back and look but I bought the plastic shuttle bobbin things from The Woolery. Using BFs drill, I can wind off my lone wheel bobbin and onto those, allowing me to ply and such. While I was at it, I also bought some fluff. It was one of those "I don't have enough money to spend enough for free shipping, but I can add this little thing here and at least feel like I'm getting my shipping cost worth" deals ... Please tell me I'm not the only one who does that?
Anyway, it was just $10 for 4oz of merino wool and they had the prettiest colorways. I ended up choosing Lapis, but Denim and Cranberry were tied for a close second place. More than the stone, the Lapis fiber reminds me of how a rain puddle looks when there's oil from the pavement mixed in. Except not awful, because there is no ground contamination involved, just pretty fluffy wool. Sorry, but I can't think of a better way to describe that look! It is beautiful, and has been spinning up really well (even for a beginner like me!)
This is my first two-ply on the wheel, and I absolutely love it.
I plan on spinning and plying the rest of the fiber the same way. Hopefully I will end up with enough yardage I'll be able to make a (most likely small) purse type bag out of it.
This week I also decided to give Navajo plying another try. My first and only attempt only lasted for just the few minutes before I became overly frustrated. Since then I've gotten hooks put in all the spots on the flyer, and I thought I had gotten smoother at the whole spinning movements thing.
Due to my past failure I wasn't willing to risk the beautiful new fluff above, and so I spun up some of my stashed Corriedale fiber I bought ages ago. It isn't my favorite to work with, but it was sold geared more towards felting than spinning, so maybe the prep has something to do with it? I really don't know, but the colors are pretty, that (and the low price) had sold me. I made a gradient using the eggplant, snozzberry and magentastic colors.
My attempts at Navajo plying were only slightly successful, but better than my single yard previous tries. to start with, I wasn't very even on the single and had many overspun sections. Bad impatient spinniner! Added to that, when plying I started having tension issues. The yarn looks a little messed up in spots where I kept stopping and starting while trying to make adjustments on the wheel. Also - I’m still uncoordinated LOL
Enough whining though, because the colors ended up working really well and it is totally knitable yarn. Sure I need to work on my skills a lot more BUT since this yarn is just meant to be a knit up into a hotpad for my table it’s not like it had to be perfect, right?
Hanging while it dried -
And pretty picture with it twisted into its little (20.5 yard) skein -
I really do like how it looks in the skein, which sounds about par for me. I always want to buy the variegated pretties, but then realize I have no idea what I'm going to knit with them. Pooling and I just don't get along very well.
At least I have a planned project already, and I won't have that problem this time!
There is less than two months until this year's Tour de Fleece, and now that I have this wheel I'm really excited. One of my purchases on the Paradise Fibers trip was this -
Massive 8oz ball of grey roving. I love love LOVE a good variegated grey, and this picture really doesn't do it justice. It is soooooo pretty and this should be more than enough to keep me busy for the whole Tour.
Well this, and the undyed Shetland Wool I've been saving for future experiments in Koolaide dyeing.
I am so very much still that weird little kid that couldn't wait for school to start so she could wear her new shoes. Is is June 30th yet?!?
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